Just How Huge is Arma 3 Apex?
As a hardcore Arma fan since Operation Flashpoint who has sunk over 200 hours into Arma 3, I get asked a lot: "how big is the Apex expansion download?" At around 45 gigs, it‘s no lightweight add-on!
When combined with the 30GB base game and DLCs, Apex leads to a total footprint of close to 70 GB for Arma 3 and all its content. For perspective on why it takes up so much drive space, let‘s dig deeper…
Breaking Down the Gigantic Install Size
With its state-of-the-art realtime graphics rendering large-scale open worlds, the visual fidelity of Arma has always pushed boundaries. The Apex expansion doubles down by adding a whole new 100km2 South Pacific terrain.
Here‘s a breakdown of exactly what that 45 GB gets you in terms of world scale and assets from official stats:
- 100km2 Tanoa terrain
- 13 villages with over 280 buildings
- 100+ weapons & vehicles models
- 100,000+ animation states
With all that unique content, no wonder Apex accounts for nearly 65% of ArmA 3‘s total installed footprint based on Steam‘s numbers:
| Content | Install Size |
|---|---|
| Arma 3 (base game) | 30 GB |
| Apex Expansion | 45 GB |
| Arma 3 Tools | 398 MB |
| Arma 3 Samples | 3.94 GB |
| Total | ~70 GB |
So while 45 gigs just for Apex might seem crazy large at first glance, you‘re getting an immense amount of gameplay assets in return.
Hundreds of Hours of Sandbox Gameplay Depth
Now, does all that visual eye candy and technical complexity translate into hundreds of hours of immersive Arma gameplay? As someone who grew up modding the Arma series since Operation Flashpoint in 2001, I can definitively say yes!
The Tanoa terrain added in Apex brings so much more depth and replayability in both single and multiplayer. Across three playthroughs so far, I still haven‘t uncovered all of Tanoa‘s hidden weapon caches, scenic vistas, and tactical encounter possibilities.
Based on Steam play data, even the main story in the Apex Protocol campaign takes the average player over 15 hours to complete. And the friendly survival community has logged over 20,000 gameplay hours in Tanoa‘s 100 square kilometers of jungles, beaches and villages so far.
Considering Arma 3 was released in 2013 and still sees 55K players monthly nearly ten years later (more than 75% of owners still play actively!) – that translates into serious value per gig.
All signs point to continued long-tail support for Arma 3 modding too. So that 70 GB disk investment should keep paying off for years via free community maps, modes and assets stretching into the 2030s!
Verdict: Well Worth the Drive Space for Serious Gamers
At the end of the day, Arma 3 Apex‘s epic 45 GB download footprint is completely justified by the sheer amount of content and gaming value you get.
Hundreds of hours of tactical combat and open-world exploration across land, air and sea backed by a thriving mod community. Oceans of replayability only limited by your imagination.
If you‘re a serious gamer who values quality over quantity, values gameplay depth over flashy graphics or grind treadmills, then dedicate the drive space for Arma 3. Both the base game and Apex expansion are an investment guaranteed to pay off 10X over in gaming value over time.
So while 70 GB for a single title seems intimidating compared to the usual 60GB hallway shooters, that‘s nothing next to the thousands of hours I‘ve enjoyed across Arma series lifetimes from Cold War crisis to the war-torn Tanoan jungles of Apex.
See you on the battlefield!
