Black Ops 6 Update Sparks File Removal Glitch Across PS5 Players

A Routine Patch Gone Wrong

What should have been a straightforward patch for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has turned into a headache for many PlayStation 5 players. Following the release of the Season 5 Reloaded update, reports quickly surfaced that the game was vanishing from consoles after installation. Instead of refreshing performance and adding new content, the patch appeared to strip away essential game files, leaving only the slim Call of Duty HQ launcher in place.

The update also introduced a sudden reduction in the game’s overall size. Before the patch, Black Ops 6 consumed well over 220 GB of storage, but afterward, that footprint was slashed to about 123 GB. While players initially welcomed the prospect of more free space on their systems, it soon became clear that this shrinkage was not the result of optimization but rather the removal of critical components.

Community Reactions Highlight Frustration

Across social media, forums, and Reddit threads, players voiced their frustration. Many discovered that core parts of the game, including multiplayer, had been erased. One Reddit user summed up the mood bluntly: “Yep, all traces of Black Ops 6 have been deleted from my PS5. Reinstalling now. Usual shitshow.” Another echoed the sentiment, writing, “Fucking ridiculous.” as they described having to redownload nearly the entire game.

The problem was compounded by the scale of the required reinstallations. Even for players with fast internet connections, downloading almost 160 GB of data in multiple packs was time-consuming and disruptive. Affected users noted that they were forced to reinstall the 99 GB Multiplayer Pack and the nearly 60 GB Shared Content Pack, despite already having those files in place before the update. One user detailed the requirements in a thread, stating: “It’s requiring 59.8 GB ‘BO6: Shared Content Pack 1’ and 99 GB ‘BO6: Multiplayer Pack’ for me.”

Technical Breakdown of the Glitch

The sudden file deletions seem tied to how the patch restructured game content across different packs. While Activision and Treyarch have not provided detailed technical explanations, community members speculated that the update attempted to repoint or reorganize file structures within the Call of Duty HQ launcher. Instead of seamlessly replacing outdated content, the process wiped existing files and flagged missing packs as uninstalled. This effectively forced players into a complete redownload, regardless of the data already stored on their consoles.

Activision Responds with Hotfix

The backlash was swift, and Activision acted quickly to issue a corrective update. A hotfix, listed as version 1.81, rolled out shortly after the issue gained traction. The fix specifically addressed missing game files and aimed to stabilize the installation process. For many players, applying the hotfix restored functionality and allowed them to access Black Ops 6without undertaking yet another massive download (source).

The company has not yet released a formal statement beyond the patch notes, but the speed of the fix suggests that the developers were aware of the disruption and prioritized resolving it before Season 5 Reloaded’s new content could be fully enjoyed.

Broader Impact on Player Trust

While the hotfix resolves the immediate issue, the incident highlights a growing concern within the gaming community: the fragility of massive live-service titles and their reliance on frequent, large updates. With Black Ops 6 already taking up enormous storage space and requiring regular downloads, players have little tolerance for glitches that disrupt access entirely.

For competitive players, streamers, and those who had scheduled time to dive into new content, the forced reinstallations meant canceled plans and wasted evenings. As one Reddit commenter put it: “I set aside the night to grind with my squad, and instead I spent hours watching a progress bar.”

What's Next for Black Ops 6

With Season 5 Reloaded now live, attention is shifting back toward new maps, weapons, and balance tweaks. Still, the file deletion glitch lingers in the community’s mind as a reminder of how dependent players are on patch stability. If future updates are smoother, this episode may be remembered as a one-off mishap, but repeated issues could erode confidence in the game’s ongoing support.

For now, PS5 players are advised to ensure they’ve installed the hotfix update and to double-check their content packs if they encounter missing files. Xbox and PC players appear to have been largely unaffected, though the situation underscores just how delicate the update pipeline can be across platforms.