If you’ve ever stared at your console or PC screen waiting for an Apex Legends patch to finish downloading right before you planned to queue with friends, you know how frustrating surprise large file sizes can be. We’ve all been there: you have 45 minutes free to grind ranked, only to see a 20GB download pop up that eats half your playtime. That’s why we’re breaking down exactly how big is the new Apex Legends update, plus everything you need to know about what’s included to decide if you want to start the download right away or wait until you’re done playing for the day.
How Big Is the New Apex Legends Update Across All Platforms?
If you’ve seen conflicting reports online about how big is the new Apex Legends update, the variation almost always comes down to what platform you’re playing on, and whether you have extra content installed. For the latest patch, next-gen console players on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S can expect a base download size of 12GB to 15GB, depending on region and language settings. Last-gen players on PS4 and Xbox One will see a smaller 8GB to 10GB download, as these platforms don’t support the high-resolution textures and enhanced audio files included for newer hardware.
Nintendo Switch players get the smallest base download, coming in at 6GB to 8GB, thanks to compressed assets optimized for the portable console. PC players will see a 13GB to 17GB download, with size varying based on whether you use Steam or the EA App. PC players who use high-resolution texture packs can expect an extra 3-4GB added to the total download size, so you can skip that add-on if you play on 1080p or 1440p and want to cut down the file size.
Keep in mind these numbers are for players who have installed the most recent previous patch. If you haven’t updated your game in four weeks or more, you’ll have a larger cumulative download that includes all the changes from patches you missed. That’s not a glitch, it’s just your system catching up on all the content you skipped.
What’s Included in the New Update That Makes It So Large?
You might be wondering why Apex Legends updates are often bigger than patches for other competitive shooters, and the answer boils down to how much content Respawn adds with every drop. Seasonal event cosmetics, including limited-time skins, banners, and emotes, account for 30-40% of most large Apex update file sizes. Every new collection event or battle pass adds hundreds of new cosmetic assets, all of which have to be downloaded to your device even if you don’t plan to buy the premium battle pass.
New playable content also adds significant bulk. New playable character content takes up roughly 1-2GB of the total file size on its own, thanks to unique voice lines, ability animations, skin variants, and lore-related assets. When a new weapon drops, that adds another 500MB to 1GB of space for 3D models, sound effects, and attachment customization assets. Even new map POIs or limited-time game modes add large chunks of new environmental assets and rule sets that take up space.
Respawn also bundles file optimization fixes into most large updates, which might make the download bigger now but reduces the size of future patches. These fixes remove old, unused files from previous seasons and streamline existing assets, so your total installed game size doesn’t keep growing indefinitely with every patch. It’s a tradeoff that’s worth it for most players, as it prevents your Apex install from ballooning to 100GB+ over time.
Common Issues That Can Make Your Update Size Larger Than Expected
Most players will see download sizes close to the official numbers we shared, but sometimes you might get an update that’s twice as big as advertised. Corrupted cached game files are the most common reason for unexpectedly large Apex Legends update sizes. When your cached files get damaged, your system can’t recognize which parts of the game you already have installed, so it re-downloads the entire game instead of just the new patch files. I’ve had this happen to me before, where my PS5 tried to download a 28GB version of a patch that was only supposed to be 14GB, and a quick cache clear fixed it immediately.
Another common issue is partial, paused updates stuck in your download queue. If you started downloading a patch last week and paused it halfway, your system might discard the partial download and start over when you hit resume, leading to a larger total data usage. If you have multiple user accounts on the same console with different language settings, your system might also download language packs for all accounts even if you only use one, adding 1-2GB to the total size.
If your update is way bigger than advertised, try these quick fixes before you start the download:
- Clear your platform’s game cache before starting the download to remove old residual files
- Make sure you don’t have any paused partial updates for Apex Legends in your download queue
- Uninstall unused language packs from your game settings if you only play in one language
- Verify your game files on PC to fix corrupted data before starting the update
These steps take less than five minutes total, and they can cut your download size in half in most cases. You won’t lose any of your saved progress or unlocked cosmetics when you clear cache or verify files, so there’s no risk to trying these fixes first.
Tips to Speed Up Your Apex Legends Update Download
Even if you can’t make the download size smaller, you can cut down the time it takes to install the patch so you can get back to playing faster. First, pause all other downloads on your network before you start the Apex update. That includes streaming services, other game updates, and downloads on phones or laptops connected to the same Wi-Fi. Even a single Netflix stream running in the background can cut your download speed by 50% or more.
Wired Ethernet connections are 2-3x faster for large game downloads than Wi-Fi, even if you have a high-speed wireless plan. If you have the option to plug your console or PC directly into your router for the download, do it. It will cut a 2-hour download down to 40 minutes or less for most people. If you can’t use a wired connection, move your console closer to your router to get a stronger Wi-Fi signal, and disconnect any unused devices from the network while you download.
If you know an update is coming out the same day you have work or school, set your console to download updates in rest mode. All modern consoles will automatically download new patches when they’re released if you have this setting turned on, so the update will be fully installed by the time you get home. You can also turn off automatic high-resolution texture downloads on PC if you don’t need 4K assets, which cuts 3-4GB off the total download size instantly.
At the end of the day, knowing how big is the new Apex Legends update before you hit download saves you a ton of frustration when you’re trying to fit in a few games between work, school, or other plans. You don’t have to be stuck waiting for a surprise huge download to finish right when your squad is ready to queue. If you follow the tips we shared, you can cut down both the effective size of your update and the time it takes to install, so you can get back to dropping into World’s Edge or Storm Point as fast as possible. Just remember that if your update size is a little bigger than the numbers we shared, it’s almost always an easy fix with a quick cache clear or file verify, no need to reinstall the whole game.