Buying physical copies of console games means you bypass the need to download the game or even be connected to the internet in order to play. However, with the launch of Control Ultimate Edition that's not the case, at least for Xbox gamers.
As Eurogamer reports, anyone who purchases a physical copy of Control Ultimate Edition for Xbox One will need to download an update before they can play through the single-player campaign. That's why the front cover of the physical version states "Requires Internet" at the bottom. Publisher 505 Games has explained this download is required simply because they couldn't fit all the content on a 50GB disc.
Attempting to play without the update will result in a message appearing at the game's opening elevator requesting the download to continue. Until it's installed, you simply can't play the game. PlayStation owners need not worry, though. 505 Games also confirmed that, "On PlayStation 4, this isn't the case as Control Ultimate Edition fits on a single disc, due to compression and other variables."
The good news is, once the download is completed Xbox owners don't need to be online again in order to play the game. However, it does place a question mark over the long-term playability of the title. Eventually that download will cease to be offered, meaning anyone attempting to play a used copy years from now will be out of luck. How much of a problem you think that is depends on your view of long-term game preservation.
Control Ultimate Edition brings together the base game along with the Foundation and AWE expansion packs as well as any free updates developer Remedy Entertainment released. Alongside the PS4 and Xbox One versions, PC gamers can purchase it via Steam, with Epic Games Store and GOG.com also planning to stock the game. The Ultimate Edition also comes with the promise of a free next-gen upgrade if purchased for PS4 or Xbox One, but the same offer isn't being made to anyone who purchased the original game and the two expansion packs separately.