Although most online play doesn’t use as much data as streaming Netflix or YouTube does, some video games burn through a lot of users’s data. While there are a bunch of video games that require large data usage,Destiny 2is a particularly bad offender.
The biggest data drains come from downloading games or updates, as one might expect. When it comes to how much data users are using when they’re just playing games, the numbers vary depending on the game. And many people have to worry aboutdata caps while playing video games, although this obviously isn’t an issue for those with unlimited data or those who just don’t play frequently. But dailyDestiny 2players with limited data may have something to worry about, according to a new report from telecom comparison site WhistleOut.
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Destiny 2requires about 300MB per hour-long session, so daily players that log 2-3 hour sessions daily will be using up about 4-6GB weekly, and approximately 16-25GB per month. Since many people also stream video and use the Internet for other reasons (streaming taking 1-3GB per hour), dailyDestiny 2players with average Internet usages can see their monthly data allowances wiped out quickly, even 50-100GB allowances. Hopefully they’re lucky enough that theirISP suspends data caps during COVID, but not everyone has that.
The report shows thatDestiny 2is one of the highest data users, and that many putting time into other video games may not incur as much data usage. WhistleOut’s report compares the numbers for several popular games, andDestiny 2comes out on topby 50MB per hour, which is a pretty hefty amount. If people are serious about logging a lot of time intoDestiny 2consistently, an unlimited data plan may be a good investment.
Moving on down the list to see howDestiny 2really compares to other games in this category:Counter-Strikefans may be disappointedto seeCS: GOtaking up 250MB/hour.Destiny 2andCS: GOare the top offenders in data usage by far, as every other title on the list is in the low hundreds or below. It’s worth noting that the biggest data suck for video games is initial downloads, especially for games likeWarzonethat can have pretty hefty file sizes.
As it approaches its third anniversary, theDestiny 2file sizes are getting bigger, withShadowkeeptaking up 68GB of hard drive space andForsakenrequiring 106GB. Simply put, it’s a really big game, and the multiplayer, performance, and graphics all add up to make it the data hog it is. If daily players are noticing that they keep hitting their monthly data allowance,Destiny 2’s usage is most likely the culprit.
Destiny 2is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.
