Sniper Elite 3 for Xbox One Has a 10GB Mandatory Day-One Patch

The retail version of next week's shooter Sniper Elite III will require a 10GB day-one patch on Xbox One, developer Rebellion has revealed. This update makes various improvements to the FPS, and also brings the entire game's install size down to 19GB from 21GB, the studio told Eurogamer in a new interview.

The central purpose of the Sniper Elite III day-one update, however, is to "sync data between the game's retail discs and the Xbox Live digital download edition."

"In the several weeks between sending the code off to manufacture and release, rather than sit around or take a break, we've continued to work on the game, making improvements and optimizations," the developer said.

Rebellion says it has also started work on multiplayer DLC for Sniper Elite III, and explained that a "small part" of the game's 10GB day-one patch is needed to introduce a compatibility pack. "This is standard for any game that adds DLC--it's just to make sure everyone can have the same multiplayer experience whether they own DLC or not," Rebellion said.

A 10GB day-one patch is one of the biggest we've ever seen for a console game. For gamers wanting to jump right into the action on release day, this news is probably somewhat of a bummer, especially if your Internet connection isn't the greatest. Rebellion acknowledged this, and thanked fans for their patience.

"While we understand gamers will be frustrated at the wait, the good news is that the update will actually reduce the size of the game's total install footprint on their hard drive, and reduce the size of future patches significantly," the studio said.

"It's part of this ongoing optimization process that's enabled Sniper Elite III to perform well at a native 1080p on both Xbox One and PS4," Rebellion added. "We appreciate everyone's patience and we firmly believe Sniper Elite 3 will be worth the wait!"

The PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions of Sniper Elite III will also have day-one updates, but they will be "much smaller," Rebellion said.

The 10GB day-one patch is required only for the first-run retail copies of Sniper Elite III. The update is not required for the digital version of the game, nor will it be for the next wave of physical discs that come to market. Sniper Elite III launches July 1 in North America.