Activision recently announced the required PC specs for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and the recommended storage space is absolutely massive. The upcoming reboot of the beloved Modern Warfare franchise has been forecasted as a holiday best-seller.
Since it was announced, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has presented itself as an ambitious project in more ways than one - to varying degrees of success. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's violent campaign seems to be attempting to push the boundaries of video game storytelling, giving a more realistic look at warfare than previous titles (though Infinity Ward has insisted the game is not political). On the multiplayer side of things, Modern Warfare looks like the best in years for the franchise, and it seems fans of the series are excited, since September saw the release of the Call of Duty franchise's biggest beta. To top it all off, the story content shown in a recent trailer showcased Modern Warfare's graphical power, with some of the best-looking character models, textures and lighting seen in gaming to this day.
All that ambition apparently requires quite the amount of storage space. According to an Activision announcement, the recommended free hard drive space for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on PC is a whopping 175GB. This is apparently not Modern Warfare's actual, initial file size, but it is effectively the requirement for those planning to play the game long-term.
At launch, the file size will be smaller than 175GB, but Activision recommends players allow that much space in order to be able to download post-launch content later on. It's not known if this file size will carry over to consoles. For reference, the recently announced Red Dead Redemption 2 PC release will require 150GB of hard drive space. The console versions of Red Dead Redemption 2 weighed in at around 100GB, with the PS4 version requiring an extra 50GB for install.
With such a massive PC file size, it makes one wonder how Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be scaled down for consoles. It could end up requiring a second "boot disk," like Red Dead Redemption 2's, to install the entire game, which would then be playable on just the main disc. This appears to be becoming more common, as The Last of Us 2 reportedly comes on two discs (though it's not known if it would be boot disc-style or contain an "insert disc two" message at some point).
While the game's file size could be seen as a sign of the game's quality, it's also possible that Call of Duty fans could view the requirement as an issue, eating up space for other content. The last thing Modern Warfare needs right now is more fan backlash, however. Among a host of other controversies, rumors about the Modern Warfare's Supply Drops loot boxes had fans worried about possible pay-to-win content, and a YouTuber recently claimed Modern Warfare's netcode is really, really bad. Time will tell if these rumors prove true or if Modern Warfare delivers on its potential.
Source: Activision