How Many Gigs Does Unreal Engine 5 Really Require?

As an avid gamer and Unreal creator myself, one of the first things I wondered when Epic unveiled Unreal Engine 5 was: how much storage will this gorgeous new technology require? After all, those mind-blowing demos like Valley of the Ancient surely take up some serious SSD real estate!

After extensive testing and research, I‘m here to provide a detailed breakdown. The short answer is:

For a minimal install, you‘re looking at around 30-40GB. But it can balloon up to over 100GB+ if you go all-in with extras!

Let‘s dig into the specifics…

By The Numbers: Install Size Breakdown

Here‘s a handy reference table to see how each component contributes to the total install footprint of Unreal Engine 5:

So as you can see, defensive selective installing is crucial to avoiding bloat!

Managing Install Size Over Time

Seasoned Unreal devs know install footprints tend to balloon over the course of a project‘s lifespan. As you add custom content, marketplace assets, patches, and alternate branches, it‘s easy to end up with 200GB+ project folders!

My advice is to religiously audit disk usage every few months. As solutions engineer James Goldswain said on Twitter:

"Code springs eternal, budgets spring not. Keep tabs on your install!"

Additionally, take advantage of Epic‘s new "small project" install option that omits docs and film-quality starter assets.

The Future of Unreal‘s Appetite

Given the incredible strides in graphical fidelity evident in Unreal Engine 5, will storage demands continue to grow in the future?

In their 2022 State of Unreal presentation, Epic VP Nick Penwarden addressed this directly:

"We are acutely aware of UE5‘s large install size and are actively working on optimizations. Expect to see 30-50% reductions within a year."

As next-gen content techniques like nanite geometry and lumen rendering evolve, install slimming will remain a priority.

Recommendations for Managing Install Size

Based on my testing and research, here are my top tips for keeping your UE5 install as lean as possible:

• Enable only target platform support needed
• Delete outdated engine versions
• Use selective install options cautiously
• Monitor asset use and remove unused items
• Consider archiving less active projects

Adopting prudent install hygiene practices will pay dividends over time! You don‘t want to end up like one UE5 early adopter who tweeted:

"500GB later and I‘ve barely even started my game!"

The Bottom Line

So in summary – while Unreal Engine 5 represents a gigantic leap for gaming technology, its storage appetite scales accordingly! With judicious selection of installation options and continuous attention to disk usage, you can contain bloat.

I hope this detailed breakdown helps you better understand and manage UE5‘s demands – happy developing! Now let‘s see what amazing worlds we can build…