The Xbox One will require a system update when early adopters first boot up the console on launch day, Xbox One chief product officer Marc Whitten confirmed with Joystiq this week.
"There has always been a plan to have a day-one update of the software for Xbox One," Whitten said. "That's [due to] the differences between the hardware manufacturing schedule and our software schedule. You have to get that downloaded, and you won't have to connect online after that."
The patch is part of a one-time system setup process, and requires an Internet connection to download. Microsoft reversed its stance on the Xbox One's DRM and Internet check-in requirements earlier this week, noting that the console will only need to connect to the Internet during setup.