Arrowhead Game Studios said on December 2, 2025, that a public technical beta of a smaller Helldivers 2 PC build would reduce the estimated installation size from about 154 GB to about 23 GB—roughly 131 GB, or 85%. Those were approximate figures for the beta announcement, not a verified measurement of the game’s current installation size.
How did the slim build save about 131 GB?
Arrowhead attributed the reduction to completely de-duplicating game data. Its earlier technical explanation said the PC build contained repeated files, including shared textures and sound effects. Copies were placed near related level data to reduce seek time on mechanical hard drives; the studio said that approach was largely unnecessary for SSDs.
Arrowhead had described the PC installation as around 150 GB in its October 3, 2025, Tech Blog #1 – Install size. In the December 2 beta announcement, it gave approximate before-and-after estimates of 154 GB and 23 GB. The resulting saving—about 131 GB, or roughly 85%—was the developer’s estimate, not an independently measured current figure.
Did the smaller build change loading or gameplay?
Loading on mechanical hard drives
Arrowhead said its tests found that mission loading increased by only a few seconds in the worst cases for the small share of players using mechanical hard drives. The studio also said level generation accounted for most loading time, including for HDD users. These are the developer’s test findings; they are not independent performance measurements.
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Gameplay and shared progress
Arrowhead described the beta’s legacy and slim versions as functionally identical apart from installation size. It said players shared accounts, progression, war contributions, purchases, and matchmaking across versions.
How did players opt into the beta?
The December 2025 announcement instructed Steam players to select the prod_slim branch to opt in and None to opt out. Arrowhead warned that patches could break modded games and recommended a clean installation for the beta. These were the original beta instructions; they do not establish that the branch is still available or that the same labels apply today.
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Is the 23 GB version available now?
That is not established by the available current-status information. Arrowhead’s October 5, 2026, version 7.0.0 patch note confirms the game continued receiving updates, but does not state the current PC installation size or whether a separate slim branch remains available. The December 2025 figures should therefore be read as the beta announcement’s estimates, not as the present-day size of a standard or optional build.
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