Gothic 1 Remake will require an update to be playable offline

Some physical copies of Gothic 1 Remake were sent to players early, but their excitement turned to frustration when an annoying online requirement was revealed. Even if you get this game physically, you’ll still need an online connection to update it before you can play offline.

On May 22, the game-preservation-focused X account Does it play? posted that Gothic 1 Remake is unplayable offline. Someone got the game from the THQ Nordic Store early, booted it up, and was met with a message that said, “Unable to check the state of the game. Please make sure you are connected to the internet and try again.” As no sort of DRM policy had been announced by the game’s developer or publisher beforehand, this was surprising.

The official account for the Gothic franchise quickly responded, confirming that it sent some copies out early and that Gothic 1 Remake will require an internet connection to download a 5 GB launch-day update. After that, the game can be played offline.

As you’d probably expect, the replies to this post were very critical of this requirement, seeing it as an unnecessary bit of DRM (digital rights management) that could render Gothic 1 Remake unplayable in the future. While this is just a minor inconvenience now, owning a physical copy won’t guarantee you can play it if PS5 and Xbox Series X|S lose their online connectivity in the future.

This kind of restriction stings even harder for Gothic 1 Remake, considering it’s based on a 25-year-old game with no such requirements, and it’s a single-player RPG primarily played offline. If you do end up picking up Gothic 1 Remake physically, make sure you take the time to install or update it so you aren’t eventually left with a potentially useless disc. If you buy the game digitally, you’ll have to deal with some system-level DRM on PS5, unfortunately.

Gothic 1 Remake launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on June 5.