Sony had revealed not long ago that PS4 games will be playable while they are still downloading. However, much wasn't known as to how the feature works and how much content download would be required before users can begin playing the game. We can get a glimpse of how the feature works as it applies to Kill Zone: Shadow Fall.
There is a high probability of Shadow Fall being launched at the same time the PS4 is released. The game is set 30 years after KillZone 3. By downloading a digital copy of Shadow Fall users can start playing the game as soon as the first level and menu are downloaded.
"You're going to download a chunk of the game, get the menu and first level, and while you're playing the first level we can start downloading the second in the background," KillZone developer Guerrilla's technical director Michiel van der Leeuw explained in a new developer diary. "Then the third and so on."
Such a small amount of game data might come as a surprise, but also means those with faster internet connection won't have to wait too long to start playing. Once the Main menu and first level are downloaded, the second one will be cued while the first is being played and so on.
However, it is not a perfect world and those with sluggish internet connections might be stuck waiting a while after each level loads. There is also a possibility that if a slower connection is detected, a larger chunk of the game may be downloaded before it's playable, which is just speculation. There is also no word as to how this function would work for games that are not linearly based on level after other.
Developer Guerrila has unveiled the extent to which Sony's feature of playing games while they download will be utilized.
Source: SlashGear