Updated on November 5, 2026, by Mark Sammut: I’ve updated the article to include Crimson Desert Enhanced, Ace Combat 8, and Death Stranding 2.
I’m sure everyone noticed this, but video games have gotten absurdly big. Seriously, the largest PC game file size could hold the entire Nintendo 64 library, and maybe even throw in a few dozen Dreamcast games as well. In recent years, the biggest releases have consistently crossed the 100 GB limit, and GTA 6 will reportedly surpass 200 GB on consoles. If you game on PC, you need to own a fairly sizable SSD if you want to install even a couple of huge AAA titles.
Honestly, this topic should be fun in theory, but it can be kind of depressing in practice. Anyway, let’s go over the biggest game files right now, as of early November 2026. We have all the usual suspects: COD, Forza Horizon, Hideo Kojima, and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
As sizes can vary depending on the store, we will use the Xbox PC app if the game is available, as that lists the installation size. If not, we will add Steam’s storage information. Also, base content only, no additional stuff like DLC, so something like Train World Sim 6 will not be included since the standard edition is just about 40 GB. However, I did include Diablo 4 and its expansions as an example of how things can build up.
27
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
120 GB (But Varies, As You Can Pick Which Game To Install)
The announcement of the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was something that took both old and new fans by storm. Commander Shepard’s story is one of the most memorable in gaming, and having the opportunity to explore it all once again with updated visuals was a treat indeed.
If there’s one thing that the Legendary Edition taught gamers, it is that texture packs can take up a ton of space. This collection might have all three games, but 120 GB is still a massive install size for any title.
26
Forspoken
121.73 GB
Square Enix has infamously handled its Western IPs horribly, and Forspoken is probably the last game funded by this publisher following the developer’s sale to Embracer Group. This attempt at making an isekai open-world title was marred by many issues stemming from its gameplay and writing, leading to a hot mess of a title that ended up underperforming across the board.
The traversal system of this game may be a blast, but it simply doesn’t do enough to justify players having to go through tedious story sequences and boring combat over and over again. Perhaps the biggest and most egregious mistake made by this game is the fact that it takes up a whopping 150 GB of space, which is simply ridiculous and goes to show how poorly optimized this game is, with the requirements for this game not justifying the drab and uninteresting visuals.
25
Genshin Impact
129 GB
An open-world free-to-play gacha game that has been growing for about 5 years, Genshin Impact is obviously massive, and I am talking just about its install size. If you have been playing the game since its 2020 debut and, consequently, have been downloading updates regularly, you might not realize just how big the installation file has become, as you need more than 130 GB right now. Genshin Impact is also not done expanding, so its size will only get larger from here.
To be fair to HoYoverse, you can see where that size went. Teyvat has a couple of fully fleshed-out nations that would be big enough on their own for most standard open-world releases. Although anime visuals tend not to be as demanding as photorealistic ones, Genshin Impact‘s graphics are fairly impressive and look brilliant, for the most part. Also, you need space for all those playable characters.
24
NBA 2K25
141.13 GB
At one point or another, every single one of us will come across a game with a ridiculous install size that makes us go, “why?” Even though they obviously need to incorporate a lot of data and content, sports games being well over 100+ GB just seems wrong. To be fair, this is mostly an issue with the NBA 2K series, with the MLB projects coming in at a close second. While NBA 2K26 requires well over 110 GB to install, its predecessor is even bigger, requiring just above 140 GB for its base installation on the Xbox Series X/S.
Visually, the game looks pretty good, and its database is packed with an absurd number of players, past and present. 2K25 also comes with quite a few modes that are designed to keep players busy for a very long time, both in single-player and online. Still, NBA 2K25 requires twice as much space as Elden Ring.
23
Black Myth: Wukong
130 GB
Black Myth: Wukong took the world by storm on release, breaking record after record in terms of concurrent player count on Steam in a matter of days after its release. It clocked in at over 2 million players roughly 24 hours after it came out. As the most faithful recreation of the legendary Chinese story, Journey to the West to date, it’s no wonder it became as popular as it did.
Considering the breathtakingly gorgeous visuals, high-res textures, and particle effects infused into every single frame of this Action RPG, it’s a wonder the developers, Game Science, managed to condense the package into as little as 130 GB on launch. It’s one of those games players need only look at once to understand why the file size is as large as it is.
22
Gears of War 4 And 5
125–135 GB
Gears 5
10/10
- Released
-
September 10, 2019
While not every Gears of War game is available on PC, the franchise has mostly made the jump. Unsurprisingly, a series known for its graphical prowess tends to have pretty huge file sizes, with Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 both requiring more than 100 GB to install. Reloaded and Tactics are a bit more forgiving, but they are still huge games, considering one is a remaster and the other is part of the strategy genre.
Do the games warrant such big sizes? Well, they look great, even after all these years, and the campaigns are relatively lengthy. They also have multiplayer modes, so the packages include a good amount of content.
21
Crimson Desert Enhanced
141.28 GB
Pearl Abyss’ Crimson Desert was a massive game at launch, but the developer spent the next few months releasing patch after patch to fine-tune what was already a rock-solid experience. With the “Enhanced” patch, Crimson Desert has arguably reached its final form, or at least the one that paved the way to the “Charting the Unknown” DLC that dropped at the end of October 2026.
Honestly, Crimson Desert looks like every GB of that 141, as the massive map just stretches on for what seems like forever. The graphics are pretty darn gorgeous by the open-world genre’s standards, and the game isn’t exactly lacking in NPCs, quests, and general content.
20
WWE 2K26
144.79 GB
Similar to NBA 2K26, WWE 2K26 is another game that feels like it shouldn’t be as big as it is, but the series has been gradually ballooning in size. At this point, 2K’s wrestling game is bigger than most modern open-world games, an absurd fact that begins to make a bit more sense when you take into consideration all the incorporated content. Yes, the actual gameplay might not seem that impressive compared to some other releases, but WWE 2K26 has to pack in hundreds of wrestlers, arenas, cutscenes, and clips, all the while covering quite a few different modes.
Admittedly, this size might be easier to stomach if WWE 2K26 wasn’t the worst entry in the series since the 2020 edition, ruining the momentum its predecessors managed to build. It isn’t an awful game by any stretch of the imagination, but the annual release schedule is starting to really take its toll.
19
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
146.33 GB
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl came out to mixed reviews. Despite the delayed release date, bugs reminiscent of the first STALKER plagued the game, souring the gritty, atmospheric, open-world SCP-like adventure for most players.
Owing to its realistic graphics and high-res textures, the game requires about 140+ GB of storage to run. Hardcore fans probably won’t find the sacrificed disk space too much of an ask because, while the game has its problems, it has all the hallmarks of the original title in the series and the same appeal that made it a cult classic.
18
Forza Horizon 5 & Forza Horizon 6
148.93 GB & 147.54 GB.
Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Forza Horizon games take up a lot of space, as we are talking about massive open-world romps with hundreds of characters and a ton of content. Honestly, the only surprising thing is that Forza Horizon 6 is a bit smaller than its predecessor, although the difference is barely anything. Do the games warrant taking up so much space on PC or Xbox? That answer really comes down to how you feel about open-world racers.
That might sound like a painfully obvious thing to say, but what I mean is that you can enjoy a racing game without having any real intention of playing it for long. Personally, I tend to play FH for about 15 hours before moving on to something else. For me, that is enough enjoyment to warrant a download, but if you are somebody who mostly wants to do the occasional race, you might be better off saving the space and downloading a smaller game that isn’t open world.
