Metal Gear Solid V PC retail version doesn’t contain any game files

While many PC gamers have moved on to the all digital trend, there are still some out there that prefer to buy their PC games on disc.  This helps out those with slower internet connections as well as those who are tied in to bandwidth caps. Unfortunately, this method won't work with Metal Gear Solid V, as the physical PC version merely contains a Steam installer… and nothing else.

While Konami hasn't confirmed exactly why it chose to do this, we can make an educated guess. It is likely a measure to ensure that the PC version of the game doesn't leak on to the internet before its intended release. However, this does beg the question, why even bother with a PC physical release if it's not actually going to be of any use?

Source: @graphure on Twitter. 

So if you pre-ordered the physical copy of Metal Gear Solid V on the PC, you may as well cancel it and grab it on Steam, at least that way you can get downloading at midnight, rather than having to wait around for the mail. For most, this won't be an issue, a 28GB download size isn't actually that bad by today's standards, though this still seems like a shame for anyone that was counting on the physical release.

KitGuru Says: Konami has been very protective over the launch of Metal Gear Solid V. It has even been a bit stingy on review codes, with many sites having to send reviewers to a ‘boot camp', where they would play under supervision for eight hours a day. With that in mind, the fact that the PC physical release may as well be a coaster isn't too shocking. Is this a stupid move? Sure, but Konami hasn't exactly been making good decisions recently. 

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