Help! My ESO folder is 160GB (Steam)

Nerdrage9000 · October 2022

Hello all - what files can I manually delete to get ESO down to the ~80GB it is supposed to be?

I read that Steam apparently downloads the installer which is about 80GB and then installs the game, again about 80GB, and then Steam is supposed to erase the installers, but looks like it didn't do that for me.

I dig ESO, but not so much at 160GB on my SSD.

Can I just delete the "depot" folder?

TaSheen · October 2022

Better hope they move this to tech support forum. I got rid of the steam version years ago - not only because of inflated file folders, but because of my satellite connect (only thing I have other than dial up - yeah) which did not ever want to let steam connect to the game.

My folder was never that big though. I'm not sure now how big the steam folder was back in 2017, but nowhere close to 160 gig. Might have been 100 gig, don't know for sure now.

kringled_1 · October 2022

Mine is 113G, I think that's the expected current size. If you have the bandwidth, deleting and reinstalling is one way to go, otherwise I would try to compare to someone elses not messed up install if you need to figure out whats large but not essential.

jtm1018 · October 2022

Sounds about right, I have 160+ gb on steam.

Nothing new here, moving on.

dem0n1k · October 2022

My non-steam install is ~90GB & around 80Gb of that is in the depot folder... so I would not delete that... it seems to be most of the game files.

deadsheepb14_ESO · October 2022

Mine is 109 gb on steam. Not sure why some have 50 more gigs? Seems strange.

ziggy29 · October 2022

I have it on a PC and a Mac and I am seeing 106 GB (PC) and 116 GB (Mac).

huntgod_ESO · October 2022

I have it on PC and my folder is 90.8gb. I did a reinstall maybe a 12-18 months ago.

DreamyLu · October 2022

Can it be that having PTS makes the difference? Alone PTS can add up to 80 GB

rpa · October 2022

For my non-Steam up to date PC version install, Zenimax Online folder is 182G of which The Elder Scrolls Online folder is 90.3G, The Elder Scrolls Online PTS 91.8G. Size on disk 195,790,426,112 bytes. Should be about 97,146,638,336‬ bytes on disc without PTS. I reinstalled PTS at some point this year.

FeedbackOnly · October 2022

I recently installed steam version too. My install isn't that big. I would check if have pts too.

If you divide the install it's about half the correct number. You definitely have pts installed. That or reinstall.

Lucifer_Sam · October 2022

My Steam Zenimax folder is 198 GB with the live folder at 106 GB and pts folder at 92 GB

Maitsukas · October 2022

I have the following folders that are mandatory for the game to work:

depot (most of game data is in this folder, includes BINK video in a separate folder and .DAT files contain world data, textures, models, map images, Crown Stores renders, music, sound effects, etc.)
game (it has the executable and the .DAT contains primarily various UI related elements and scripts to make them work properly)
vo_en (English voiceover)
vo_soundsets (haven't had a clear insight regarding the contents yet)

Elsonso · October 2022

Hmm.

I don't think that ESO is an 80 GB game anymore.

My PC non-Steam is 90 GB including launcher, uninstaller, and support directories, but not PTS.

Steam is installing all of the languages and the Mac client to bring that footprint up to ~115 GB, including launcher, uninstaller, supporting stuff, and Steam things.

The "depot" directory contains all of the local game files. Do not delete unless the goal is to remove the game, or re-download 80 GB of stuff.

As others have suggested, I would check if PTS is installed and uninstall that, as desired. Verify the game files from the Steam properties Local Files tab, just to be sure. Repair can also be used from the Launcher to verify the local files.

Edit... and of course, when ZOS comes by to move this to another forum category, they will probably suggest opening a Ticket with support.

DMuehlhausen · October 2022

As other's have said this seems about right. You have a game that at launch was roughly 40 GB I think. You now have what..6 new full chapters, and like 10 DLCs. This is what games are becoming.

Yes I remember when WoW was like 10 GB after a couple expansions and that just seemed so massive. I remember installing my first 1 GB storage drive certain I would never fill that up. That's just to much empty space.

I think there are some upcoming games that the base install is over 100 GB. So yeah 160 GB is nothing really.

Elsonso · October 2022

DMuehlhausen wrote: »

As other's have said this seems about right. You have a game that at launch was roughly 40 GB I think. You now have what..6 new full chapters, and like 10 DLCs. This is what games are becoming.

Yes I remember when WoW was like 10 GB after a couple expansions and that just seemed so massive. I remember installing my first 1 GB storage drive certain I would never fill that up. That's just to much empty space.

I think there are some upcoming games that the base install is over 100 GB. So yeah 160 GB is nothing really.

Back in the old days, shortly after we transitioned from the abacus to the first computers built with vacuum tubes, there were people were complaining that a 60GB ESO was just too large.

That was probably the last time I looked at the ESO installation size, too. I was not surprised to see it sitting at 90 GB.

Of course, today I am installing on an M2 SSD with a size measured in terabytes and ESO takes up almost no space at all.

ZOS_Exile · October 2022

Hello,

We have gone ahead and moved this thread to a more appropriate category. Thanks for your understanding.

boi_anachronism_ · October 2022

I think I'm sitting around 95 gigs on playstation.

Mesite · October 2022

I had ESO installed on a 128 GB drive but when the last chapter came out it refused to update on there anymore. I have to use my old laptop that has an old big hard disk. But it's really old so won'tlast much longer.

pwillard · November 2022

My steam install is at around 112GB but then I don't have the latest chapter either.