gaming

Marvel Rivals cuts PC install by ~40 GB with season 9.5 texture overhaul

NetEase repackaged Marvel Rivals' assets as part of its season 9.5 update, using an optimized texture resource compression across all platforms to shrink the PC install by about 40 GB. The initial season 9.5 patch download is larger than normal because of the rework, but the final installed footprint is much smaller. Creative director Guangyun Chen described the work as a massive texture compression overhaul that preserves visual fidelity. This frees substantial disk space for players and follows similar storage-reduction efforts in other recent games.

• NetEase implemented an "optimized texture resource compression strategy across all platforms" in season 9.5, reducing PC install size by ~40 GB.
• The initial season 9.5 update file is larger than usual due to the repackaging work, but the final installed size is significantly reduced after installation.
• Creative director Guangyun Chen described the change as a "massive texture compression overhaul" intended to preserve visual fidelity.
• The move echoes similar storage overhauls in other games, such as Helldivers 2 shrinking from ~154 GB to ~23 GB via deduplication and compression.