The base game is only a fraction of that, but you may need to make space on your PC or console to install the full Call of Duty experience.
Ahead of the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III on November 10th, Activision has preemptively provided more details about the enormous file size of the game to explain why it’s “larger than last year.”
As reported by IGN, players with early access to the game’s single-player campaign found that the total file size for Call of Duty at installation — which also includes the Modern Warfare II campaign, Warzone, and Call of Duty HQ — now comes in at 234.9GB on PlayStation 5. For PC gamers, the file size is a slightly more palatable 172GB with the Modern Warfare II campaign and Warzone installed.
According to Activision’s post on X (formerly Twitter), the huge file size is “due to the increased amount of content available Day 1,” which includes map files for Call of Duty: Warzone, support for Modern Warfare II items, and the new open-world Zombies mode. Activision claims that the final installation size will actually be smaller than the combined previous Call of Duty experiences, and that more information about the launch will be shared “in the coming days.”
The large file sizes we’re seeing on PC and PS5 don’t include unreleased content for Modern Warfare III, such as the multiplayer or Zombies game modes. We should note that this doesn’t mean Modern Warfare III alone will take up 200GB of file storage though — the base installation for Call of Duty HQ (the central hub needed to access Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare III, and Warzone) is roughly 50GB. Each game pack contributes to the overall file size, and can be uninstalled if you have insufficient space to install all three titles and their related content.
Still, you can’t blame fans of the series for being alarmed. Call of Duty titles have gained a reputation for hogging storage space ever since the Modern Warfare reboot was released in 2019. Activision has previously taken steps to reduce file sizes for the game, and while it’s promising that it’s made further optimizations, the company is still asking PC gamers to find 79GB of additional storage space for Modern Warfare III if they already have Warzone and HQ installed.
