Before the first HD console generation, which includes the PS3 and Xbox 360, home console players didn’t need to worry about installing games or updating them. PC players had to deal with installs all the time, but even PC games weren’t as bad as they are today because they simply didn't have file sizes as large as modern games do.
Some of the biggest AAA experiences can easily reach 100GB or more, and it can be hard to decide what games to keep on a system, what to delete, and what to move over to external hard drives. For whatever reason, be it the size, constant updates, or appeal of the game, players like to leave these next games installed. They never know when they might find the urge to play them again.
Minecraft
Getting Out The Lego Bucket
Minecraft won’t take up much storage space on any platform that players download it on, and popping back in after months or years will be just as easy as the first time they booted it up. It’s the equivalent of finding a bucket of LEGO bricks as a kid, dumping them out, and then going to town.
With no story or objective, Minecraft is one of the most freeing games ever made. It lets players figure out how to make their own fun, be it alone or with a group of friends.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Causing Chaos Online
By this point, many players have already achieved 100% completion in Grand Theft Auto 5 between the main story and all the side objectives. That said, even though it came out in 2013, there are still reasons to keep it installed.
The most obvious answer is that Grand Theft Auto Online keeps adding new heist updates, and when a new one drops, players can be at the ready. Also, the game is a chaos simulator, so it’s just fun to start it up and then blow stuff up to see how many stars can be racked up before the cops come calling.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Hoping For Tie-Ins
Monster Hunter Wilds, and the previous Monster Hunter action RPGs, are good at consistently adding new content. The space between new additions is longer than what many fans hoped for with this latest addition, but when those updates drop, fans are in.
It could be something as simple as a new monster or a seasonal event that changes the hub area of the game. So far, the coolest collaboration MHW has done is with Final Fantasy, and its crossovers like those that keep fans playing on the regular.
Fortnite
Getting Ready For The Next Big Event
Fortnite is essentially the game that the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was describing. It’s a giant game that is multiplayer-focused, and it allows players to unlock and equip skins from nearly every property on the planet.
One of Fortnite's biggest crossovers in 2025 threw the Internet into a frenzy when the map was changed to look like Springfield from The Simpsons. There hasn’t been a 3D game based on The Simpsons since The Simpsons Game in 2007, so it was great to see Springfield on a console again. Big events like these in Fortnite will bring everyone on board, even for just a single session of shooting and building mayhem.
Mario Kart World
A Good Racer For All
Mario Kart World didn’t set the world on fire as a launch game for the Switch 2, but it was still another solid entry in the Mario Kart series. Mario Kart 8 launched in 2014, and Nintendo kept updating the game until 2023, between the Wii U and then the Switch versions.
If the same trend is true for this latest entry, Switch 2 players can count on at least yearly updates to Mario Kart World. It’s good to keep it installed for those updates, but players never know when a friend will come over and want to race.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
