Modern Warfare 3 download is huge due to “increased amount of content”

Modern Warfare 3 is almost here, and Call of Duty continues to grow stronger a good decade after the series’ beginnings. With MW3 on many of our minds and a new CoD campaign underway, publisher Activision is making last-minute preparations and answering the community’s final questions before the full release drops. The publisher’s latest message addresses Modern Warfare 3’s download sizes and reveals just why the game is so darn big compared to its predecessor.

It comes as no surprise that Modern Warfare 3 is one of the most looked-forward-to FPS games this year. Call of Duty invokes nostalgia in almost all of us somehow, whether that be through its reminder of simpler days or its ability to grow and evolve alongside players. Following MW3’s beta access, the developer is gearing up for the shooter’s full release. The file download sizes are downright massive though, and the game itself can exceed 200gb. That’s even bigger than Starfield which is 140gb.

“Modern Warfare 3 is almost here,” Activision begins its post detailing the release and file sizes. “In preparation, we would like to provide an update on file sizes which are larger than last year.” The publisher explains that the larger sizes are “due to the increased amount of content available” on launch day, such as the highly anticipated open-world Zombies and items from previous games like Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone’s maps.

Activision then clarifies that “as part of our ongoing optimization efforts, your final installation size will be actually smaller than the combined previous Call of Duty experiences” and goes on to say we can manage all of the files “in the ‘manage files’ section of the CoD HQ launcher menu.” This means that any unused content that you find you’re not actively playing through is available to selectively uninstall.

At the end of the post, the MW3 publisher reveals that the team will “be sharing more information regarding launch in the coming days.” With early access in full swing thanks to the beta and the Modern Warfare 3 release date coming up, it’s time to start unpacking your hard drives to make space for the behemoth shooter. For those of you who need some last-minute space-saving tips, we’ve got you covered.

If you want a better understanding of the sheer size of the latest Call of Duty, have a look through our guide detailing all of the Modern Warfare 3 missions. Alternatively, you can browse around our in-depth roundup of the Modern Warfare 3 guns and weapons to better understand how you can gear up for combat in Activision’s new FPS.