Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 requires a whopping 112GB of hard drive space, and it seems 50GB of that is devoted to a mandatory day one update. According to Activision's support site (as spotted by Eurogamer), the actual disc installation process only uses up 55GB, with the remainder left open for the update.
"This update must be installed completely in order to access Multiplayer, Zombies, and Specialist Headquarters," Activision said. However, Blackout, Black Ops 4's new battle royale mode, "is fully playable once installation is about 30% complete."
Part of the problem with updates like these is that they can delay a game's playability, especially for people with below-average internet. Even if you get your copy on release day, you may not be able to play it until the next day or later, which in this case means less time to grind your prestige rank. To help mitigate this, some game retailers plan on selling Black Ops 4 ahead of their usual midnight release. You still won't be able to play the game until midnight, mind, but at least you'll be able to bang out the download beforehand.
As Kotaku reported, UK retailer GAME will sell Black Ops 4 starting at 6pm this Thursday. I also called a few GameStops around the US, and several confirmed they will sell it starting at 8pm on Thursday. However, stores located inside malls and some strip centers were unsure of their release time, so if you plan on buying Black Ops 4 from GameStop on day one, you may want to call your store to confirm.
If you plan on playing Blackout to kill time while you download, here are seven essential tips you should know going in.
