A 200 GB Call of Duty is a Sizable Next-Gen Gaming Problem
Call of Duty is already bloated. At 200 GB and counting, the game would fill up a quarter of the next-gen PS5 hard drive. | Source: Activision
- Modern Warfare just hit a massive 200GB install size.
- As a current-gen game, things will only ramp up on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
- Next-gen visuals are bound to awe, but at what cost?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is massive. Not in scope, but in its install size. Supported by Warzone, the franchise’s latest has hit an absurd 200GB on PC , and players are in for more once next-gen hits.
Modern Warfare Eats Your Hard Drive Space
Modern Warfare is under a year old. Part of that install size is content updates, sure, but this is just one game.
Now keep in mind the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are around the corner. If next-gen is the expansive experience developers claim, install sizes are bound to match that.
Take Halo Infinite. This is an open-world title running at 4k/60fps. It will also see a ray-tracing patch post-launch. Halo 5: Guardians, a game from 2015, is currently over 100GB on Xbox One. The Master Chief Collection is a 100GB or so install as well.
Guardians and the MCC are a collection of more linear titles – none hit the open world goals Infinite aspires to reach.
With Higher Costs Comes Bigger Games
Game costs are rising. Why? Because they’re getting bigger. We already know Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is a bloated open-world adventure. All of that filler paired with enhanced visuals will surely inflate the install size. Plus, with so many games pushing constant content updates, just two to three titles will be enough to fill a drive.
The way things are going, 1TB hard drives won’t cut it. PlayStation 5 (with its 825 GB SSD)
and Xbox Series X should default to two or even three terabyte drives. That, or they’ll push expensive external drives to rake in the cash as games explode in size.
Video: Modern Warfare File Size is Ridiculous
That’s not to mention the data cap problem in America. With limits on how much they can download, players lose out.
Xbox mitigates this a little, as some games will allow players to choose what to download, be it the single-player aspect, multi-player, or other features. However, implementation is up to the game developer. Will the 2020 Modern Warfare follow-up consider this?
One thing’s for sure: next-gen is about to be expensive.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
