Spyro the Dragon: Reignited Trilogy Will Require Download For Two Games

UPDATE: Activision has released the following statement regarding Spyro:

“The global launch date of Spyro Reignited Trilogy is Sept. 21; and we’re excited for fans to play all three reignited games on that day.

As with most games today, downloading an update after purchase is quite common. The language on packaging and on the web is to let players know the requirements for Spyro Reignited Trilogy.”

So, from the sound of things, it seems like the download will be required.

ORIGINAL STORY: When you purchase a game from a store, you expect to just be able to sit down and dig right into it, yeah? Without any sort of optional download. Unfortunately, a recent listing has indicated that when Spyro the Dragon: Reignited Trilogy comes out in physical form next month, it may not be a complete experience right off the bat.

A Tweet from Nibellion has pointed out something he found on the Spyro the Dragon: Reignited Trilogy game site. In it, he shows that while the game will still allow you to play all three adventures, you’ll actually need to download Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage and Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon before you can do so. Apparently they aren’t on the disc — only the first Spyro the Dragon is.

We’ve posted the tweet below with the image, and it does read, clear as day, that “Games 2 and 3 require download via Internet.” And the box art also seems to note that the game “requires content download.”

We’ve sent out an inquiry to Activision on the matter, so until they notify us of anything we’re going to take it with a grain of salt. However, Nibel has gone on to explain why the games may not be included on the disc.

First off, he ruled out the idea that “they did this on purpose,” since it doesn’t really seem like a good thing for Activision to do. But then he noted another possibility, saying “the file sizes of the games are too big.” Considering the remastering work that the developers at Toys For Bob are putting into the game, this is a possibility. Based on the latest trailer (which you can see above), it is highly detailed. They could easily pop up at around 20GB apiece, maximizing disc space.

But then he noted what the real reason might be. “Only game 1 was ready to get printed on disc and they couldn’t push the date any further without causing problems.” Or worse yet, a delay. Activision surely wants this to be a primary game release for the holiday season and pushing it back could cause problems with its sales projections.

Again, the publisher hasn’t said anything, and we’ll update this piece once they do. But if you are picking up Spyro in a few weeks in physical form, you might want to be ready to wait for a little bit. If you’re picking it up digitally, it shouldn’t matter anyway since you’re already downloading the games.

Spyro the Dragon: Reignited Trilogy releases on September 21 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.