The experience of finding, updating, launching, and playing Call of Duty is about to change again. Activision developers are preparing a massive overhaul of the Call of Duty HQ launcher on PC, along with several other changes to the way files are acquired on PC and consoles.
The biggest change this brings is the separation of Warzone from the annual paid-for Call of Duty game. In other words, players who are only interested in playing the purchased games can download those files, while free-to-play players can only download Warzone.
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The change will be rolled out in phases and is part of an effort to reduce the game’s install size. This will be achieved by expanding the game’s streaming technology, which means adding more content to the streaming pool.
Activision will recycle less frequently used content from the streaming cache and expand what can be streamed. The “Texture Streaming on Demand” option will change to “High-Quality Streaming on Demand” and offer two options, one that prioritizes higher fidelity but requires more bandwidth usage, and another that reduces graphical quality but takes up less internet bandwidth.
Another goal of the improved interface is to make it easier for players to access different games, which also means letting players download only the games they want to play. Unfortunately, this means players have to download large files to pave the way for smaller install sizes. For example, on PS5, the next update – Season 5 Reloaded – will need to be downloaded as four separate chunks: an initial system-level update, and three additional updates triggered by launching Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone.
However, this is only for those who are already playing and keeping up with the current game. Future newcomers don’t need to go through this.
The reorganization of game content will begin with the restart of Season 5 on August 21 and continue in the weeks leading up to the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. The new user interface will roll out in mid-October, creating a new Call of Duty landing zone that displays different supported games and some recently played content.
When this shift happened, Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone were going to be the main games, but that will change after the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Speaking of which, starting with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, each future game will now have its own UI linking to its various modes/content.
The specific timetable for this major renovation is as follows:
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Reorganizing the game content as part of the Season 5 Reload Update (August 21)
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Call of Duty 6: Black Ops 6 Open Beta (August 30)
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New UI (mid-October)
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 released (October 25)
Finally, anyone who logs in after the Season 5 Reloaded update next week will receive a Battle Pass Tier Skip Pack and double XP tokens. This pack will be available until the end of Season 5, so you’ll be able to get it no matter when you update and log in (during the season).
