Activision Is Finally Doing Something About COD's Massive File Size

Summary

• Call of Duty's obnoxious file sizes are nothing new, but that's all about to change for the better.
• That's because the file size will be decreasing dramatically, with players having more agency over what is downloaded.
• The rollout begins August 21, and over time, the digital footprint of Call of Duty will slowly decrease.

It's no secret that since moving things over to Call of Duty HQ, the first-person shooter has maintained an obnoxiously large file size. Because HQ serves as a larger launcher for all things COD, its file size became inflated with having to house Warzone, the multiplayer for whichever COD title you have access to, plus various packs and campaign content.

In other words, playing COD in 2024 basically requires its own separate hard drive.

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But, that is about to change for the better.

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In a new post on the Call of Duty blog, Activision revealed that it is working on streamlining its files ahead of the launch of Black Ops 6. For starters, Warzone is being separated by default from the annual titles. According to the post, when a gamer purchases a new COD title, only the files for that game will be downloaded by default. Of course, players can opt to download Warzone down the line, and free-to-play gamers can always access Warzone.

Beyond unbundling Warzone, the first-person shooter franchise will move to more texture-based streaming tech. Beginning with its Season 5 reloaded update on Aug. 21, content that is less used by players will move to a streaming cache, which will avoid the actual hard drive being impacted.

More and more content will also be housed in this cache, per Activision, and players can choose to increase their internet bandwidth usage in order to guarantee high-fidelity graphics.

It's important to note that before players begin seeing the changes in full, it'll first require a large download, or multiple if you happen to be on PlayStation. Activision stresses that the download isn't permanent, and that, over time, the footprint will decrease due to file optimization. However, until then, the download is needed to reorganize existing game files, along with the addition of new tech.

All of this is to say that by the launch of Black Ops 6 on Oct. 25, Call of Duty will have a new look and smaller size overall. A new user interface will allow players direct access to content, while gamers as a whole will have more and more control over what exactly is downloaded on their hard drive. It's been a long time coming, but finally it's here.

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