Starfield Preload is Now Available on Steam! Players See Variation in Download Size

Starfield Preload is now up, 48 hours before the Early Access launch! While not quite the same as getting sent to a Space Camp to get into the right mindset before playing, you can still prepare yourself for the game day by downloading a 86.4-116.21 GB package ahead of time.

Now, you saw that correctly — there does seem to be some notable variation in the download size being reported by the community, where the size that is originally listed as 116.21 GB becomes 86.4 GB when the download is actually requested.

The cause behind this variation is unconfirmed as of yet: one of the suggestions has been the ever-mysterious Steam Shader Pre-Caching setting, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting things… this time.

Remember to update your Gaming Graphics Card drivers before the Early Access launch to avoid any nasty surprises. It’s also highly recommended you install the game on an SSD to avoid performance issues — it is, in fact, part of the Minimum Requirements for the game. So, if you forgot or haven’t seen that bit yet, it’s a perfect time to get it!

How are you preparing for the launch? Did you preorder for Early Access, or are you getting ready to dive into the game here in about a week? Is there something we forgot to mention? Let us know in the comments below!