Imagine the relief PlayStation Call of Duty users must feel. Sure, the files still have to be downloaded, but according to @PlaystationSize, the Call of Duty app update for PS4 and PS5 will cut the initial HQ download by over 100GB. I mean, think about a fully installed game just disappearing—it’s honestly a relief.
For as far back as I can recall, Call of Duty has had massive file sizes. Hundreds upon hundreds of gigabytes just to have it installed. And if you happen to play a handful of games like me, that’s a ton of storage to fill. So this reduction in over a hundred gigabytes is so useful for storage because now you can install one or two more games.
Immensely. I suppose it’s no shocker that other gamers on the thread had their own opinions about it. The first comment to the post was from a user named THICKUS, who wrote “FINALLY… What about PC?” That’s a valid question because the announcement is solely for PS4 and PS5, completely ignoring the PC. An Elyrium also wondered, saying “Only on PS5? What about xbox or PC?” And SwolBrah asking “Can they do this on Xbox?” To me it shows the same trend over and over, console users are the only winners at the moment but undeniably everyone wishes they do.
Now, as we move on, the other comments might as well be comments from a conspiracy theory group. And yes, it is for the internet. “100gb and they can do it any time but they wanted to added it this period the bf6 hype is real.” worst gta player said this, implying that Activision is only doing this because the hype for Battlefield 6 is growing, and for fear of the battle. Activision is literally doing this as a ‘scare tactic’. In other words, peaceandfree69 said, “Lmao glad to see that there falling apart them doing this shows how scared they are for battlefield 6,” implying Activision trying to earn this way of doing things is a scramble, not a well thought way.
The conversation turns odd as it shifts towards corporate transparency and player counts. “Kaine Richardson” commented on the strange rumor: “Yeah Ghost was the reason it was taken away because the YouTubers kept doing player counts videos. You know how corporations work, they hate anything negative and won’t accept accountability.” “Kaine” was referring to the fact that Call of Duty used to display the player counts in menus (during Ghosts) and then decided to stop it, likely to hide bad publicity for low numbers. “Kaine” thinks it doesn’t make sense that they say they have 20+ million players but refuse to share the exact player count. “Manuel Mittnacht” also joined the conversation, agreeing with “Kaine” by saying, “Yeah they had metrics in cod before. I think it stopped after ghosts what i heard… Their playernumbers are 100% lower than before mw2019.”
It’s a narrative of its own. As a community, people tend to question the motivation and honesty of Activision. There is a positive aspect to the file size reduction, but the positivity is clouded with years of animosity over download sizes, cosmetic fees, and a lack of transparency. A user by the name “Yung Dougle$$” sums up the community’s contempt excellently, saying, “now all of a sudden file sizes are magically smaller lmfao fuck all the way off CoD enjoy the last month of being any type of relevant 😂.” It’s harsh, but the sentiment is there.
Hold up, what was I saying? Right, the file size. In that scenario, a different user named hunter provided some insight. He said in response to Yung Dougle$$ saying, “No, they are just simplifying the way COD HQ works. The game’s file sizes will remain the same (I didn’t think I would have to tell a real human that today).” So it seems the simplification is related to the app’s overhead or launcher structure (the “HQ”), and not the individual game modes. Regardless, 100GB of free storage on your console hard drive is a godsend.
It’s just funny how nothing is ever simple with Call of Duty. A genuinely good quality-of-life improvement gets immediately wrapped up in debates about Battlefield competition, hidden player counts, and corporate distrust. The community’s relationship with this franchise is complicated. They love the gameplay but man, do they have a list of grievances.
In the end, PlayStation users will be able to reclaim a huge chunk of storage. That’s a solid W. No one is sure if this update will make its way to Xbox and PC yet, but the assumption is they’ll be loud in the entitlement for it. And as for why now? Maybe it was planned, maybe it’s a reaction to competition. But for players struggling with storage, the reason probably doesn’t matter as much as the result.
