The video game industry has come an incredibly long way in a relatively short amount of time. In the decades following the industry’s debut, video games were evolving at an exponential rate, with eachconsole generationmarking a clear leap in technology. Though those technological leaps between generations have become a little less obvious, games are still evolving and growing in scope, and that’s evident in their file sizes, andAssassin’s Creed Shadows' has just been revealed.
According to an early listing on the Apple Store,Assassin’s Creed Shadowswill require 123.2GB of memory, at least on Mac. Ubisoft has frequently stated that this is a big game, and this file size cements that, withAssassin’s Creed Shadowsbeing more than three times the size of the lastAssassin’s Creedentry.
How Assassin’s Creed Shadows' File Size Compares to Past AC Entries
The following file sizes are based on Steam’s approximates of the space required to download each game.
8GB
12GB
17GB
30GB
50GB
40GB
42GB
46GB
160GB
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
123GB
Looking back atthe last 18 years ofAssassin’s Creed, there are a few distinct eras when it comes to file sizes. The first era, encompassing most entries between 2007’sAssassin’s Creedand 2014’sAssassin’s Creed Rogue, required just 8-17GB of disk space. But fromAssassin’s Creed Unityonwards, that number almost quadrupled, with most entries up untilAssassin’s Creed Odysseyrequiring 40-50GB.
Assassin’s Creed Valhallais the clear outlier in the above list, being over 100GB larger than its predecessor. This inflated file size has become quite infamous, with many fans believing thatAC Valhallarequires all players to download the game’s huge DLCs, regardless of if they’ve purchased them. Though Ubisoft has tried to optimize and reduceACValhalla’s file sizeover the years, subsequent DLCs and updates have kept that number high.
WhileAssassin’s Creed Shadows' reported 123GB install sizeisn’t quite as big asValhalla’s, it’s still pretty massive when compared to the rest of the series.AC Shadowswill potentially be more than three times the size ofAssassin’s Creed Mirage, and more than 15 times the size of the firstAssassin’s Creedentry. It should be noted thatAssassin’s Creed Shadows' 123GB file size is specifically for the Mac version of the game, though there’s unlikely to be too much of a difference between its size on consoles and PC.
128GB
120GB
43-160GB (depending on games installed)
150GB
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
155GB
When compared to these other AAA titles,Assassin’s Creed Shadows' 123GB file size doesn’t seem as egregious. Though a 100+GB file size still feels excessive for a single game, it’s tough to find amodern AAA open-world gamethat’s any lower.
