Physical copies of Doom: The Dark Ages are completely unplayable without internet

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As a passionate gamer, I’ve found myself in a bit of a pickle with my freshly purchased copy of Doom: The Dark Ages. Seems like the game disc I got doesn’t hold all the files required to fully enjoy the game. It’s a bummer, as I was looking forward to diving into this dark age!

In other words, you can get the follow-up to the First Person Shooter game in either a traditional, boxed version or digitally. However, regardless of your choice, there’s a substantial amount of downloading needed before you can start playing.

According to Per DoesItPlay, a site committed to safeguarding video games and their associated hardware, some individuals who possess id Software’s shooter game, Doom: The Dark Ages, have found that only a small portion of the game’s files are initially included on the disc when it’s first purchased.

The site’s comments state that there is only 85 MB of data on the disc, and when you try to play the game, you’ll be prompted to update it online by downloading the complete version.

Or in a simpler form:

The game disc has only 85 MB of data. When you try to play it, you’ll need to download the entire new version from the internet.

On Twitter, they posted images sent by a Patreon backer displaying a file size of 85.01MB for Doom: The Dark Ages, along with another screenshot indicating that an online connection is required to update the game.

One of our cherished Patreon supporters managed to secure an early copy of DOOM: The Dark Ages for PS5. It’s only a small 85 MB install file and a requirement to connect online and update before fully playing. (I removed my previous tweet about this because optimism may have clouded our usual reading skills ;-))

— Does it play? (@DoesItPlay1) May 9, 2025

Steam download size comparison

On Steam, The Dark Ages’ minimum and recommended system requirements stipulate that 100GB of storage space is required to download the game, around 67GB of which can be preloaded ahead of May 15.

According to DoesItPlay, physical editions of the Xbox Series X game came with approximately 300MB of data. Upon download, this data presents a screen offering up to three different options for further download.

As a gamer, I’d like to point out that when I got my hands on Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, a game published by Bethesda, I found that it wasn’t a complete package. Instead, there were parts of the game missing from the disc itself. To play the whole game, I needed to be connected to the internet so I could download the remaining files first.

On April 24th, it was revealed that many third-party Switch 2 games coming out in their physical versions would come with a Game Key Card. This card allows you to download the actual game from the Nintendo eShop instead of receiving the entire game in the box.

Doom: The Dark Ages releases on May 15.

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2025-05-11 17:31