How much data does updating games use?

With the gaming industry rapidly growing, more and more people are jumping online every day. Unfortunately, the problem with newer online titles is that they inevitably eat up data. But how much data does online gaming use?

We here at Game Gavel were curious too, so we did a deep dive into some of the most popular games on the market – such as Fortnite and Apex Legends – to compare how much data each title uses per hour, and what other factors of online gaming consume data.

Curious as to how much data online video games use? Look no further. 🤔 💭

Approximate Data Usage for Popular Games

Every game uses up a different amount of data per hour, but approximately how much data do popular games use up?

We all know how addictive video games can be, and let’s be realistic, most people spend much longer than an hour gaming. But the more hours you game, the more data is eaten up.

While some games use up as little as 10MB of data per hour, others can jump over the 150MB/h mark, a daunting figure for those with a data cap. Yet, the data per hour depends on what you play.

If you enjoy playing an open-world game like Grand Theft Auto V while voice chatting with your friends, your data usage will be high. On the other hand, if you prefer Rocket League or even PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), as shown in the report done by WhistleOut, the data usage per hour will be as little as 40MB.

Though these numbers totally depend on what you’re doing in the game, and even 40MB/h can add up fast.

Downloading games

Newer games are hitting the 50GB mark, and if you only have a 500GB external hard drive for your PS4, good luck fitting more than 10 games on to your system. And if you prefer to purchase physical copies of games, don’t think you’re escaping either, as updates and patches are required.

Single-player data usage

So, how do single-player games compare to online games? Although you aren’t playing with or against online players, eliminating the voice-chat feature, single-player games still require frequent updates and patches which slowly dents your broadband allowance.

If you’re on an unlimited plan, then you don’t need to worry about newer titles constantly updating, but if you have a cap, it’s best to turn automatic updates off.

Downloading patches and updates

We have mentioned that every game you download will require updates and patches at some point, while the size of the patch can vary drastically. Updates and patches can be at little as a few megabytes, to a hefty 15GB+, which will slowly but surely eat up your data.

If you can catch an update before it finishes to save data when on a limited broadband plan, do so. Just, don’t hold off on updates forever on multiplayer games, otherwise, you won’t be able to use network features.

Voice Chatting

A convenient feature of modern games is the ability to speak with other players in real-time using voice over internet protocol (VoIP). What you may not know is that voice chat uses more bandwidth, therefore you could be using around 40MB of data just by raging over the mic for an hour. Ouch!

You’re not safe from external VoIP applications either, as Discord, Xbox Live party chat, and PlayStation Network, all use up a hefty amount of data too. So if you have a data cap, it’s best to keep quiet and turn voice chat off.

How to Check App Data Usage on Android?

The rise of mobile gaming means that more games are downloaded every day. While downloading newer mobile titles like Fortnite consumes a lot of data, playing the game itself uses up a lot more over time.

To check how much data a game uses up within a month, you’ll need to:

1. Go to Android Settings.
2. Select Network & Internet and click on Data Usage.
3. Under Wi-Fi click on Wi-Fi data usage.
4. Select an application that you wish to track.
5. The previous and current month should be displayed on-screen. To track data usage from a different month, tap on the date and choose a preferred period from the dropdown menu.
6. You will now see the total data used for that app for the month you selected. The total data is made up of the foreground and background data usage.

Updates

The convenience of mobile gaming is second to none, but the continuous updates can be exasperating, especially if you aren’t connected to Wi-Fi.

Watching an app automatically update whilst not connected to Wi-Fi is as bad as realizing you’ve been using your mobile’s data at home.

To update Android apps via Wi-Fi only, simply:

1. Go to the Google Play Store.
2. Tap on the hamburger icon in the top left corner and select Settings.
3. Click on Auto-update apps and select “Over Wi-Fi only”.

Video streaming and downloading

We have just covered how much data specific games consume per hour, but what about downloading and streaming videos?

Final Words

Whether you’re playing on a console, PC, or even mobile, the amount of data that online gaming consumes totally depends on what you’re playing. Games such as Fortnite tend to consume more data than other games since you’re playing with and against other players, while voice chatting can use up even more data.

If your router isn’t the best and you want better internet speeds for lag-free sessions, why not check out our best router for gaming post to see what we’ve reviewed?