How is Subnautica’s file size so small on Steam?

[AWPxFS]

Open world games tend be be massive in size. For example, GTA V is about 90 GBs to download on steam. If Subnautica is so vast and if it has so many different items, creatures, and ecosystems, then how is it only 3 GBs large? What methods did the developers use to make the game file so small?

[RefferredScp[Redacted]]

Hopefully that’s a sign subnautica can come on Nintendo switch. #SubnauticaOnSwitch.

[Dirak2012]

The world is not really that big, it's like a square of 5 x 5 kilometers, which takes about 10 minutes to go from one corner to the other. It also go from the surface to about 2 kilometers deep.
It's not that the world is big, but you have a lot of dangers and depth limits until you unlock better tech.

[Coops]

My folder is 7.5 GB
By contrast, Below Zero is over 14 GB

[Suzaku]

It's small because things like cutscenes and lots of voice acting can really bloat a game's size. Subnautica has no cutscenes and minimal voice acting.

[neo5apien]

The world is a lot smaller than it looks because it's so dark and murky.

[Arsene Lupin]

File size is not and has never been indicative of content. What makes install sizes big is (usually uncompressed, these days) video, audio and (to a lesser extent)image files.

Originally posted by Coops:

My folder is 7.5 GB
By contrast, Below Zero is over 14 GB

Did you mod it a lot or something? 'Cause I just bought the game and Steam is only downloading 3.3GB.

[sonic-x]

Play morrowind ^))))

[Coops]

I have 90 MB in mods, 500 MB in saves and 25 MB in other Unity related files and I subtracted those from the 8.1 GB subnautica folder to get the 7.5 GB number above.

[Spawn of Totoro]

That is file compression. Downloads are compressed to save storage space and speed up the download. About 7.5 GB is the size after it is decompressed.

Think of it as a dry sponge and then when you add water it grows.

Mine is about 7.5 GB, with no mods.

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