Helldivers 2 Takes Up Too Much Space on PC: Arrowhead Explains Why

Helldivers 2, the hugely successful co-op sci-fi shooter, has a problem with… size. On PC, the installation requires around 150 GB of free space: a significant amount of memory, although in line with other modern video game productions. However, on PlayStation 5, the same game with similar assets occupies roughly one-third of that space. Where does the disparity come from?

The Cause of Helldivers 2's Large Size

In a long message on Steam, developer Arrowhead Studios addresses the issue, identifying the culprit as the amount of duplicated data contained within Helldivers 2's PC files. Data duplication is necessary to reduce loading times on mechanical hard drives, although it is superfluous on more recent SSDs. The problem is that Helldivers 2 cannot do without it, unless it wants to increase loading times tenfold for all those who use mechanical HDs on PC. Arrowhead doesn't know exactly how many there are, but estimates around 12% of the total PC players.

Solutions to the Problem

The developers are implementing several measures to reduce the impact of the problem (but not eliminate it entirely). In the short term, meaning with the next update, some space will be gained by eliminating unused assets and adopting the most obvious measures: these changes will not be noticeable, because the space gained will be occupied by assets for new content, but at least the total installation size will not grow further.

For the medium term, the developers intend to ensure that the heaviest assets are always loaded when specific conditions are met (for example, when in the biome that hosts them), so that duplicates can be removed. As for the long term, an optimization of the game engine is planned to ensure that RAM is not wasted loading unnecessary assets.