Call of Duty players rally against forced texture streaming causing major lag in Warzone & MW3

The implementation of On-Demand Texture Streaming in MW3 has resulted in laggy matches for players, as it is now a mandatory graphics setting.

The recent update for MW3 Season 5 Reloaded included the initial phase of the CoD HQ overhaul. This update aims to decrease the size of the app’s files and future updates, while also paving the way for a new UI in Black Ops 6.

As a result of the updates, players are no longer able to disable the On-Demand Texture Streaming setting. Instead, they now have two choices – Optimized and Minimal. This change aims to decrease the game’s file size by streaming textures rather than storing them, but it does require a stable internet connection to function effectively.

It used to be advised to disable this setting for both MW3 and Warzone in order to avoid experiencing lag. However, since players are now required to use the setting, it has been causing matches to be laggy and this has resulted in dissatisfaction among players.

BryanCRT__, an X user, has shared a clip of MW3 multiplayer gameplay from the Season 5 Reloaded update, showcasing the negative impact of the new setting on gameplay.

welcome to forced texture streaming pic.twitter.com/zXKSsMD2Wo

— bryan. (@BryanCRT__) August 21, 2024

From the clip, it is evident that the game is plagued with lag, causing assets and textures to consistently appear and disappear. This makes it disorienting not only to watch, but also to play. It is not just the players in the clip who are facing this issue, but others as well.

There has been a plethora of grievances on social media regarding texture streaming, with a Reddit post urging for either a reversal of the change or for the developers to provide players with the choice of downloading textures separately, even if it means a larger file size.

Forced texture streaming is now a thing. Hopefully with enough feedback, we can have this reversed byu/RuggedTheDragon inModernWarfareIII

One comment expressed agreement, stating, “I agree, the connection to their servers can be extremely terrible at times. And now, with forced texture streaming on top of it? What a joke. They should just let us download the 64gb textures once and be done with it.”

Players are nostalgic for the feature in MW2019 where they were able to download a separate texture pack and are hoping for its return, citing its convenience and ease of use.

It remains to be seen if the developers will address the backlash and make any changes in the future.

As the Black Ops 6 beta draws near, players will seek a seamless experience, making it advisable to utilize the Minimal option for the time being and gauge your connection’s ability to handle texture streaming.