How many GB does Red Dead take?
You read that right, cowpoke – Rockstar’s epic open-world Western soundtrack simulator, Red Dead Redemption 2, requires a whopping 150GB of storage space for the PC version releasing next week. Time to buy some bigger ponchos for them mechanical hard drives!
As an OG gamer who’s sunk more hours into Rockstar games than I’d like to admit in polite company, I’ve got the skinny on why this sequel has such a gargantuan file size compared to previous Rockstar releases.
Why So Much Storage Space, Pardner?
Red Dead 2 raises the graphical bar with all sorts of bells and whistles that enhance immersion but balloon storage needs:
- Ultra high-resolution texture files with up to 8K photographs scanned for landscapes
- Hugely expansive and diverse open world covering 5 biomes and 3 states
- Surround sound audio with 192 kHz/24-bit lossless files for crisp gunshots
- Hundreds of unique NPC character models and tens of thousands of animations
- Hours upon hours of cutscenes, conversations, and quick-time events
This focus on cinematic realism requires gobs of data! But it’s all to make you feel like you just moseyed off the screen of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western while exploring the American heartland.
How Big is Red Dead Compared to Other AAA Games?
At 150GB minimum install size, Red Dead 2 gives plenty of other open world games a run for their money:
| Game | Install Size |
| Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) | 175GB |
| Final Fantasy XV | 155GB |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 100GB |
| The Witcher 3 | 50GB |
As you can see, 150GB places Red Dead Redemption 2 firmly among the upper echelon of recent resource-intensive AAA titles. Developing seamless, living open worlds that look this good don’t come cheap!
Wrangling up Storage Space on Your PC
If the idea of clearing 150GB gives you the heebie jeebies, here are a few ways to free up wasteful space for your shiny new Western adventure:
- Uninstall old games & programs you don’t use anymore – they hog precious hard drive real estate!
- Move media files to external drives like USB sticks or cloud storage
- Use disk cleanup utilities to purge useless Windows files
- Upgrade your storage drives with higher capacity SSDs/HDDs if needed
With some tidying up, you’ll have a big enough backyard for Rockstar’s rowdy romp soon enough. Saddle up, partners…adventure awaits in America’s heartland! As for me, I’ve got a hankering to hit up the saloon, grab my six shooter and explore what this frontier masterpiece has in store. Happy trails!
