Arrowhead Game Studios has addressed Helldivers 2 fans' concerns over its PC file size, explaining why it's so big and outlining some potential solutions. Optimization has been a big issue among the game's fanbase lately, but devs have been vocal about recognizing the need for improvement and working on fixes. As part of that, the Helldivers 2 team has now offered a glimpse into how ongoing development could shape out in the future.
While the co-op shooter remains popular across platforms, gamers' feelings toward it have wavered lately. In late September, Helldivers 2's Steam reviews fell to "mixed" as PC users listed complaints about the game's stability and performance. CEO Shams Joranji said the team was "well aware" of the problem and actively working on it, and now fans have a closer look at what's going on behind the scenes.
In an October 3 Steam update, Arrowhead's Deputy Technical Director explained that Helldivers 2's bloated PC installation size stems from a quirk of mechanical HDD support. The game employs a technique called data duplication to accelerate load times on HDDs by creating multiple copies of common assets, so an HDD's read arm doesn't have to move as far...
