Helldivers 2 on PC will have its file size be extremely culled from a bloaty 154GB install size to about 23GB.
The PC version of Helldivers 2 has this bloaty file size that’s about five times the size of the PS5 version at about 31GB due to data duplication. As explained by developer Arrowhead Game Studios here, it’s to help players who still game on slower mechanical hard disks to not suffer through lengthy load times.
Arrowhead, with the help of Nixxes, has now “de-duplicate” the files which results in a tremendous 85% size reduction. The PC version can now have a file size smaller than the PS5 one.
For players on HDD, loading times have now increased “by a few seconds,” the blog post reads.
Previously, Arrowhead implemented the bloaty install size for Helldivers 2 PC with duplicated assets was to help players on hard disks not get stuck at long load times. At the time, the projected load times would be 10 times longer than players on SSD. However, after conducting proper testing (the 10 times longer estimate is derived from industry data) results found that this is not the case, and as such the file size can be slimmed down.
The slim 23GB-ish install of Helldivers 2 isn’t ready to for full roll-out yet, but it’s currently available to opt-in as a public technical beta branch on Steam.
Once Helldivers 2 on PC has rolled out the slim install size to the live build, it will still offer the bloated install size legacy version to opt-in should any player found issues. Though the plan is not to support the legacy version long-term, it will be phased out by next year.
Instructions on how to get the slimmed-down Helldivers 2 install is found here.
While the need to cater to players still on old PCs with hard disks is commendable, it shouldn’t be at the cost of this huge file size. We’re talking about Forza Horizon 5 with all DLCs, or an annual Call Of Duty game, footprint of an install here. For folks on a 512GB SSD, that’s more or less half the storage gone for just one game.
It is however a relief to know that this slimmed install size shouldn’t affect much of the 11% playerbase playing Helldivers 2 on PC. The spread of Managed Democracy needs every able soldier, and hopefully the rollout for this slimmer build of Helldivers 2 won’t cause unexpected issues.
Helldivers 2 is out now on PS5, PC (Steam) and even on Xbox Series X|S. Check out our review of the game here.