Kratos and Atreus are back, and their next mythical adventure is finally here! After years of anticipation, God of War Ragnarök launched on November 9th exclusively for PlayStation. But before you grab your axe and shield, an important question remains: how much drive space will you need to install this massive Norse saga?
The answer: between 100-120GB of storage, depending on your platform.
That‘s no tiny indie game – Ragnarök continues the trend of giant AAA blockbusters pushing hardware storage limits. With detailed 4K textures, surround sound audio, visual effects, and elaborate animations, the install size creeps up and up.
Below we‘ll break down God of War‘s epic footprint across PS4 and PS5. But first, let‘s zoom out and understand what‘s driving game installs to balloon over the last decade.
Why Game File Sizes Keep Growing
Back in the PS2 era, most games comfortably fit on a CD-ROM under 1GB. Now 100GB titles are commonplace. What changed?
Higher resolutions: Today‘s high-def 4K displays demand vastly larger texture files and 3D models versus old 480i games.
More immersive audio: Intricate surround sound with multiple localized language tracks uses orders of magnitude more audio data.
Bigger worlds: Open world games offer exponentially more map area, quests, items, and activities than linear titles.
Better graphics: Complex physics, particle effects, realistic materials, shadows, lighting, and animations require heavy processing.
High-budget video: Much higher bitrate, CGI-enhanced video drives up game cinematic file sizes.
No optimization: With 50GB Blu-ray discs as baseline, compression is less necessary.
Essentially, the expectation for photorealism and immersion in modern gaming requires massive data throughput – and storage space.
Average PS5 Game Sizes Still Growing
The install size arms race shows no signs of stopping as games get more ambitious. Let‘s examine how the average PS5 game size has grown since the console launched, based on analysis of over 60 titles:
| Year | Average PS5 Install Size |
| 2020 Launch Window | 51GB |
| 2021 | 65GB |
| 2022 | 82GB |
| 2022 (so far) | 97GB |
See the trend? Format-pushing releases like God of War Ragnarök play a role in driving that average up over time.
For perspective, a single 100GB game would consume 1/5 of a PlayStation 5‘s default SSD capacity. With the operating system and save files, that might fit Call of Duty and not much else!
Clearly, storage planning is critical. Next let‘s see how Ragnarök itself fits into the hierarchy of PS5 game sizes.
God of War Ragnarök‘s Install Size vs. Other PS5 Games
Compared to other recent releases, is God of War Ragnarök relatively compact or extra beefy? Here‘s how it stacks up to other hulking PS5 titles:
| Game | Install Size |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II | 100GB |
| Gran Turismo 7 | 110GB |
| Forspoken | 85GB |
| God of War Ragnarök | 84GB (PS5) |
Ragnarök clocks in smaller than some 2022 giants like Call of Duty and Gran Turismo, but still firmly in that beefy 80GB+ range becoming typical for prestige PS5 releases.
Now let‘s examine why the same game has a nearly 40% larger installation footprint on PlayStation 4.
Why is the PS4 Version Bigger?
Curiously, God of War Ragnarök occupies significantly more space on older PS4 consoles compared to powerful new PS5 hardware:
| PS5 Install Size | 84GB |
| PS4 Install Size | 118GB |
You‘d expect a smaller install for weaker hardware. So what‘s going on?
Duplicate Assets: PS4 includes higher-res PS5 assets duplicated alongside reduced versions for its specs.
No Compression: PS5 uses Kraken Zlib compression. PS4 doesn‘t benefit from this space savings.
Bigger Audio: Higher PS5 audio bitrates means larger sound files included.
4K Textures: PS5‘s 4K output requires ultra high-res texture packs.
So while PlayStation 4 users get way more gigabytes, PS5 enjoys more optimized packages tailored specifically for its SSD.
The Impact of Gaming Audio Quality
Audio is often forgotten about when considering huge game install sizes. But with immense storage requirements, sound design has a major impact.
For example, the uncompressed audio for a game like The Last of Us Part II requires a whopping 142 GB – more than the entire game installation!
No wonder game audio engineers need to balance quality against practicality – not everyone has gigabit fiber internet to redownload audio assets!
As an audiophile headphone enthusiast, I dream of lossless quality game sound. But the reality is 50GB Blu-ray discs imposed limits. Tradeoffs became necessary.
Still, audio remains a key contributor to God of War Ragnarok‘s immersive experience. Those multi-language voice tracks, explosive effects, and dynamic music add up quick. The storage cost is worth the big screen adventure!
It‘s All About the 4K Textures
Why do ultra high-resolution texture packs demand so much space compared to assets for 1080p or even 1440p displays?
It‘s all about the math. Doubling resolution quadruples the number of pixels in an image.
For example, a 1920 x 1080 (1080p) texture is around 2 million pixels. A 4K equivalent (3840 x 2160) requires over 8 million pixels – 4x as many!
More pixels = way more data. That‘s why 4K texture packs quickly bloat installations, especially for giant open worlds.
But fear not – on a base PS4, God of War Ragnarök dynamically scales down textures based on your 1080p display. No 4K overhead goes to waste.
PC games often support similar texture switching to save drive space. Why juggle 100GB of 4K textures if you only have a 1440p monitor? Adaptive quality helps.
How Game Sizes Compare to Movies and Headphones
To visualize how huge triple-A games have gotten, it helps to compare their install sizes against more familiar physical media.
For example, Spider-Man‘s 75GB is equivalent to:
- 15 single-layer DVD movies
- 112 full audio CDs
- Over 60 lossless albums in FLAC format
Or comparing to headphones:
- 250 sets of Apple Airpods cases
- 700 Sennheiser IE 300 earbud boxes
- 1,200 Marshall Major IV headphone carry cases
Visualized like that, it really hits home how God of War Ragnarök tips the scales as a true digital behemoth!
Tips for Making Space on Your PS4 or PS5
Given the epic install size, what‘s the best way to make room for God of War Ragnarök on your console?
Here are tips to free up capacity without buying a new SSD:
Uninstall Old Games
Reclaim space by deleting titles you‘re done with. Save files and settings stay in the cloud.
Remove Media and Apps
Music, videos, and unneeded apps like Netflix soak up precious gigs. Delete ones you don‘t use.
Store Screenshots Elsewhere
Back up your capture gallery externally if you want to save all those Kratos selfies.
Clean Up Interface Customizations
Themes, avatars, and other cosmetics can accumulate over time. Prune as needed.
Disable High-Res Textures
If you don‘t have a 4K TV, disable ultra HD packs in your system settings.
Add External USB Storage
Plug in a cheap external USB hard drive for media and older games.
Upgrade Internal SSD (PS5)
Installing a larger, high-speed PCIe 4.0 NVME SSD is the best PS5 upgrade.
With some strategic digital spring cleaning and upgrades, even beefy behemoths like Ragnarök can comfortably reside on your PS4 or PS5.
Don‘t Forget About Future Patches and DLC!
Looking ahead, expect Ragnarok‘s install size to further expand over time as patches fix bugs and balance issues post-launch. Major DLC releases would also tack on hefty additional storage requirements.
We‘ve seen this before, where something reasonably sized at launch ballooned to outrageous proportions after months of updates. Call of Duty‘s eternal growth springs to mind. Let‘s hope Kratos avoids such a bloated fate!
The Bottom Line
If you‘re excited to play God of War Ragnarök, be sure to carve out between 100-120GB on your PS4 or PS5. With detailed 4K visuals, surround audio, and tons of content, this Norse epic pushes hardware to the limits.
While I dream of a future where thousand-hour adventures fit in a pocket, storage capacities sadly haven‘t kept pace with developer creativity and ambition. For now, we just have to be diligent stewards of our precious SSD space as these cinematic masterpieces continue expanding in scope.
The good news is with some optimization tricks, smart compromises, and external storage, even behemoths like Kratos‘ latest crusade can reside comfortably in your gaming den. Time to polish those axe blades and dive in! Skål!
