What Control? An Update. (Gaming)

by EffortlessFury , Sunday, January 31, 2021, 15:57 (1174 days ago) @ Joe Duplessie (SNIPE 316)

It doesn't "just play" the version; if you're on a Series X, presumably you have to download the whole Series X version from the internet. Granted, AFAIK, if you're offline you can still install and play the original disc version through back-compat but I'm not sure.

On Xbox specifically (not sure about PS) it does. It's technically the same game, but it can tell which Xbox you're on and uses the settings preset for that specific console.

And of course it downloads it from the disc, all games are downloaded from the disc. Been that way for a long time. I do kind of miss just popping the disc in and playing, but I understand there are limitations to the tech.

I can tell you that this isn't true, or at least isn't universally true. Series X games were built with a newer version of the SDK. Unless the game was pressed with a game built on that SDK version, the Series X will simply be playing in backwards compatibility. Not all games marked as Smart Delivery, especially the ones released before the SDK for Series X was finalized, had any concept of the Series X.

Games released that are built on the new SDK may have everything needed on disc for new and old generations. That does not apply to games built on the older SDK; those will require digital updates for the next-gen hardware. You can not get a new disc with the new bits and they may not ever release a new disc with the new bits.