Activision promises more customizable and smaller Call of Duty download files

Activision announced the optimization of player interaction and access to the Call of Duty library. With the upcoming changes, Activision promises a new streamlined interface, direct access to games, more control over COD: Warfare content download, and expanded streaming technology to reduce file sizes.

According to the Call of Duty team, these changes will be rolled out in phases as a series of downloads. Activision affirmed that there would be three key updates on August 21, August 30, and mid-October before COD: Black Ops 6 launch on October 25. The COD team asserted that paving the way for these changes would require a large initial update scheduled for release alongside the launch of Season 5 Reloaded on August 21.

Call of Duty revamps player experience with smoother downloads 

According to Activision, implementing the proposed changes would require a series of updates to reorganize game files and deploy a redesigned user interface (UI). The Call of Duty team affirmed that it would be ‘decoupling’ Call of Duty: Warzone from other titles for separate downloads because flexibility and choice matter. 

The Call of Duty team disclosed that the initial large download would not permanently add the full size to the storage space COD takes up on players’ devices. The team confirmed that the update only reorganized game files and added new tech to prepare the way for the full-player interface arriving in October. 

As a thank you to the COD community for completing the initial download, the COD team said it would offer ten 1-hour weapon 2XP tokens, ten 1-hour player 2XP tokens, and ten BP (battle pass) token tier skips for free to players signing in for the first time after the Season 5 Reloaded update. According to the COD team, players can preload Black Ops 6 Beta content starting August 28. 

Except for PS5, which requires split downloads, the COD team disclosed that players on other platforms would acquire the entire update through a single download. Notably, the upcoming updates would include reorganizing game content on August 21, Black Ops open Beta on August 30, the new user interface in mid-October, and the launch of Black Ops on October 25. 

Activision plans smooth rollouts

According to the Call of Duty team, COD: Black Ops 6 will have a smaller download size at launch than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, although the actual size will be revealed in October. The team also affirmed that new technology will reduce download sizes for future Call of Duty titles. 

Activision confirmed that since the COD team was still in game development and the final optimization process, it was too early to share the final download sizes. However, estimated download sizes for Black Ops 6 manual downloads would be 80GB for PS5, 75GB for Xbox Series X/S, 67GB for PS4, 52GB for Xbox One, and 66GB for Steam..