Activision has announced that it wants to reduce the install size of Call of Duty.
The publisher states that the download size of Black Ops 6 will be smaller than that of Modern Warfare 3 when it is released in October.
This is due to updates planned before the game's release that will change the way Call of Duty games are installed.
The first of these updates, which will arrive as part of the Season 5 Reloaded update for Warzone and Modern Warfare 3, changes the way games are installed by default.
In recent years, players who download standalone Call of Duty games also install the free-to-play game Warzone by default if they don't already have it.
According to Activision, this will now change. When players purchase a new Call of Duty game, they will only need to install the files required for that game.
“Players can choose to receive Call of Duty: Warzone when they download a new annual title, or simply download it separately at any time,” it says. “The choice is yours.”
The Season 5 update will also reorganize game files and “add new technologies” in preparation for an October rework.
As part of this restructuring, players will need to download a “major” update, but Activision says that “downloading now will pave the way for the next few weeks and ultimately lead to a better experience when Black Ops 6 launches.”
Due to the way the update files are handled, PS5 players will need to install the update via four separate downloads. Other formats require a single download.
“Once this is complete, Call of Duty’s footprint will be smaller due to these file optimizations,” says Activision.
“Due to these updates, the download size of Black Ops 6 at launch will be smaller than that of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,” it says.