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5 PC Games That Will Destroy Your Hard Drive Space

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It's not easy keeping a chunk of your hard drive free for every new release while swapping other titles in and out of the carousel. Unfortunately, as expensive as it can be — it's something none of us can really avoid. And with how games are these days, it's normal to have to fork over an entire external hard drive in order to play the latest titles. But that isn't to say that every game will eat away at the remaining space on your hardware. It's just that, well — a lot of the triple-A heavy-hitters will take the lion's share.

We've come a long way since the days of megabyte installation files. Here and now — we have terabytes open for the taking — and it's only getting worse with each passing year. But as for today, it's these five games that demand the most from our rig. It's these five, annoyingly enough, that will essentially soak up your every last fragment of space. Worth it? That's for you to decide.

5. Microsoft Flight Simulator (150GB)

Microsoft Flight Simulator - Official Gameplay Trailer | X019

Map the entire world, they said. It'll be fun — they said. Okay, so incredible attention to detail aside, Microsoft Flight Simulator is definitely worthy of that space on your drive. All 150GB of it. I mean, considering FS 2020 quite literally hands you the entire world on a silver platter (or diamond-encrusted, depending on your graphics card), those figures really aren't that much to quiver over. But it definitely goes without saying that this visually stunning marvel is far more than a box-standard video game. It's a masterpiece, an eye-popping gem — and an overall remarkable experience to behold.

Imagine you've just been posted a pilots license. You didn't have to do anything to acquire it. You just have it. Now, picture yourself in the cockpit of a plane, with the whole world at your fingertips and an endless slew of fuel to keep you coursing indefinitely. Planet earth is yours to navigate, and let me tell you — it looks phenomenal.

4. Final Fantasy XV (155GB)

FINAL FANTASY XV - Omen Trailer | PS4

Thirty-hour story arc aside, Final Fantasy XV definitely boasts enough content to settle roots in all corners of your hard drive. Of course, as with any entry in the Final Fantasy domain — it's going to leave a huge marker. Like enormous. That's basically because Square Enix, who are renowned for developing behemoth-sized video games, are usually set on giving players their money's worth. And Final Fantasy XV definitely wasn't an exception to break the routine, either.

Final Fantasy XV is perhaps the most ambitious entry in the series to date, and an absolute pleasure to chew through as the shadow-dweller, Prince Noctus. Although drifting away from the usual Final Fantasy algorithm, the fifteenth installment does persuade non-followers of the franchise to test the waters with its new take on RPGs. And to be fair — it does look incredible, hence the whopping 155GB. Mind you, that is the size of the 4K bundle. The base game alone, and you're looking at a fraction of that.

3. Destiny 2: Shadowkeep (165GB)

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep – Launch Trailer

If Destiny 2 were to be a 165GB game right off the bat, the player base might've thought twice about bolting it directly on to the hard drive. However, seeing as the multiplayer hit started off as just 80GB, and has only continued to flesh out with expansions and exclusive loot, those triple digits can effectively leave us turning a blind eye. Of course, it is a hefty price to pay for your drives — but a worthy one for the number of goodies you get loaded into the core.

Destiny 2 has opened up by a whole degree since its 2017 launch and has introduced quite a number of weighty add-ons. Shadowkeep, among the many, injects a considerable amount of content into the game, which effectively skyrockets the overall file size to that mind-boggling 165GB milestone. From newly-established dungeons to epic story arcs, fresh gear to jaw-dropping raids —  this DLC is but a minor segment of what Destiny 2 has become in its four-year run.

2. Quantum Break (178GB)

Quantum Break Official Launch Trailer

Bundling in a movie on top of a video game was never really going to do wonders for your hard drive, was it? It seems only right that something as ambitious as Quantum Break would ultimately tarnish whatever free space you had left before hitting that download icon. Of course, there is a major plus to the ridiculously high file size — and that is that Quantum Break, despite its fairly average story length — is a genuinely fantastic game. Sorry, movie. Or whatever this work of art can be classed as.

Of course, there is a reason why Quantum Break quite literally breaks your hard drive — and it isn't simply down to the fusion of live-action and third-person gameplay, either. It's because Remedy Entertainment has been working overtime on the game ever since 2016, with spools of updates constantly looking to escalate the overall experience to impeccable heights. Sure, it's 178GB. But boy — it's worth every kilobyte.

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (231GB)

Official Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® – Story Trailer

Unless you're packing a 1TB hard drive at a bare minimum, you're going to have to clear up the majority of your files to keep Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ticking over. Of course, being one of the meatiest multiplayer chapters in the gaming community, it comes as no surprise with just how much space one collection can hoard. 231GB, as it stands. And although you may think that a quarter of a terabyte is a ludicrous amount for a single game — it does sort of make sense when you think about it.

Call of Duty has never exactly been shy when it comes to packing out the timeline with meaty expansions. Multiplayer and story aside, Modern Warfare does boast photorealistic graphics as well as a whole tally of playable content. And it's because of this, as well as the constant waves of updates crashing into our shores, that the beloved FPS has soared to the pinnacle of meaty video game file sizes. Just don't expect Modern Warfare to let up on your drives any time soon.

 

Still looking? You could always take a look at these lists:

5 Video Game Story Arcs That Take 100+ Hours to 100%

Jord is acting Team Leader at gaming.net. If he isn't blabbering on in his daily listicles, then he's probably out writing fantasy novels or scraping Game Pass of all its slept on indies.