Gamesness

Download Time Calculator

Find out how long a game, update or patch will take to download. Enter the size from the store page and the speed your internet plan is sold at, and the calculator works out the time and the speed your launcher should show.

Mbps vs MB/s. Internet plans are sold in megabits per second (Mbps), but Steam, Epic and Battle.net show download speed in megabytes per second (MB/s). There are 8 bits in a byte, so a 100 Mbps connection tops out at 12.5 MB/s in your launcher. That isn't a fault, just a different unit.

GB vs GiB. Store pages list sizes in gigabytes (1,000 MB). Windows File Explorer shows gibibytes (1,024 MiB) but labels them "GB", so the same game looks about 7% smaller there.

Downloads slower than they should be? Our guide to Ethernet vs Wi-Fi for gaming explains why a cable usually helps, and fixing high ping and packet loss covers the rest of your connection.

How this works

  1. It converts the download size to megabits: GB × 1,000 × 8, or GiB × 1,024 × 1.048576 × 8 if you choose the size Windows shows.
  2. It divides that by your connection speed in megabits per second (Mbps) to get the time at full speed.
  3. It then divides by the share of your line speed you expect to get (100% by default), so you can allow for other devices, Wi-Fi and server limits.
  4. It also shows your speed in megabytes per second (Mbps ÷ 8), the unit Steam, Epic and Battle.net use for their download meters.

Download servers, Wi-Fi signal, other traffic on your network and your ISP's peak-hour speeds all change the real figure. Launchers also spend time unpacking and installing after the download finishes, which this doesn't count.

Where the figures come from: Unit conversion only: 8 bits per byte, 1,000 MB per GB, and 1 GiB = 1,073.741824 MB.