You shall buy the ReReReReRemaster

Well, more likely you have to subscribe with the additional old games subscription.

Xbox Xbox. Xbox Xbox't Xbox Xbox Xbox. I am Groot!
(Scratch that. I don't speak Xbox fluently.)

https://www.playbite.com/q/can-you-play-xbox-game-pass-on-pc-offline
https://www.howtogeek.com/offline-mode-in-pc-game-pass-is-perfect-for-windows-laptops-and-handhelds/

I honestly thought console gaming was in a better place than PC. Am I understanding this correctly in that the Xbox console requires online connectivity to play games, and some games offer the "feature" of being able to play without a connection?

Yeah, you are reading it incorrectly- or the others are spreading some mild misinformation. The OP was talking about PC. Xbox and PC (Windows Store) have been made a semi unified platform. If you buy an Xbox studios game (and some third party games too) on either console or Win Store- the license is for both platforms and you can play the title on either one, even using the same cloud saves. These days when Microsoft says 'Xbox" they mean everywhere their eco system works- not just a console. The OP's offline gameplay comments were for PC and also Game Pass on PC- not console. People just see "Xbox" and all assume OP was talking about a console.

On Xbox consoles you can play offline anytime as long as it is set to your "home console" in the settings. Ather family members can also log into their own profiles and play offline on the same console. I do it all the time, I've never found a game to not work offline after it is installed. Obviously this does not apply to If you go to a friends place, you cannot play offline on his console until you log online into your account- but since you probably have to go online to actually download the game in the first place...that kinda happens anyway. I even play Game Pass rental games offline on my console without even realizing it when I forget that I unplugged the ethernet cable.

Yes, you do have to go online to initially set up an Xbox console. You have to do the same for the PS5...even the Switch must go online to update before it will let you play some physical games. When I built my new PC last year...I also had to go online. In this day and age, it's not a big deal.

I have a couple of those installed atm

Baldurs Gate 3 (143.757 GB)
Halo MasterChief collection (115.454 GB)
Starfield (123.746 GB)
Mass Effect Trilogy (110.063 GB)
Total War Warhammer 3 (113.137 GB)

If you pick out the open world/rpg's in this list (BG3&Starfield) than you could conclude that it seems to be the new normal for those type of ambitious world/story builders

on the other hand, titles such as Cyberpunk (84.524 GB) DA Veilguard (91,073 GB) Space Marine 2 (68.312 GB) present similar worlds for way less apparently

It usually said that graphics take up the most space but sincerely i'm as lost as you are when it comes to game size

Above 140 GB is still rare, although above 100 GB is increasingly more common.

1. Skyrim fully modded: 31 GB + 174 GB (mods) +109 GB (mods setups) = 314 GB
2. Stalker 2: 152 GB
3. Baldurs Gate 3: 147 GB
4. FF7 (Remake Trilogy Part 2) Rebirth: 146 GB
5. Horizon Forbidden West: 145 GB

Indeed, it is possible to provide top notch graphics with less than 100 GB, as there are many good examples. So, even a single BD XL is not out of date at all, and for the true data hogs... 2 discs will fit inside a single case (Horizon Forbidden West for example).

The main issue affecting the "huge" games in general is lack of optimization, including "lack of compression".

Regarding the main topic: Perhaps some Xbox games can be played offline under certain circumstances, which is same for Steam; yet i would not trust it... it is more of a "lucky dice" instead of a "proven and rock solid feature". Both are DRM platforms and DRM is known to be problematic for offline-play. The only "other thing" that is surely very solid for offline-play is simply by using physical discs. Yes i know... for the new generations, including Gen Z it might be a "turn off", as they are used to digital and "AI lifestyle".

Not picking with you particulary, just using te quote to say it's amazing how online accounts got normalized so fast and with little pushback.

We are living in a age with a big mass becoming exhausted if it comes to any form of self empowerment, with the exception of "fighting each others"... so there is nothing left toward the sort of things which actually matters if we want to hold up a meaningful and self controlled lifestyle/approach. It is increasingly becoming neglected for the sake of convenience, asking for some "guidance" instead.

So, not surprised... it is simply hitting the current Zeitgeist, and no one knows how long it may take for some shift toward alternate approaches, which are currently facing a lot of pressure.

At worst... it could head toward a monotone/stereotypical and monopolized approach as in general with excessive capitalism only "the strongest" are usually sufficiently supported and the stuff that has been left (in the cold) may slowly fade into nothing. Not an option to me... i may stop playing new games if the worst case ever happens.

I already got hundreds of games i can play for many decades to come. No biggie to me simply to show a worst case industry "my cold shoulders". There are enough of other things in my life i can spend my coins on... in case any hope is eternally lost. However, so far there is still hope for sure. If there is no hope, GOG or discs may not exist anymore.

Yeah, I say "Xbox" in reference to their services, not the console. I guess that could have been clearer.

Thanks for clearing up the details on the state of offline play for the console though.

I wasn't meaning any accounts. I was meaning in just setting up hardware so everything worked. Like the memory refused to set correctly in BIOS and required me to go online and get latest motherboard updates to flash. Plus many other hardware things before even getting to accounts. I just don't see the point in singling out one console plaform when online requirements are the norm on all platforms now. Even GOG requires an account to buy and initially download your game. It's better than others, but only by degrees. The horse has well and truly bolted and we're never really going to be going back now.

Very true. This is the only thing that'd ever make me consider getting a console. The only actual benefit it has over a PC. Sadly, that's not enough.

More than one update has been over 100GB too.

Yeah, I'm suspecting developers are re-uploading the entire game files instead of just the fixes, hence the annoyingly large update files.

Not the game.
Just the full asset packs, even when they just changed a small file in that pack.

And now you can decide, there are 2 option.

Option 1:
The patch contains the whole asset pack. You apply the patch and it will simply delete the old file and replace it with a new file.
Very fast, very large patches

Option 2:
The patch ONLY contains the changed files, when we talk about assets and it can even have just parts of a code, that has to be replaced in some file. Aka, the patch only has the differences.
The patch will unpack the whole pack where the file is located, replace or modify it and repack the whole thing.
Small patches, can use a good chunk of CPU power, will take ages and will need lots of free space, because of unpacking and repacking. Unpacking will very often need more space then the pack itself needs. Can lead to 100mb patch "I need 250GB of free disk space to work".

We got some binary delta kind patching games on GoG. I think the longest patch install time I had was roughly 90min. Don't know the game anymore. But it was with a good amount of CPU usage.


You decide.
Is the limiting factor for you downloadsize and downloadtime
Or is it patch installation time and free diskspace on your machine

From a technical standpoint and from a ressource usage standpoint, I do prefer Binary Patches.
But fuck me, if it takes 400GB of free disk space and 3h of patching - i will download the newest installers and install the game again...
Because with all those huge asset packs games use these days, the time of Binary Patches for those games is over (personal opinion). For it not to be a pain in the arse, the file structure of games would have to be different. But UE says nah.

When you put it that way, I guess the huge file sizes are the best of a bad choice. :')