GTA 6 File Size Leaves Gamers Braced For a Hefty Install

If the scope and size of the game is to be believed, Grand Theft Auto VI is set to be one of the largest, most detailed sandbox games ever made… which doesn’t sound like good news for our hard drives.

As far as concrete Grand Theft Auto VI technical info is concerned, Rockstar Games is staying tight-lipped for the time being.

Their radio silence on certain tech specifications is likely due to the fact that the game simply isn’t finished yet, so they can’t exactly dish out any details about the game when they’re uncertain of the specifics themselves.

Still, if we’re going off of player expectations, it’s no stretch of the imagination to assume that GTA VI is going to be a huge game. That’s probably why players over in a thread on the r/GTA6 subreddit are bracing themselves for a relatively large file size.

However, while some are assuming that the game will be a 400 GB, Call of Duty: Warzone-sized monstrosity, others trust in Rockstar Games’ ability to optimise GTA VI down to something a bit more manageable before launch.

“I actually think GTA 6 will be smaller in file size than we're expecting. Maybe under 150 GB, or even closer to 100 GB”, commented user PCMachinima.

“They managed to fit RDR2, with all of its details, into under 90 GB, which was also on an HDD, so they couldn't really compress the files. Now the PS5 is using a whole new storage system (also new compression tech), so games can be compressed even further.”

Is GTA 6 Going To Be 750GB?

Previous rumours suggested GTA VI would be a hefty 750GB, making it the biggest video game of all time in terms of install size. It's important to note before you start wiping your consoles in a panic, however, that these rumours are completely unfounded.

Even games that launch on PC are sometimes like 50% larger than on PS5, in cases where the devs used efficient compression tech on the PS5 version.

“Largest game nowadays sure, but largest in 25 years no”, replied user DeliciousD.

“I just want a good game even if that means removing my entire library or using a new HD for this game alone.”

I reckon they’re probably not too far off the mark here. I’d be surprised if the game came in at anything over 250 GB at launch, because Red Dead Redemption 2’s file size is impressively small (when compared to the sheer breadth of content and assets in the game).

Plus, there’s a good chance that Rockstar Games ends up splitting GTA VI and its new GTA Online client into two separate downloads to offset some of this bulk.

Thankfully, as long as there aren’t any further delays, we should know exactly how big the game is going to be very, very soon, once pre-installs go live.