Helldivers 2’s 150GB PC install is “unacceptably large,” and Arrowhead says it could “theoretically” be cut in half

If you play Helldivers 2 on PC, you’ve likely noticed how much space it demands — roughly 150 GB. That’s significantly larger than the console install, and Arrowhead understands the frustration. The studio has been addressing the problem repeatedly, and game director Mikael Eriksson says shrinking the PC footprint remains a development priority.

In a recent official developer interview, Eriksson explained the root of the issue and pointed to a follow-up blog post by the studio’s deputy technical director. To remain compatible with mechanical hard drives as well as SSDs, the PC build currently duplicates many data files to speed up loading for HDD users. That redundancy stacks up, which helps explain the much smaller size seen on consoles where SSDs are standard. Watch the full interview on YouTube.

Eriksson summarized the situation by saying the PC install is currently “unacceptably large.” He noted that some titles avoid the problem by dropping support for mechanical drives, but Arrowhead wants to support both. One idea under consideration is offering different patch builds for players on HDDs versus those on SSDs — a change that could potentially reduce the PC install size substantially.

Eriksson urged caution — this is still an active area of development and no final solution has been shipped. He said the team sees genuine opportunities to make “quite big improvements” in PC install size and expects to share more specifics in future updates. For now, he wanted players to know the team is actively investigating fixes and recognizes the size is a problem.

Helldivers 2 nerfs the fan-favourite Coyote — the developers say they tried to preserve its feel but avoided leaving one weapon as the obvious best choice.