Gamers who pick up a retail edition of Sniper Elite 3 for Xbox One should be prepared to download a gargantuan 10GB patch before they can play.

Sniper Elite 3 was originally intended to be a 21GB install. The day-on patch brings the total size down to 19GB.

Addressing the patch, developer Rebellion said, "The main part of the update is to sync data between the game’s retail discs and the Xbox Live digital download edition of the game. In the several weeks between sending the code off to manufacture and release, rather than sit around or take a break, we’ve continued to work on the game, making improvements and optimisations.

"We’ve also begun work on multiplayer DLC and a small part of this update is to introduce a compatibility pack. This is standard for any game that adds DLC – it’s just to make sure everyone can have the same multiplayer experience whether they own DLC or not."

"While we understand gamers will be frustrated at the wait, the good news is that the update will actually reduce the size of the game’s total install footprint on their hard drive, and reduce the size of future patches significantly," Rebellion added. "It’s part of this ongoing optimisation process that’s enabled Sniper Elite 3 to perform well at a native 1080p on both Xbox One and PS4. We appreciate everyone’s patience and we firmly believe Sniper Elite 3 will be worth the wait."

Yesterday, Rebellion released a video capturing the first 15 minutes of Sniper Elite 3 gameplay.