Activision Finally Addresses Call of Duty’s Massive Download Sizes

Activision is finally taking steps to address the notoriously large download sizes of Call of Duty games. With the upcoming release of Black Ops 6 on October 25th, the company is making significant changes to ensure that future Call of Duty titles take up less space on your hard drive. Among the most notable changes is the removal of Warzone from the default download of the annual games, as well as the introduction of a major technical update that includes ‘file optimizations.’

The separation of Warzone from the default download will begin soon—specifically on August 21st, alongside the launch of Season 5 Reloaded. Moving forward, when you download an annual Call of Duty game, you’ll have the option to include Warzone in the download if you choose. For those who only want Warzone, that will still be available as a standalone download.

In addition to this change, Season 5 Reloaded will also bring an increased reliance on texture streaming. Players will be able to select between “optimized” streaming (which is the default option) or “minimal” streaming, depending on their preferences. Mid-October will see the introduction of a new user interface that will streamline the browsing of your Call of Duty titles.

However, in preparation for these updates, Activision has announced that players will need to download a substantial update as part of the Season 5 rollout. This update will reorganize game files and introduce new technology designed to prepare for the enhanced player interface. Following this update, Activision promises that the overall file size of Call of Duty games will decrease due to these “file optimizations.” It’s worth noting that PlayStation 5 users will have to go through a series of updates because of “differences in file organization.”

As a result of these optimizations, Activision has confirmed that Black Ops 6 will have a smaller download size at launch compared to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. While the exact download size for Black Ops 6 has not yet been disclosed, the company has clarified that the file sizes listed on preorder pages do not accurately reflect the final download size or disk space required for the game. This clarification comes after an Xbox store page listed a staggering 309.85GB download size, which sparked concerns among players.

In addition to these updates, Activision will also be hosting an open beta for Black Ops 6 starting on August 30th, giving players a chance to experience the game ahead of its official release.