Activision has announced some major changes coming to the Call of Duty launcher after the launch of Black Ops 6. The company aims to make downloads smaller by allowing players to download Warzone separately from the premium games, which will include Black Ops 6. Additionally, there will be larger initial updates required before these changes take effect.
As part of this revamp, the central UI of the Call of Duty launcher will be redesigned to make it easier for players to access games. Top content will be displayed on a single page without the need for scrolling, making the overall experience more streamlined and user-friendly. This update is set to begin on August 21 with the Season 5 Reloaded update.
One of the major changes coming with the Season 5 Reloaded update is expanded texture streaming features. This new feature will allow less frequently used content to be cycled to a streaming cache, reducing the need for players to download it directly to their device’s storage. This change will ultimately lead to smaller initial downloads and a more efficient gaming experience.
Players will have the option to choose between two texture streaming settings: “optimized” and “minimal”. The optimized setting will offer higher-fidelity visuals but will consume more bandwidth, while the minimal setting will provide less detailed visuals with lower bandwidth requirements. This gives players the flexibility to tailor their gaming experience to their individual preferences.
Activision reassures players that these updates will not increase the overall install size of Call of Duty. Instead, the files are being restructured in preparation for the new interface rollout in mid-October. Ultimately, the footprint of Call of Duty will decrease due to these file optimizations, resulting in a more efficient gaming experience for players.
For PlayStation 5 players, the update process will require four separate downloads due to differences in file organization. This includes downloads at the console level, within the Call of Duty launcher, within Modern Warfare 3, and within Warzone. While this may be slightly more cumbersome for PS5 players, everyone else will receive the updates in a single download.
As a thank you to players for their patience during these updates, Activision is offering a free community pack to anyone who logs in after the Season 5 Reloaded update. This pack includes 10 1-hour double player XP tokens, 10 1-hour double weapon XP tokens, and 10 battle pass token tier skips. While this may not alleviate the burden of the large downloads, it serves as a token of appreciation from the developers.
The future of Call of Duty install sizes looks promising with the upcoming changes to the game launcher, user interface, and texture streaming features. While players may face larger initial updates in the near future, these changes are designed to enhance the overall gaming experience and lead to smaller, cleaner installs in preparation for Black Ops 6.