A player wanted to play ARK: Survival Evolved on Steam again after a long break, but the over 300 GB download of the survival game scared him
How big is the download? The popular survival game ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE) has been around for several years and still shows good player numbers even after the release of a remake in Unreal Engine 5. Accordingly, the download of the game is quite large, as the title has received several DLCs over the years.
The Reddit user BacklogGamingJunkie recently shared a screenshot showing that the download of ARK: Survival Evolved is a gigantic 329.82 GB.
He wanted to play the game again after a long break, but he was shocked when he saw the size of the download: “I couldn’t remember it being this big.”
You can see the user’s post including the screenshot here:
New maps and dinos eat your storage space
Why is the player’s download so big? Even though the system requirements on Steam mention 60 GB of available storage space, this figure has been outdated for quite some time.
As can be seen in the player’s screenshot, he last played ARK: Survival Evolved in February 2017. Since then, ASE has received several paid DLCs and new dinos. Players also enjoyed free maps like Fjördur, which also significantly impacted the required storage space.
One of the new creatures added over the years is the Rhyniognatha. Here you can see the trailer for the giant beetle:
While the base game with some free content “only” takes up about 150 GB, it quickly grows to over 300 GB with the DLCs. It is therefore very likely that the player owns DLCs and free content that were also downloaded directly.
This particularly applies to the expansion pass, which included the maps Scorched Earth, Aberration and Extinction. He could have purchased it at the release of Scorched Earth. He already missed the releases of Aberration and Extinction, but he would still own the maps in that case.
What content has been added since he last played? The Reddit user last played in February 2017. Since then, the game has been supplemented with the official paid DLCs Aberration, Extinction, Genesis 1, and Genesis 2.
Additionally, the free DLC maps Ragnarok, Valguero, Crystal Isles, Lost Island, and Fjördur have been added.
Players who have been regularly playing ASE for years are probably used to the size of the game. But for the Reddit user who downloaded the game again after almost 7 years, it was a big surprise.
If you’re considering buying the UE5 remake ARK: Survival Ascended, MeinMMO editor Dariusz Müller gives you his assessment of the game:
