Activision just unveiled the upcoming makeover to COD HQ for the Black Ops 6 release this fall. When I visited Treyarch in June, a preview of the upcoming overhaul was shown, but official menu footage has also been released. It appears Black Ops 6 will have a traditional main menu, along with a smoother and much more intuitive design for it’s COD HQ integration. Here’s everything we just learned about the COD HQ Black Ops overhaul:
THE PURPOSE OF COD HQ
As confirmed at the Treyarch event I attended, COD HQ is simply the launcher for all Call of Duty titles since Modern Warfare II which share the new unified engine. New titles aren’t “DLC” for Modern Warfare 2 but simply share the same set of tools, allowing developers to help each other in ways that were previously more complicated.
COD HQ solves an issue that was prevalent during the Warzone 1 era where titles had to be cross launched and didn’t have a seamless integration. Updates for Warzone, Cold War and Vanguard had repeatedly impacted the stability and performance of Modern Warfare (2019) due to how many titles had been stitched together.
ROADMAP TO THE OVERHAUL
Leading up to the release of Black Ops 6 in late October, Activision is releasing several updates which provide an overhaul to COD HQ which will make the preload process a much smoother one. Rather than wait until the BETA or full launch preload, the Season 5 Reloaded update is set to feature a vital download that helps integrate Black Ops 6 into COD HQ.
As confirmed in the blog, here are the upcoming improvements to the COD HQ launcher that will be releasing before Black Ops 6.
- A new streamlined interface
- Direct access to games
- More control over your downloads, including Call of Duty: Warzone™ content
- Expanded streaming technology to reduce file sizes
Release dates for various COD HQ related overhauls have also been revealed:
It appears Season 5 Reloaded will mark the beginning of “COD HQ construction” as the launcher prepares for the Black Ops 6 BETA and full game preload which release in the weeks following August 21st. Fans will get to experience the new COD HQ interface before Black Ops 6 even releases.
- Reorganizing Game Content, Part of the Season 5 Reloaded Update (August 21)
- Black Ops 6 Open Beta (August 30)
- New User Interface (Mid-October)
- Black Ops 6 Launch (October 25)
- Season 1 (November ???)
Thankfully, it’s been confirmed Black Ops 6 will take up less storage than Modern Warfare III did at launch.
INCOMING CHANGES
The upcoming COD HQ download for the mid season 5 update is expected to be much larger than anticipated. Changes to expect on August 21st include the following:
- Game file reorganization
- Separating Call of Duty: Warzone from the default download for annual titles
- Implementing new texture streaming tech
Here is the video preview of what COD HQ will look like following the mid October update which will drastically change the interface.
BETA DOWNLOAD SIZES
Depending on whether or not a player downloads Season 5 Reloaded will determine how big their file size will be for the Black Ops 6 BETA. It’s heavily encouraged that players prepare their COD HQ application to ensure the BETA downloads faster and takes up less storage.
This is the list of BETA file sizes IF players download the Season 5 Reloaded update on August 21st.
- Playstation 5 – 34GB
- Playstation 4 – 15GB
- Xbox Series X|S – 35GB
- Xbox One – 17GB
- Steam – 32GB
- Battlenet – 32GB
- Microsoft Store – 29GB
This is the list of BETA file sizes IF players download the Season 5 Reloaded update on August 21st.
- Playstation 5 – 80GB
- Playstation 4 – 67GB
- Xbox Series X|S – 75GB
- Xbox One – 52GB
- Steam – 66GB
- Battlenet – 74GB
- Microsoft Store – 68GB
FREE COMMUNITY PACK
As a thank you to having to download a larger than expected update for Season 5 Reloaded, Activision is giving away over 30 XP token bonuses which will be added to everyone’s account on August 21st
THE END
For a FULL video breakdown of the Black Ops 6 COD HQ overhaul, check this out:
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