Activision is gearing up to address the long-standing issue of colossal Call of Duty download sizes, particularly ahead of the highly anticipated Black Ops 6 launch. The publisher has announced a series of updates aimed at streamlining the game's footprint on players' hard drives.
One of the most significant changes involves decoupling Warzone, the popular free-to-play battle royale mode, from the core game. This means Warzone will become a standalone download, giving players the option to install it separately from the main Call of Duty experience. This move is expected to dramatically reduce the overall file size for Black Ops 6, potentially making it smaller than its predecessor, Modern Warfare 3.
In addition to this major overhaul, Activision is implementing new texture streaming technology. This system will optimize game graphics by cycling out unused assets and storing them in a cache that doesn't directly impact storage space. While this could potentially result in lower image quality, players will have the option to enable a high-quality streaming setting to maintain visual fidelity.
To facilitate these changes, Activision is encouraging players to download early updates, with the first arriving on August 21st. PlayStation 5 owners will receive these updates in four separate downloads. The upcoming beta periods, scheduled for late August and early September, will offer players a chance to experience the new system firsthand.
Black Ops 6 is set for release on October 25th for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms. With these optimizations in place, players can expect a smoother download process and potentially more free space on their consoles or PCs.
While the full extent of the file size reductions remains to be seen, Activision's efforts to tackle this persistent issue are undoubtedly a welcome development for the Call of Duty community.
