PlayStation has a studio it had better protect, because what it just pulled off with Helldivers 2’s installation size borders on sorcery. Nixxes teamed up with Arrowhead Game Studios to slash the game’s footprint by an outrageous 85%.

One of Arrowhead Game Studios’ most persistent problems has finally been resolved. Helldivers 2 may be PlayStation’s most successful live-service title, but its road was far from smooth, and one of the latest issues revolved around its enormous size. On PS5 and Xbox Series X/S it used 40 GB, while the PC edition ballooned past 140 GB. The reason we’re talking about this in the past tense? Because the developers managed to fully optimize the game with the help of Nixxes Software, achieving an 85% reduction in installation size.

The result looks like black magic: Helldivers 2 dropped from 154 GB installed to just 23 GB. For now, this optimized version isn’t available to everyone; according to a statement from Arrowhead Game Studios on Steam, it will first be tested through a public beta, and if things go smoothly, it will then roll out for all PC players.

As if that weren’t enough, Arrowhead also confirmed that the new optimized size slightly improves loading times. Originally, data duplication was necessary because HDD-based systems loaded ten times slower than machines with SSDs, though these estimates reflected worst-case scenarios. Now, with real metrics in hand, the team discovered that the real slowdown came from level generation, not asset loading. The latest changes made with Nixxes have improved this as well.

Nixxes Software: A Studio of Triumphs With One Ugly Mark

Nixxes Software has been celebrated many times for its technical expertise. The studio handled numerous PlayStation-to-PC ports, delivering titles that impressed players with their graphics and performance, including Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, Horizon: Forbidden West: Complete Edition, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

But the team also carries a major stain. In 2025, Nixxes released a Spider-Man 2 PC port so poorly optimized that it shocked everyone – performance drops, bugs, and even crashes on high-end machines. The issues were eventually patched, and the developer moved on to new projects like Helldivers 2, but it’s clear that while far from perfect, Nixxes can deliver technical miracles. The hope now is that they never again fall into a situation like the one involving Peter Parker and Miles Morales.

Source: 3djuegos