{"id":16276,"date":"2025-12-03T01:36:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=16276"},"modified":"2025-12-03T01:36:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:36:36","slug":"helldivers-2-dev-worked-with-sony-studio-nixxes-to-create-a-slim-version-for-pc-that-reduces-file-size-from-154gb-to-23gb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=16276","title":{"rendered":"Helldivers 2 Dev Worked With Sony Studio Nixxes to Create a ‘Slim’ Version for PC That Reduces File Size From 154GB to 23GB"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has created a \u201cslim\u201d version of its explosive co-op third-person shooter that massively reduces its file size on PC.<\/p>\n

For some time now PC gamers have complained about Helldivers 2\u2019s bloated installation size on PC, and Arrowhead recently outlined plans to bring it closer to the size of the console version. In a post on Steam, Arrowhead said it had worked with Sony-owned PC port specialist Nixxes to reach its goal sooner than expected, reducing the PC installation size from 154GB to 23GB for a total saving of 131GB (85%).<\/p>\n

Arrowhead has now rolled out this slim version of Helldivers 2 as part of a public technical beta. \u201cOur testing shows that for the small percentage of players still using mechanical hard disk drives, mission loading times have only increased by a few seconds in the worst cases,\u201d Arrowhead explained.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The studio had warned that changing the file size of Helldivers 2 might have increased load times by a factor of 10 \u2014 indeed that\u2019s why it duplicates data with update releases. But it turns out that its worst case projections did not come to pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese loading time projections were based on industry data \u2014 comparing the loading times between SSD and HDD users where data duplication was and was not used,\u201d Arrowhead explained. \u201cIn the worst cases, a 5x difference was reported between instances that used duplication and those that did not. We were being very conservative and doubled that projection again to account for unknown unknowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow things are different. We have real measurements specific to our game instead of industry data. We now know that the true number of players actively playing HD2 on a mechanical HDD was around 11% during the last week (seems our estimates were not so bad after all). We now know that, contrary to most games, the majority of the loading time in Helldivers 2 is due to level-generation rather than asset loading. This level generation happens in parallel with loading assets from the disk and so is the main determining factor of the loading time. We now know that this is true even for users with mechanical HDDs.\u201d<\/p>\n