Forza 5 has a mandatory day one download [update: 'not the plan']

Update: Speaking with IGN again, Turn 10's Dan Greenwalt altered his previous statement to now say the requirement of a connection to Xbox Live before playing is "not the plan." However, when or if the game requires an internet connection for single-player content is still not clear. We've contacted Microsoft for further clarification.

Xbox One launch game Forza Motorsport 5 requires a one-time download before it can be played. Speaking to IGN, Turn 10 Studios head Dan Greenawalt said "required" content including the cloud-based Drivatar system won't be included on disc because of the game's production schedule, but clarified Forza 5 otherwise remains playable offline.

"So when you first boot up the game, we're going to ask you to log in," Greenawalt told IGN. "And when you log in you're going to get the Drivatars and you're also going to get a whole bunch of content: tracks and cars. Our production schedule is such that we are putting them in as late as possible and that means making them free as downloadable content on Day One. [But] that is required content to play the game.

"We basically have designed the game to work with all that content no matter how late [it's] coming in, in order to make the biggest game possible."

Greenawalt added players should be able to play while the download's occurring, similar to how the Xbox One lets users play games mid-download. The news follow's Microsoft's dramatic reversal on the system's online stipulations, which formerly required players to connect online every 24 hours.

Greenawalt argued the decision to include a mandatory download will ensure a bigger, better Forza 5 when it hits retail shelves alongside the Xbox One. "We're not making a launch game. We're making Forza 5, at launch," he said.