How much data does Overwatch use?
In Overwatch online game, two teams of six players compete in a variety of online multiplayer modes. These multiplayer modes are central to gameplay in any first-person shooter, but they can also use a lot of internet data. If you play Overwatch on a 4G LTE internet connection (through a hotspot or an installed connection), you may have to monitor your data use to stay below a monthly cap.
So exactly how much data do you use playing Overwatch? Let’s take a closer look at the MBs and GBs you use downloading, updating, and playing the game on your PC, Playstation 4, or Xbox One. If you want to play Overwatch without worrying about your data cap, consider switching to an unlimited 4G LTE connection with no data cap and no bandwidth throttling.
How much data do you use downloading Overwatch?
The Overwatch game download uses much more data than playing Overwatch. As of June 2019, this is the most recent download size for Overwatch on each console. The download sizes might be larger now, since they usually increases over time as Blizzard releases patches and updates.
| Platform | Download size |
| Windows PC | 9.74 GB (as of April 2017) |
| Playstation 4 | 7.52 GB (as of June 2019) |
| Xbox One | – |
There’s an easy way to avoid using a ton of data on the game download. If you’re afraid your data plan won’t support the download, purchase the disk and install the game offline instead.
How much data do you use updating Overwatch?
The Overwatch Storm Rising Update, which was released in April 2019, had a download size of 24 GB on PS4. While most patches don’t come anywhere close to this download size, the game is somewhat infamous for large patches in the range of 6 GB. Stay up to date on the contents of the most recent Overwatch patches from Blizzard.
If you’re worried about updates pushing you over your monthly data limit, turn off auto-updates in the game settings. Instead, manually install updates at the beginning of the month when you have the most data available.
How much data do you use playing Overwatch?
Overwatch uses about 135 MB of data per hour, but the exact amount of data you use playing the game depends on the number of players in your game, whether or not you use voice chat, your frame rate, and the tickrate of the server you’re on:
- The more players in a game, the more data your internet network exchanges with other players’ networks. This data includes information like the stats of each player. Multiplayer modes with more players use more data. In Elimination, for example, you’ll use significantly more data playing 6v6 than you will playing 3v3 or, especially, 1v1.
- If you use voice chat, expect to use significantly more data during gameplay. Without voice chat, a first-person shooter like PUBG uses less than 30 MB of data per hour. With voice chat, it uses 50 MB of data per hour.
- A higher frame rate refreshes the game more often, so that you exchange more up-to-date data with other players in the game. A lower frame rate will save you data, but makes it harder for you to react quickly in the game. You can adjust your frame rate (measured in FPS) in your game settings.
- The server tickrate also affects your data use. A 128-tick server, which refreshes the game 128 times every second, uses about twice as much data as a 64-tick server, which refreshes the game 64 times every second.
Upgrade to unlimited 4G LTE
Are you tired of keeping track of how much data you use playing Overwatch? With our unlimited 4G LTE connection, you can spend as many hours as you want playing games, even if you can’t get cable internet where you live. We never throttle your speeds or charge you overage fees.
