Helldivers 2’s ‘Slim’ Version Frees Up 131GB of Storage
▼ Summary
– The PC file size for Helldivers 2 has been reduced by approximately 85%, shrinking from about 154GB to 23GB.
– This reduction was achieved by de-duplicating game asset data, a process completed with help from the developers’ partners at Nixxes.
– The original large file size was due to duplicated data intended to improve load times for players using mechanical hard disk drives.
– Developers determined that load times are primarily caused by level generation, not asset loading, making the duplication minimally beneficial.
– The smaller version is available in a public beta on Steam and will become the default after testing resolves any issues.
For PC gamers constantly battling for storage space, a recent development for a popular title offers significant relief. The developers of Helldivers 2 have announced a dramatic reduction in the game’s installation size, shrinking it from approximately 154 gigabytes down to a mere 23 GB. This impressive feat reclaims roughly 131 GB of valuable drive space, effectively freeing up room for several additional games. The optimization comes as part of a technical public beta, with the goal of aligning the PC version’s footprint more closely with its console counterparts.
The substantial decrease was achieved through a dedicated effort to eliminate duplicated data within the game’s files. Initially, this duplication was implemented to potentially improve load times for players using traditional mechanical hard disk drives. The development team estimated that around eleven percent of the player base still relies on HDDs. However, further analysis revealed that load times in Helldivers 2 are primarily dictated by level generation processes, not by loading individual game assets. This meant the duplicated data was providing minimal benefit to a small segment of players while unnecessarily inflating the file size for everyone.
Thanks to collaboration with technical partners at Nixxes, the team reached its goal of a streamlined installation much sooner than anticipated. Players who opt into the current beta on Steam can immediately access this “slim” version of the game. The developers have assured the community that the impact on load times from removing the duplicated assets will be negligible, amounting to a difference of only a few seconds at most. Once any potential issues identified during the beta period are resolved, this optimized build will become the standard and default version for all PC players, making the massive storage savings permanent.
(Source: The Verge)
