Path of Exile 2: The 200 GB Monster in the Making?

Path of Exile 2: The 200 GB Monster in the Making ?

Right now, Path of Exile 2 already weighs 130 GB on PC… and the game isn’t even finished: two acts and several features for future leagues are still missing.

So, how far will this size go and at what cost for players?

To put it in perspective, look at Helldivers 2: full game, 4-player co-op, only 20 GB. That’s more than six times smaller than POE 2. How? Smart optimization:

Compressed textures
Asset streaming
On-demand languages

In Helldivers 2, the game installs only the language you choose. Others are optional. Result: lightweight, fast to install, playable even on modest PCs.

POE 2, on the other hand, stacks everything that makes a game huge:

All languages installed by default, even ones most players won’t use
Massive unique assets for every monster, skill, and environment
Unoptimized cinematics and voiceovers
Early Access pipeline: priority on content quantity over optimization

And that’s just the start. Each remaining act will add new zones, enemies, skills, textures, and dialogue. With future leagues and expansions, POE 2 could surpass 200 GB in a few years.

For players with a 500 GB SSD, that’s 40% of storage for just one game, not counting Windows, other games, or software. Add regular updates, and it becomes a real barrier for the community.

Quick Comparisons
World of Warcraft: ~70 GB (20 years of content)
Cyberpunk 2077: 70–100 GB (4K textures)
Helldivers 2: 20 GB (full game)

POE 2 is already an outlier for a game still in development.

Why the Size Explodes
Multiple languages installed by default
Unique assets per act
Heavy cinematics and voiceovers
Early Access pipeline: content piles up without cleaning obsolete assets

“Each update adds content, but rarely removes old assets. The game keeps growing.”

Realistic Projections
4 acts = 130 GB
2 missing acts + future leagues = +70 GB
Endgame content, expansions, and new classes = +20–30 GB

Estimated total in a few years: 200–220 GB

Possible Solutions

On-demand languages
Asset streaming
Compression and deduplication
Optional HD packs
Regular cleanup

Conclusion: POE 2 is ambitious, but its massive size and ongoing growth are a real challenge for players.
Without optimization, what’s a 130 GB game today could become a 200 GB monster tomorrow—a weight not all players can handle.

The real danger of POE 2 isn’t the gameplay or the leagues… it’s your hard drive.

+1

Go go AI post.

As long as the game is fun I don't care if the game is 130 gb or 170 gb. Not gonna make a huge difference on my PC. Console players might be a different story.

D4 has 153 GB with HD textures. When you are comparing games, then you should do it with games of the same genre. And the graphics in PoE2 are way better and PoE2 also has much more content, than D4.

I mean...Helldivers has 20 GB and Pong had about 10KB? wtf...?

"

Supercow_X#7071 wrote:

D4 has 153 GB with HD textures. When you are comparing games, then you should do it with games of the same genre. And the graphics in PoE2 are way better and PoE2 also has much more content, than D4.

HD textures are optional btw. Without it's like 75gb or so.

200gb is nothing.

can be closed.

yeah mate, mario has only 50 MB let's do this ...

You all have such ideas that im willing to never play again. Really, this hole thread ( the feedback ) can be removed.

First, some players want the latest in video tech and awesome graphics, then after lot's of QoL and texture additions, why is the game 250 GB? Then, after they remove stuff, why is so low graphics?

Again, you all never can be happy with a product or a game, you must cry for things that you don't even understand.

Simply putting, for you to understand, the unique NPC's and other items or stuff that looks cool, needs memory drive as you call it, space on SSD. That's why i like to play the game and imerse myself in the game, i like to play for the environment it feels like, like the water prison stage, that was awesome for me.

And you want to optimize what exactly? The dwarf game is a repeating digging and killing game, you do two things, dig and kill, leveling up and other stuff is so boring that i'v never bought the game in first place. And the graphics of that is for like 7 years old kids.

It looks cartoonish.

You want a good exemple of optimization game that works great? Barotrauma boy, that game has like 900 MB and it's full of stuff to do but it's 2D. "And u need like 360 mods to have fun".

If GGG ever "optimize" what you said there will always be modders who will make this game from 100 GB to 250 - 300 GB just for funs.

Yeah it's crazy, I guess it's because the game still has all the old poe1 stuff and they just kept adding to it.

"

default_mp3#9394 wrote:

"

Supercow_X#7071 wrote:

D4 has 153 GB with HD textures. When you are comparing games, then you should do it with games of the same genre. And the graphics in PoE2 are way better and PoE2 also has much more content, than D4.

HD textures are optional btw. Without it's like 75gb or so.

I know, that it's optional. That's the reason, why I have written "with HD textures". But you have proven, why the size of games like these are so huge, when the size is doubled "only" with HD textures. The OP still compares apples and oranges.

Btw...optimization is always the last step in development. So no one knows, if GGG will also exclude HD textures when the game is nearly finished.