If you’ve ever stared at your Steam library’s download bar, wondering if you have enough space left for another battle royale, you’re not alone. One of the most common questions new and returning players ask before hitting install is how big is apex legends on steam, especially as Respawn Entertainment rolls out new seasons, maps, and limited-time events every few months. You don’t want to start the download just to get a “storage full” error halfway through, especially if you’re prepping for a ranked grind with friends. We’ve pulled the latest, real-world numbers from Steam’s official store listing, recent patch notes, and hands-on installation tests to give you an exact breakdown of what to expect.
How Big is Apex Legends on Steam for Base Install & Recent Seasons
As of the latest season, the base install of Apex Legends on Steam clocks in at roughly 85 GB for Windows PC, as confirmed by Steam’s official system requirements and hundreds of recent user installation reports. That number is up nearly 15 GB from two years ago, when the game first launched on Valve’s platform at 70 GB total. If you’re installing the game for the first time, you’ll want to have at least 100 GB of free space available, to account for temporary download files and day-one patches that often roll out between major seasonal updates. For console players switching over to Steam, you’ll notice the PC version is about 10 GB larger than the PlayStation or Xbox versions, mostly due to higher resolution texture packs and extra PC-specific optimizations for different hardware setups. If you opt to install the optional 4K texture pack for high-end gaming rigs, you can add another 12 GB to the total file size, pushing the total up to nearly 100 GB before any extra content is added.
What Contributes to Apex Legends’ Growing Steam File Size
It’s no secret that Apex Legends gets bigger with every seasonal update, and there are a few key reasons for that steady growth. First, Respawn adds at least one new map or major map rework every year, plus limited-time event maps that stay in the game files even after the event ends for potential future reruns. Each new playable character, which drops every other season, adds new voice lines, ability animations, and character models that take up extra space too. Weapon skins, battle pass cosmetics, and event-exclusive content are another big contributor, as all of these assets are stored locally on your drive even if you don’t own the specific skin or battle pass. That means even free-to-play players are storing thousands of cosmetic items they’ll never use, just so the game can render other players’ skins correctly during matches. The game’s anti-cheat system, Easy Anti-Cheat, also takes up several GB of space and receives regular updates that add to the total file size over time.
The largest contributors to the game’s file size, in order, are:
- Core map files and reworked map assets, which make up nearly 40% of the total install size
- Cosmetic assets including skins, emotes, banner frames, and battle pass content
- Character models, voice lines, and ability animations for all 25+ playable legends
- PC-specific optimizations, texture packs, and anti-cheat software
Oh, and if you play multiple game modes, like ranked, arenas, and limited-time modes, all of those mode-specific assets are stored locally too, even if you only ever play battle royale.
How to Reduce Apex Legends’ Steam Storage Footprint Without Breaking the Game
If you’re tight on storage, you don’t have to uninstall your other favorite games just to make room for Apex Legends. There are a few safe, easy tweaks you can make to cut down the total file size without ruining your gameplay experience. First, skip the optional 4K texture pack if you’re playing on a 1080p or 1440p monitor, since you won’t notice the difference in texture quality anyway, and you’ll save 12 GB of space right off the bat. You can also use Steam’s built-in file cleanup tool to delete old temporary download files and corrupted cache that might be taking up extra space alongside the main game install. To do this, right click on Apex Legends in your Steam library, go to Properties, then Installed Files, and select “Verify integrity of game files” to remove any unused or corrupted data. A lot of players don’t realize that leftover files from old limited-time events can sometimes hang around in your game folder for months after the event ends, and this verification process will clear those out automatically. If you know how big is Apex Legends on Steam after making these tweaks, you can check the exact install size in your Steam library properties before you hit download to confirm you have enough space left. If you’re comfortable editing your game files, you can also disable unused language packs to save another 2-3 GB of space, just make sure you don’t delete the language pack you use for in-game dialogue and subtitles. One thing you should never do is delete core game files to save space, as that will cause crashes, missing textures, or even get you banned from online matches if the anti-cheat system detects modified files.
Common Storage Mistakes to Avoid When Installing Apex Legends on Steam
A lot of players run into avoidable issues when installing Apex Legends on Steam, just because they don’t plan ahead for the game’s size requirements. The most common mistake is only leaving exactly 85 GB of space free for the install, forgetting that Steam needs extra temporary space to unpack download files during installation. If you only have 85 GB free, the download will almost always fail halfway through, and you’ll have to free up more space before you can try again. Never install Apex Legends on an external hard drive unless it’s a high-speed SSD, as the game’s large map files will take forever to load, and you’ll experience constant stuttering mid-match that will get you killed before you even spot your first enemy. HDDs are too slow for modern battle royales, so you’ll want to install the game on an internal SSD if at all possible for the best performance. Another common mistake is letting Steam auto-update the game while you’re in the middle of a work or school day, as seasonal updates can be up to 15 GB large and will eat up your bandwidth if you’re on a limited data plan. You can turn off auto-updates for Apex Legends in your Steam settings so you can choose when to download new patches, which also prevents you from being locked out of the game right when you want to play with friends. If you know how big is Apex Legends on Steam ahead of time, you can plan your storage space accordingly to avoid these issues entirely.
At the end of the day, the size of Apex Legends on Steam will keep growing as Respawn adds more content, but with a little planning, you can easily make room for it on your drive without sacrificing other games you love. Whether you’re a new player getting ready for your first drop or a returning player coming back for the latest season, knowing how big is apex legends on steam ahead of time will save you the frustration of failed downloads and last-minute storage scrambles. If you follow the simple tips we outlined, you can cut down the total file size by 10-15 GB, and avoid the most common mistakes that lead to poor performance or installation errors. All that’s left to do now is clear the required space, hit install, and jump into the arena.