Activision seems to be taking Battlefield 6 more seriously than they’re letting on.
Is Call Of Duty Too Big To Fail?
Last month, a rumor spread that Activision did not believe that Battlefield 6 would be serious competition to the Call of Duty franchise. They were paying attention to the game, but they saw their military shooter as ‘too big to fail.’
We should note that this was never corroborated by anyone in Activision. While this sounds like an Activision swimming in its own hubris, it may not be true at all.
If it is true, we cannot say that Activision’s confidence is ill-founded. The franchise had its biggest launch and became Microsoft’s biggest IP when Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 released last year.
And Yet, Activision Is Making Changes
Last week, Activision surprised everyone when they revealed not all content would Carry Over from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Specifically, operators, operator skins, and weapons wouldn’t carry over because Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ‘needs to feel authentic.’
This looks like a reaction, not only to the fans, but to Battlefield 6. Some EA DICE developers, harkening back to a decade ago, started trash talking Call of Duty again. DICE design director Shashank Uchil said this:
It has to be grounded. That is what BF3 and BF4 was — it was all soldiers, on the ground.
…I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded.
A Matter Of Scale
This takes us to some big changes going on today. Battlefield Studios revealed over the weekend that Battlefield 6 would require a minimum install size of 50 GB and recommended size of 90 GB, for PC.
And then, a few hours ago, PlayStation Size made this sudden announcement:
Call of Duty® Update 01.080.000 Added to Database.
PS5 :
01.078.000 : 126.224 GB
01.080.000 : 25.377 GB
PS4 :
01.78 : 81 GB
01.80 : 62 GB
+ Update 01.009.000 for BO6 Campaign Packs and 01.017.000 for Warzone
Content creator MoiDawg chimed in with what is probably a common sentiment:
Insane.
Battlefield 6 announces that its minimum install size is 55gb, with recommended 80gb.
Not even a month later CoD optimizes their install by reducing it by over 100gb.
Competition is always good for gaming.
OK, But This Could Just Be A Coincidence
It would be easy to find out if this turns out to be coincidental. And that would be if it turns out that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will bring back a lot of that storage when gamers buy and download/install it.
