Genshin Impact: How Much Storage Do You Need?

Genshin Impact is a gaming behemoth in more ways than one– sometimes literally when you look in your gaming device’s storage and see how little space you have left after an update. Now, with the impending release of the Fontaine or the Update 4.0, that storage device is about to get more stuffed. So, how much storage do you need for Genshin Impact?

You’ll be pleased to know that HoYoverse adjusts the Genshin Impact storage requirements depending on the platform. As usual, the PC version requires the most space since it has the most crisp textures and advanced visual effects, while the phone versions are a little more conservative about its space demands. 

We’ll be dividing how much storage you need for Genshin Impact per platform. And how much you need in expectation of the upcoming Fontaine Update. These numbers might change without prior notice.

For PC – Around 72.5 GB or More

Yeah. Don’t be fooled by official or initial system requirements, as those are either outdated or don’t take into account the numerous updates. 

Genshin Impact has grown a lot in the past three years as a live service game and now needs more than double the size of its original storage requirement. 

If you plan to download more than one language, you will have to add 5-10 GB to that storage consumption per language. It’s also worth noting that the PC version has the highest resolution out of all the Genshin Impact platform variants, and this is where the usual size difference comes from.

For Consoles (PlayStation) – Around 70 GB or More

Consoles are no strangers to storage bloat for Genshin Impact. You’d need slightly lower storage space compared to the PC though 70 GB is nothing to scoff at, especially with the limited space on the PlayStation 5.

The same increased calculation can apply if you want to use other languages or audio packs, such as Korean, Japanese, or Chinese. 

For Mobile (Android, iOS) – Around 20 GB or More

Finally, one of the most ubiquitous ways to play Genshin Impact, the mobile platform, is starting to become less and less accommodating for poorer players due to the increasing hardware requirements, particularly the larger space. 

Genshin Impact on phones has more than doubled its original storage space requirement since its release (starting from 8 GB). 

Expect to allot another 2-3 GB of storage space on your phone per language if you want to download the other language packs. 

Depending on your phone’s specs, you might end up deleting other games or multimedia just to make room for Genshin Impact. It’s currently one of the biggest games right now on the mobile platform when it comes to actual file size, and the game’s not even halfway done with its live-service content. 

How Much Storage Is Needed for Fontaine?

As of now, there’s no accurate data yet on how much Fontaine or Update 4.0 will consume. However, we always surmise using some estimates based on past content for Genshin Impact. 

Sumeru or Update 3.0, for example, had a download size of 6.38 GB (PC) though it requires a total of 13 GB of free space for unzipping. It’s also worth noting that Sumeru came in partitions, and once all areas were introduced, Sumeru’s size easily doubled to around 20 GB on the PC. 

For mobile platforms, you can expect significantly smaller sizes due to compression. 

In any case, it’s fair to assume that Fontaine will at least be that large. Based on leaks and official information, Fontaine is set to be a complex area with bridges, canals, and even an underground area, not unlike Belobog in Honkai: Star Rail.

Moreover, Fontaine will introduce a new traversal or exploration mechanic in Genshin Impact; you’ll be able to swim underwater in Fontaine, whereas you’re mostly just confined to the surface in the current version of Genshin Impact. 

This new mechanic means ‌developers will need to introduce more textures and polygon meshes for underwater content and creatures. It’s safe to assume it will also add up to the already heavy storage space requirement for Fontaine.

So to be safe, allot around 20 GB more for Genshin Impact (around 90-100 GB total) for the PC and consoles and perhaps 5-10 GB more for mobile platforms (30 GB total). That’s just for Fontaine or Update 4.0. Expect to add more as developers pile on ‌live service content and introduce more areas and quests in Teyvat.

Why Does Genshin Impact Need So Much Storage Space?

Apart from the large map size, Genshin Impact is also known for its rather expository and generous dialogues. 

The main quests and the story quests, in particular, are full of voice-acted dialogue and exposition from the talented Genshin Impact voice actors. Audio takes up a lot of the space needed for a game and can only be compressed so much until they start losing clarity or quality.

Textures also take up a big chunk of storage space requirements, and Genshin Impact has a lot of characters and visual effects that need these textures. 

In fact, you can probably see how the developers were already trying to keep the texture space consumption low by opting for lower-resolution textures such as ground textures or tree textures– those are notably more blurry compared to the characters. Otherwise, Genshin Impact might even need more storage space.

How to Save Storage Space for Genshin Impact?

If you want to reduce Genshin Impact’s storage consumption, there are a few ways to do it that don’t involve deleting the game permanently. 

A lot of times, and over the years, the game might accumulate some trash files that it won’t use after numerous updates. What you can do is uninstall the game entirely and delete the game folder (for PC) and then download and reinstall it again.

You can likely clean up the file bloat and remove the unwanted excess files (if any). 

Another method would be to delete the language or audio packs you don’t use. At best, you probably only need two language packs, and the Japanese language for Genshin Impact is quite popular since it’s an anime game. So you might have to confine yourself to fewer languages in order to save space.

In order to remove the languages you don’t need, follow these instructions: 

1. On Genshin Impact, open the main menu or the Paimon Menu.
2. Select ‘Settings.’
3. Under Settings, look for ‘Language.’ 
4. Select ‘Manage your Voice-Over Language.’
5. Pick the language you don’t need and select ‘Uninstall.’

Each audio pack or language pack consumes up to 8 GB of storage space for PC and consoles and around 2-3 GB for phones. So if you have all of them installed, you’ll be freeing up a lot of space. Otherwise, you’re out of luck, and the best thing to do would be to expand your storage or delete other games or files you don’t need to make space for Genshin Impact and its imminent bloat.