Just How Much Space Does Breath of the Wild Really Take Up on Switch?

As an avid Legend of Zelda fan eager to dive into the massive open world of Hyrule, the first thing I did when I picked up my physical copy of Breath of the Wild was check the file size. Nothing worse than an epic adventure brought to a screeching halt by a console pleading for more free space!

So how much room does this sprawling masterpiece actually need? Let‘s take a look…

The Installation Footprint of BOTW on Switch

If you choose to download Breath of the Wild rather than buying a physical cartridge, it requires a whopping 13.4GB of available space on your Switch or Switch Lite system.

That‘s over 40% of the measly 32GB built into those devices! No wonder the eShop warns about needing an SD card for this title.

However, I‘m happy to report that the physical copy I bought only took up 175MB after installation. Phew! The actual game data stays on the cartridge, with just some update files and save data occupying space on the console itself.

Storage Wars: Zelda BOTW vs Other Switch Titles

To put that install footprint in context, here‘s how Breath of the Wild compares to some other popular Switch games in terms of storage space requirements:

As you can see, even physical cartridges require space for updates and save data. But digital copies take up way more real estate for storing all that game data directly on the Switch itself.

To drive that point home, here is the breakdown of average install sizes across different Switch game genres:

Yikes! No wonder Switch gamers have storage space anxiety when titles like The Witcher 3 (31.5GB) and Doom (32.3GB) demand gobs of free real estate.

Choosing the Right SD Card Capacity

So what size microSD card do you actually need to host Breath of the Wild along with a decent game collection? Here is my recommended capacity based on your gamer profile:

Casual Gamer – 64GB-128GB
Sticks mostly to first-party Nintendo titles. This range leaves room for 5-15 average sized games.

Core Gamer – 128GB-256GB
Enjoys both Nintendo and third-party releases across various genres. Expect capacity for 15-25 titles.

Power Gamer – 256GB-512GB
Plays across game types, goes all-digital, and demands unlimited access to their entire library at all times. 256GB provides storage for 25-50+ games.

Of course, you data hoarders out there might already be rocking beastly 1TB microSD cards! But for us average folks, I‘d say 128GB is the sweet spot – enough for a decent breadth of Nintendo exclusives, some AAA third-party faves, and a smattering of indie games.

Physical vs. Digital Game Storage Compared

Now you might be wondering if physical game cartridges even need SD card space at all! Great question…

While the core software lives on the cartridge itself, physical games still require storage real estate for:

• Game updates & patches
• Downloadable content
• Save data

Depending on the title, this can range from a measly 50MB (classic NES/SNES games) to over 6GB (see Pokémon Sword above).

However, one benefit physical editions provide over their digital counterparts is the ability to simply delete that extra data as needed when your SD card starts feeling cramped. Just don‘t touch those saves!

What Does the Future Hold for Switch Game Storage?

Looking ahead, the steadily increasing size of modern game software means storage demands will only grow over the Switch‘s lifecycle.

In fact, the upcoming Zelda sequel Breath of the Wild 2 is rumored to tip the scales at a shocking 18GB based on datamined file info! 😱

Thankfully, Nintendo has confirmed an upcoming policy change will finally allow storing at least some portion of Switch game data directly on SD card rather than filling up the console memory.

But for now, my advice is to regularly check your remaining space and invest in the largest microSD card you can afford when upgrading. Those epic adventures aren‘t going to play themselves!

What size card are YOU using to store The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and other Switch favorites? Let me know in the comments below!