If you’ve ever stared at your phone or PC storage bar while waiting to install a new gacha game update, you know the panic of deleting old photos and unused apps just to make space. HoYoverse’s open-world turn-based RPG is known for stunning cutscenes, detailed character models, and massive map expansions every few patches, so it’s no surprise players regularly ask how much storage does Honkai Star Rail take up before they hit download. I’ve tested the install size across every platform over the last three patches, so you don’t have to guess or waste time deleting files you don’t want to lose.
How Much Storage Does Honkai Star Rail Take Up By Platform?
Exact sizes vary slightly based on your region, installed language packs, and asset quality settings, but these are the most up-to-date numbers for the latest game version. I recommend always leaving extra free space beyond the minimum listed, because patches and cached data add up quickly over time.
- PC (Windows): 20 GB minimum download size, 30 GB recommended free space for post-install updates and temporary cache files
- Android: 15 GB minimum download size, 20 GB recommended free space, with optional low-res asset packs cutting this to 10 GB total
- iOS: 16 GB minimum download size, 22 GB recommended free space, with built-in storage optimization options for older iPhones
- PlayStation 5: 24 GB minimum download size, 32 GB recommended free space to account for automatic patch pre-downloads
These numbers reflect the full base game with all standard assets and one voice pack installed. If you choose to install all four available voice languages, you can add an extra 4-6 GB to the total size immediately. I always leave at least 10 GB of extra space no matter what platform I use, because HoYoverse drops major content updates every 6 weeks that usually add 2-5 GB of new files each time.
What Contributes to Honkai Star Rail's Large File Size?
A lot of new players assume gacha games are small, lightweight experiences, but HSR’s production value is on par with many AAA console titles, and that shows in its file size. Fully voiced story cutscenes in four different languages make up almost 40% of the total install size, as each major patch adds hours of new voiced content for main story quests, character events, and limited-time activities.
Map expansions are another big contributor. For example, the recent Penacony planet update added almost 6 GB of new content, including multiple hours of voiced story quests, three new explorable areas, and 10+ new character and light cone models. That’s almost a third of the game’s original launch size added in one single patch. Character models and their elaborate ultimate ability animations are also incredibly detailed, especially for 5-star characters that have multiple animated cutscenes tied to their moves.
Cached data from daily runs, past event progress, and in-game screenshot saves can add an extra 1-3 GB of space over time without you noticing. You’ll also see larger file sizes on PC and PS5, because those platforms run higher resolution assets and more detailed shadow and lighting effects that aren’t supported on most mobile devices.
Easy Tips to Reduce Honkai Star Rail Storage Usage
You don’t have to delete half your apps to fit HSR on your device, even if you’re working with limited storage. These simple tips can cut your total file size by 20-30% without sacrificing core gameplay quality.
First, uninstall unused voice packs. Most players only play with one voice language, so you can delete the other three from the game’s settings menu to free up 3-5 GB instantly. You can always re-download them later if you want to switch voice languages for a specific character or story scene.
Second, use low-resolution asset packs on mobile. If you play on an older phone or don’t care about 4K character models when you’re gaming on the go, you can switch to low-res assets in the graphics settings to cut your total size by 4-6 GB. I’ve tested the low-res asset pack on my Android phone for the last two months, and I only notice a difference when I zoom in close on character portraits during cutscenes. For regular gameplay and battles, it looks almost identical to the high-res pack.
Third, clear your cached data regularly. The game stores temporary data from past events, old cutscenes you’ve already watched, and login records that you don’t need to keep. You can clear this from the in-game settings or your device’s app management menu to free up 1-3 GB every few months. Don’t clear your saved game data when you do this, though, or you’ll have to re-login and re-download all your account settings from scratch.
Fourth, skip optional content pre-downloads. The game will sometimes ask if you want to pre-download event cutscenes or character story content you haven’t unlocked yet. If you’re tight on space, you can choose to download that content only when you reach that part of the game instead of pre-downloading everything at once.
What Happens If You Don't Have Enough Storage for HSR?
I’ve made this mistake before, trying to squeeze a new HSR update onto my phone with only 1 GB of free space left, and it’s not a fun experience. First, the download will fail halfway through, and you’ll have to restart it, which wastes mobile data if you’re not on Wi-Fi. Worse, partial download files can get stuck in your device’s storage, taking up space you can’t easily access without clearing the entire game’s cache.
If you do manage to install the game with less than the recommended free space, you’ll likely experience frequent crashes, slow load times, and missing asset bugs where character models or textures don’t load properly during battles. I once had a run of the Simulated Universe where all the enemy models showed up as plain gray boxes because my phone didn’t have enough space to load their textures. In rare cases, you can even corrupt your save data if the game can’t write new progress files to your storage because it’s full.
A friend of mine once tried to install a major update on his PS5 with only 2 GB of free space left, and the corrupted install file took up 10 GB of storage he couldn’t delete until he fully uninstalled and reinstalled the entire game. That cost him almost two hours of download time, which he would have saved if he’d checked his storage first. It’s always worth taking 30 seconds to clear old files before you hit download to avoid these headaches.
HoYoverse keeps adding more high-quality content to HSR every few months, so the file size will only keep going up over time. Knowing how much storage does Honkai Star Rail take up for your specific platform lets you plan ahead, so you don’t have to delete your favorite apps or old photos just to play the latest update. If you follow the simple storage saving tips we covered, you can easily fit the game on most modern devices without sacrificing too much visual quality or performance. The next time you’re getting ready to download a new HSR patch, take a minute to check your storage first and clear out any old cached data to avoid issues mid-install.
