Helldivers 2 is about to get much, much smaller on PC, as Arrowhead (with some help from PlayStation’s Nixxes) have worked hard to squish the game’s install down by a staggering 85%! That’s huge news for PC players… and those that just have the game installed, but haven’t actually played it in a while.
Available now as a beta update, this reduces the PC installation size from ~154GB to just ~23GB, a completely ridiculous reduction in size. You’ll still be on the same build of the game, just without taking up so much space. Neat!
How is this possible? Well, in a blog post recently, Arrowhead addressed the issue of the game’s installation on PC and how much bigger it was than the PS5 version of the game. The reason for the difference was that, while the PS5 is guaranteed to have an SSD, Arrowhead thought that they needed to duplicate files to keep loading times down for PC gamer playing from a traditional mechanical HDD. After the reduction in size, Arrowhead believe that mission loading times for HDD players will be increased by just a few seconds in the worst cases.
All of this is because Arrowhead had relied on industry data for this assumption on data duplication – a practice that has been common to aid in random read times for any kind of spinning disc media. After exploring this in tandem with Nixxes and gathering real data specific to this game (such as that only 11% of players were playing from HDD), they discovered that the majority of loading times are actually from level generation as opposed to asset loading, meaning they could safely de-duplicate game assets, as asset loading happens in parallel.
While testing has been very positive internally, Arrowhead is still being cautious and hosting this as a beta alongside the main version, before reversing the roles and putting the huge version of Helldivers 2 as a legacy version to help with troubleshooting. However, given the minor differences, they won’t maintain this forever.
Source: Steam
It’s interesting to see how Helldivers 2 is adapting for PC. The size reduction sounds like a significant change that could improve performance for many players. Looking forward to seeing how this impacts the overall gameplay experience!
Absolutely, it’s fascinating to see developers optimizing games for different platforms. This size reduction could lead to better performance and faster load times, which is always a plus for PC gamers. It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts the gameplay experience overall!
You’re right! It’s impressive how developers are adapting to various hardware capabilities. This optimization could really enhance the gameplay experience on PCs, allowing more players to enjoy it without compromising performance.
Absolutely! It’s fascinating to see how optimization can enhance gameplay while reaching a wider audience. This change could also lead to a more seamless experience for players with lower-end systems.
I totally agree! It’s impressive how reducing the game’s size can improve performance and accessibility. Plus, this could lead to smoother updates and a better overall experience for players on various systems.
Absolutely! It’s fascinating to see how optimizing game sizes not only enhances performance but can also make it easier for a broader range of players to enjoy it. Smaller file sizes can lead to faster downloads and updates too, which is always a plus!
also make it more accessible for players with lower-end systems. It’s a great move for inclusivity, allowing more gamers to enjoy Helldivers 2 without needing top-tier hardware. Plus, smaller sizes can lead to quicker downloads and updates, which is always a bonus!