Arrowhead replacing Helldivers 2 on PC with new slim build with 85% reduced file size

A few months ago, Arrowhead officially began rolling out a beta version of a new build of Helldivers 2 for PC, one that dramatically shrunk the storage space required to install the game. Now after monitoring user feedback, Arrowhead is officially retiring the original, bloated build of the game.

With the new slim build of the game, the install size of Helldivers 2 was reduced by a massive 85 percent, going from 85GB to just under 24GB. The original build of the game contained a ton of duplicated assets, implemented with the goal of improving the game's performance on holder mechanical hard drives. However, in practise, this wasn't providing any meaningful benefit for players. After figuring all of this out, Arrowhead worked with Sony's PC specialist studio, Nixxes, to remove the duplicated assets and create the new, slim build of the game.

Speaking on the decision to fully move over to the slim build, Arrowhead said: “After extensive testing of our ‘slim' build, weeks of your input and stress testing including a great influx of new and returning players in the ‘Machinery of Oppression’ major update, we are confident that players are having a great experience playing Helldivers 2 on the smaller build.”

As a result, the ‘large' build of Helldivers 2 will be going away as part of the game's next major content update, arriving on March 17th. Once the change has been implemented, you will automatically download the 23GB version of the game, without having to jump into your Steam settings to opt in to the beta.

KitGuru Says: Helldivers 2 went from being a game that I would have to uninstall from time to time, to now being small enough to sit on my system indefinitely. More developers should really put more thought into smaller install sizes, as storage requirements across the industry have gone out of control.

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