Mission Successful – Helldivers 2 to retire its “Large” build following “Slim” success
Helldivers 2’s “Slim” build reduced install sizes by 85%, and gamers are loving it
Arrowhead Game Studios has confirmed that Helldivers 2 will be returning its “large” PC build with the game’s next patch. This is due to the success of the game’s new “slim” version, which reduced the game’s install size by 85%.
After monitoring feedback and seeing no negative downsides to the game’s new slimline build, the game’s “large” build is being retired. When the “slim” build launched, the game’s older “large” version remained available as an optional build on Steam for PC gamers. This build is now being retired to save development resources. Since gamers are loving Helldivers 2’s new “slim” version, this is a good thing.
Thanks to Nixxes and Arrowhead’s efforts, Helldivers 2’s install size is now over 100GB smaller. That’s a lot of liberated HDD/SSD space. At worst, the game’s new, smaller file structure can cause HDD users to see loading times a few seconds longer. In most cases, HDD users see no changes in game loading times.
Greetings Helldivers
After extensive testing of our “slim” build (for more details on this history of this topic see here and here), 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 we will be removing the “large” build from Steam inline with our next patch – 17th March 2026.
Thank you for your continued support.
Originally, Helldivers 2’s PC version used data duplication to speed up the game’s loading times on HDDs. After careful analysis, this duplication was found to be unnecessary, even for HDD users. This meant that Helldivers 2’s PC install size could be decreased by over 100GB with no loss in quality. Now, Helldivers 2’s install size is less than 30GB. Previously, it was over 150GB.
With HDD/SSD space being expensive, Helldiver’s 2 huge install size was a problem. Now, the game’s install size is tiny. Better still, this reduced size allows the game to be downloaded faster and patched faster. That’s a huge win for PC gamers. If only the same could be done to more PC games…
You can join the discussion on Helldivers 2 retiring its “large” build on the OC3D Forums.
