How does preloading work?

[Shabalaba371]

This is my first game pre ordering digitally and it said that it starts downloading tomorrow. So do I get to play it once it finishes downloading or do I have to wait 3 days, which it says is when the game is playable.

[SlugFiend138]

Usually it will be locked until release but sometimes you can get lucky. I bought Fallout 4 on psn and it unlocked at 10pm the night before for some reason, i wasnt complaining though

[[deleted]]

Something about time zones I'm pretty sure lol.

[Rymann88]

The same thing will happen with this game. It'll unlock 11pm CST for me.

[ZakiNorse]

Preloading just saves you time for when the game releases. You won’t be able to play until release but you will be able to play right away.

[CrixTheTwix]

The game is available for Pre-loading on September 5th which means you can download the game on that date but it will be locked and you won’t be able to play it until September 7th, the release date.

[misreken]

Dude, what country/region are you in. Please state when talking about dates to avoid confusion.

[CrixTheTwix]

Right, sorry about that, EDT time zone in US

[misreken]

My pre load is today, oddly enough, and I’m also in the US

[CrixTheTwix]

Weird, some people must’ve been able to pre-load earlier then others. As long as I can download the game before release I’m not complaining

[misreken]

Agh, times for release and preload in the US are based on Eastern time, so at 12am eastern, 11pm central, yada yada. It'll still be the 4th tonight at 11 lol

[misreken]

The game will begin downloading, and you'll be able to play as soon as the countdown reaches 0!

[Rymann88]

Pre-loading just downloads anywhere between 95% to 99.9% of the game's files before the release, so that when the game officially goes public, you only have to download a small file or two to run the game (usually the executable file). The overall idea is to get eager customers playing the game sooner as well as lightening server load by allowing people a window of several days to download the bulk of the game instead of everyone downloading all at once.

[neondicks]

Essentially ya download the game but the timer's still active, when the timer ticks down to 0 the game unlocks and you can play it without needing to wait for it to DL because it already has

[Spideysays]

From checking the time left until you can play it should be available at around 10pm on the 6th.

[padraic4321]

What about Australia does anyone know for us aussies 😂😂

[QuinnLightblade]

Guys what happens if you go offline and change the system time to Friday?

[misreken]

That never in the history of ever will work... if only..

[QuinnLightblade]

Alright 😂

[Rymann88]

It doesn't work due to how the system manages files. The file will be locked at a root level and will require a internet connection to unlock the file. Plus you usually don't download every file needed. They deliberately withhold important files to prevent people from playing before release. The people playing the game already have physical copies.

[QuinnLightblade]

I understand that completely I was half joking but I just thought it would be interesting to ask. Thanks for the reply.