Last month, a notable revelation emerged regarding the storage requirements for Helldivers 2, a game that has captured the attention of the gaming community. The game was initially reported to require a hefty 154GB of space, a figure that was described as “roughly three times larger than the same game installed on consoles.” This decision stemmed from a desire to accommodate older mechanical hard drives prevalent in many PCs, as opposed to the solid-state drives (SSDs) found in modern consoles. The development team aimed to enhance the gaming experience for those still using these older systems by duplicating various assets, such as textures and sound effects, to minimize the need for mechanical hard drives to access data scattered across their surfaces.
However, recent analytics conducted months after the game’s release have painted a different picture. It turns out that only about 11% of Helldivers 2 players are utilizing mechanical HDDs. Furthermore, the pre-release industry standard figures that Arrowhead relied upon to justify their initial decision were significantly off the mark. The primary cause of slowdowns has been identified as the generation of levels, rather than the anticipated constant loading of assets. The team’s earlier projections regarding the performance of HDD users were also deemed “very conservative.”
Introducing a Streamlined Experience
In response to these findings, Arrowhead is now testing a “slim” version of the game in a public beta, which is available for players to join. This optimized version of Helldivers 2 weighs in at a mere 23GB, a dramatic reduction from the original size. While the new version promises to maintain the integrity of the gameplay experience, it is expected to result in only “minimal changes to load times – seconds at most.”
This situation raises intriguing questions about the metrics that video game studios and publishers prioritize. In an era where data-driven decisions dominate the industry, the miscalculations made in this instance highlight the complexities of understanding player behavior and hardware usage. The impending release of this streamlined version not only alleviates storage concerns but also opens up the possibility for players to install additional games—potentially allowing for the installation of at least 13 indie city-builders where the previous 131GB used to reside.
