If you’re getting ready to dive into Hello Games’ sprawling space exploration sandbox for the first time, or returning after a break, one of the first practical questions you’ll probably ask is how big is No Man's Sky gb. I’ve been playing the game on and off since its 2016 launch, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to shuffle files around on my laptop and console to make space for new updates. It’s easy to find conflicting numbers online, since the game has received 20+ free content expansions over the years, so this guide breaks down all the latest, most accurate size info for every platform, plus what can make the install bigger or smaller.
How Big Is No Man's Sky GB Across All Major Platforms
The base install size of No Man's Sky varies slightly between platforms, mostly due to different compression methods used by console manufacturers and PC storefronts. All sizes listed below are for the latest version of the game, with all official post-launch content included automatically, as Hello Games never charges for updates.
For PC players on Steam or Epic Games Store, the base install runs between 16 GB and 18 GB as of the latest update. If you opt into the optional high-resolution texture pack for 4K displays, you’ll add an extra 7 GB to 9 GB on top of that base size. I play on PC with the texture pack enabled, and my current install sits right at 25 GB, which is far smaller than most modern open-world games.
Console sizes are a bit more compact. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X installs sit at roughly 15 GB and 16 GB respectively, with optional 4K texture packs adding 5 GB to 7 GB for supported consoles. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions are slightly smaller, at 13 GB to 14 GB, as they don’t support the higher-resolution assets built for current-gen hardware. The Nintendo Switch version is the most compact of all, clocking in at just 11 GB, with optimized compression to run well on the portable console’s limited storage.
What Impacts No Man's Sky Install Size Beyond the Base Game
The numbers above are for a clean, unmodified install of the game, but several factors can make your total storage use higher over time. Most of these are optional, so you can control how much space the game takes up if you’re working with limited drive space.
Save files barely impact total storage use, by the way. Even if you’ve played for 500+ hours, built dozens of bases, and discovered thousands of planets, your save file will almost never be larger than 500 MB. That’s because No Man's Sky uses procedural generation to create planets on the fly, so it doesn’t need to store pre-made assets for every location you visit.
How to Reduce No Man's Sky Storage Use Without Ruining Gameplay
If you’re running low on drive space and don’t want to delete the game entirely, there are a few easy tweaks you can make to cut down the install size without losing access to core features. I use all of these tricks on my old 256 GB laptop that I use for travel gaming, and I barely notice a difference in gameplay quality.
First, skip the high-resolution texture pack if you play on 1080p or lower. The texture pack is designed for 4K displays, so you won’t see any visual improvement on smaller or lower-resolution screens, but you’ll save 7 GB to 9 GB of space immediately. You can uninstall the texture pack separately through your storefront without deleting the entire base game, so it takes less than a minute to make the change.
Second, go through your mod folder every few months and delete any mods you don’t use regularly. I used to have 20+ mods installed that I’d tested once and forgotten about, and deleting them cut my install size by 6 GB without any impact on my regular playthrough. If you’re not sure if you’ll use a mod again, you can back it up to a cheap external flash drive instead of keeping it on your main drive.
You can also move the game install to an external HDD or SSD if you have one available. No Man's Sky has very fast load times even on a standard external HDD, so you won’t notice any performance hit from running it off external storage. I keep my install on a portable 1 TB SSD when I’m traveling, and it runs just as well as it does on my internal drive.
One small extra tip for PC players: clear your Steam or Epic Games download cache after installing updates. Sometimes old update files get left behind, taking up extra space for no reason. Clearing the cache only takes a few seconds, and can free up 1 GB to 2 GB of extra space in most cases.
Common Misconceptions About No Man's Sky File Size
There are a lot of wrong claims floating around about No Man's Sky’s file size, mostly from people who don’t understand how its procedural generation technology works. Let’s clear up the most common ones so you don’t waste time worrying about unnecessary storage requirements.
The biggest myth is that the game needs hundreds of GB of storage to fit all 18 quintillion planets it advertises. That’s completely false. No Man's Sky's procedural generation technology means it never stores pre-built assets for its 18 quintillion planets. Every planet, creature, and plant is generated using a complex algorithm when you visit it, so there’s no need to store pre-made files for every possible location. That’s why the entire game fits in less than 20 GB of base storage, even with all its content updates.
Another common myth is that every major update doubles the game’s install size. I’ve seen people claim the game was only 6 GB at launch and is now 60 GB, which is not true at all. Hello Games optimizes old files with almost every update, replacing outdated assets with smaller, more efficient versions. Over the past 8 years, the base install size has only grown by around 10 GB total, which is extremely low for a game that has added so much new content.
Finally, a lot of new players think they need to leave hundreds of GB of free space for updates. You don’t. Most updates are less than 2 GB, so leaving 10 GB of extra free space on your drive after installing the base game is more than enough to cover all future updates for the next several years. I’ve never needed more than 30 GB of total space for the game, even with mods and the texture pack installed.
At the end of the day, figuring out how big is No Man's Sky gb is a lot simpler than most people make it out to be. The base game is surprisingly compact for how much content it offers, and you have full control over how much extra space you use for optional add-ons like texture packs and mods. If you’re planning to install the game soon, aim for at least 20 GB of free space for the base install, or 30 GB if you want to use the high-resolution texture pack and a few mods. That’s more than enough to let you explore the entire galaxy without worrying about storage issues.
