For those who for one reason or the other consider consoles to be an inconvenience, PCs are one of the best things to happen to gaming since the turn of the century. And why wouldn’t they be? Every day, gaming rigs that obliterate traditional gaming consoles in performance are mass-produced and there is the existence of laptops that can be conveniently carried around for the gamer on the go.
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But PC gaming is not all roses and sunshine; one of the drawbacks of the controversial platform is the massive size of game files, many of which must be downloaded, especially here in the age of digital distribution. Read on to find ten of the PC games with the largest file sizes in gaming history.
Updated by Adriano Valente on April 11th, 2021: PC gaming is a favorite of many, though it does tend to require a lot more upkeep than what you get on console. Most AAA titles are pretty huge and end up taking a decent portion of space, with the number getting bigger and bigger the more developers add to their titles. As a result, some games come with jaw dropping installation sizes. In certain cases, developers will find a way to compress a game’s installation size ala Fortnite. But in other cases, updates and patches just gradually increase the amount of space a given game will take on your PC. With so many massive games out there, these titles stand out as the ones that’ll take up the most space on your PC.
16 Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – 77GB
True lovers of FPS-RPG hyrbids will be more than familiar with the Deus Ex gaming titles. Being the fourth game in the series and the successor to Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was developed by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix.
It was released for Microsoft Windows and Linux systems in 2016 and 2017 for the macOS. Mankind Divided is one of the few action games out there that combine role-playing with stealth while allowing players to customize certain aspects of the game and even influence the trajectory of the storyline. Little wonder why the game’s file size culminates in a whopping 77GB.
15 Middle Earth: Shadow of War – 95GB
Middle Earth: Shadow of War is without a doubt a favorite of Lord of the Rings aficionados. Set in the fantasy world of Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth, players assume the role of Talion, a ranger partly possessed by the spirit of the elf Celebrimbor and continue from where the events of Shadow of Mordor left off.
The open world in which the game is set is rather sizable, with five fairly large zones that are all inundated with bands of Uruks and a host of other enemies which, regardless of appearance, are not to be taken lightly.
14 Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – 101GB
Developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, Infinite Warfare is one of the lesser liked titles in the Call of Duty series. The series chose to deviate from its norm by setting its thirteenth installment in the boundless frontiers of space.
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The campaign sees players filling the boots of Nathan Reyes, a Lieutenant of Special Combat Air Recon (SCAR). Along with his robot, Ethan lets all hell loose in space to foil the antics of the Settlement Defense Front (SDF) in their attempt to gain control of the Solar System.
13 ARK: Survival Evolved – 112 GB
Given how minimalistic ARK can seem at times, this might come to be somewhat of a surprise. But gamers who own Survival Evolved know just how big the game can get, and how tough it can be on your file management.
The game has come a long way since its release, having gone through the kind of quality of life tweaks one would expect from a title of its size. There are also a variety of expansion DLC’s that only add to the initial file size, making it much bigger than you’d initially think.
12 Gears of War 4 – 112.3GB
Being able to look through the scope of a gun while shooting has its charm, but there is something special about actually getting to see your character during the action. Gears of War 4 is one of the few third-person shooter games to capture the sentiment perfectly.
With amazing mechanics that render gameplay seamlessly enjoyable, the game’s plot also threatens to engage the emotions of players by centering on a protagonist from the earlier games in the series, Marcus Fenix, passing on the mantle of badassery to his son, JD, and his two friends, Kait and Del.
11 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – 113GB
Easily one of the more popular titles in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops III was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. Upon its release in 2015, the game was met with much positive acclaim, especially for the Zombies mode that proves to be especially difficult.
Its multiplayer mode also provides an unprecedented level of exhilaration with the array of ten soldiers it presents to players, all of whom possess one unique weapon or ability that makes them more lethal than the last.
10 Borderlands 3 – 116 GB
The Borderlands series is one that holds a special place in many gamers’ hearts. Borderlands 3 was one of the most anticipated titles of 2019, and though there were some noticeable technical hiccups, fans were happy with the overall product.
Though initially coming in at a 75 GB installation size, various DLC’s and season passes added to the current total. The “Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot”, “Guns, Love, and Tentacles”, “Bounty of Blood”, “Psycho Krieg” and the “Fantastic Fustercluck” DLC’s give players hours worthy of additional Borderlands content, making the increase in file size well worth it.
9 Microsoft Flight Simulator – 127 GB
It might sound like a niche genre, but flight simulators tend to be some of the most detailed games on the market. Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most impressive titles within the genre to date, and its keen attention to detail and focus on realism makes it a huge game overall.
The game’s standard edition comes with more than 20 various aircrafts players can pilot, with the deluxe and premium deluxe editions adding in five and ten additional aircrafts respectively.
8 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (HD Texture Packs Included) – 131 GB
Rainbow Six: Siege has come a long way since it first released back in 2015. The game has undergone countless reworks and updates, adding in a variety of maps, operators and features. Ubisoft continues to build Siege up as it seems that the game will only continue to get bigger going forward.
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Siege’s HD texture packs aren’t exactly the straw that breaks the camel’s back when it comes to total installation size. The game is big enough without them thanks to all the maps and operators, but including the HD textures does beef its total up considerably.
7 Final Fantasy XV – 148GB
The saviors of the land of Lucis in this title are not a rag-tag band of misfits like in a lot of its contemporary RPGs, but the long-time friends of Prince Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto.
Like its predecessors, the role-playing and open world of Final Fantasy XV are more than enough to charm players but add the melee combos of all four characters and the subtle details painstakingly carved into the game and you will be glued to your screen for hours on end. The base game on its own stands at 85GB in size but the addition of a high-resolution pack brings it to a total of 148GB.
6 Hitman 2 – 149 GB
With Hitman 3 giving players a ton of new content to work with, it’s easy to forget about just how big Hitman 2 is. Like the rest of the titles in IO’s World of Assassination trilogy, Hitman 2 brings Agent 47 to a variety of countries and locations, each of which unique and filled with endless assassination possibilities.
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With the DLC factored in, Hitman 2 essentially allows for players to play through its predecessor as well, making it a sort of 2-for-1 type deal. Given how much work is put into making these games as open and creative as they are, this should be much of a surprise.
5 Red Dead Redemption 2 – 150GB
Following its announcement a while back and the massive success of its predecessors, the months leading up to the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 were filled with enthusiastic anticipation. It was eventually released in 2018 for various platforms and in November 2019 for Microsoft Windows.
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Though delayed for PC gamers, exploration of the game has been anything but boring. From engaging in shootouts with rival gangs to executing daring heists and enjoying scenic rides on horseback, Red Dead Redemption 2 offers everything the Wild West had to offer and more.
4 Destiny 2: Shadowkeep – 165GB
Another recently released game to make this list, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is a first-person shooter game. The moon is the battlefield in this installment. And on it, players are to face off against a mélange of formidable enemies as they search for Eris Morn.
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Despite the moon having been used as a location previously in the series, the game features several innovations such as with the Player Versus Player (PvP) and Player Versus Environment (PvE) matches. The addition of new destinations, guns, and artifacts also help to make gameplay more varied
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2 Quantum Break – 178GB
This third-person shooter from Remedy Entertainment and Microsoft Studios does not total 178GB for nothing. With regular updates that improve the mechanics of the game, the title's size has been climbing steadily since its release in 2016.
Hailed as a masterful fusion of gaming and live-action, Quantum Break boasts arresting graphics, a plot many writers would consider daunting, and a litany of rich characters. Time travel is a theme many works of theater and television have found impossible to hit on the mark, but Quantum Break not only rises to meet the standard; it obliterates it.
1 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – 231 GB
With the release of many remarkable games into the waiting hands of gamers, 2019 was a year that lived up to its hype. For many, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is one such game. Its campaign is placed in a modern setting, true to its name, and follows the unlikely alliance between a CIA officer, the British SAS, and Urzikstan rebels as they combat Russian invaders.
Realism remains the hallmark of this particular title as decisions that were once either absent or automatically made by CPU are now left to players. Modern Warfare also features multiplayer and Special Ops mode.
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