NetEase overhauls Marvel Rivals textures to shrink install size
Developed over time first seen 3 months ago
Marvel Rivals has received a major update that significantly cuts the game's install size across all platforms, addressing growing concerns over storage demands. The change comes via a texture compression overhaul that developer NetEase says does not sacrifice any visual quality, making the popular hero shooter considerably lighter to keep installed.
On PS5 and Xbox, the install size dropped by roughly 15GB, from 73GB down to around 58GB, a 20 percent reduction, while the PC version shrank by about 40GB, over 57 percent smaller. Creative director Guangyun Chen explained that the repackaging meant the initial Season 9.5 download was actually larger than usual before settling at the smaller final size, with the update having gone live on 7th August. The change arrived as Marvel Rivals remained one of the most-played titles on consoles, though a recent UI overhaul had frustrated some players and pushed its Steam rating down to "mixed", an issue the developer was expected to address given its track record of responding to player feedback.
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In short
- Marvel Rivals' Season 9.5 update shrank install sizes via texture compression
- Consoles cut ~15GB (73GB to 58GB); PC cut ~40GB, over 57% smaller
- Update went live 7th August despite a larger one-off initial download
How this story developed
- 3 months ago Marvel Rivals will get a texture compression overhaul cutting install size by roughly 15GB (20%) on PS5 and Xbox and about 40GB (over 57%) on PC without lowering visual quality, with the update, detailed by creative director Guangyun Chen as involving a larger-than-usual initial Season 9.5 download before settling smaller, due on 7th August amid a "mixed" Steam rating following a contentious UI overhaul.
Explained simply
Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play team-based shooter built around Marvel superheroes and villains, developed by NetEase Games. It's available on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox, and has built up a large, active player base since launch, making it one of the more prominent live-service games on consoles.
Like many modern online games, it requires a hefty chunk of storage space to install, something that has become a growing frustration for players as consoles and PCs fill up with large titles. Developers periodically issue updates to optimise how games store their data, often by compressing textures (the image files that give characters and environments their detail) without changing how the game actually looks.
NetEase has been rolling out regular seasonal content updates for Marvel Rivals, and the game has also faced some criticism recently over changes to its user interface. Any move to substantially reduce the amount of space the game takes up matters to the wider player base, since storage limits can affect whether people keep a game installed or decide to delete it.
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Originally published by Eurogamer as “Marvel Rivals’ next update drastically reduces the game’s install size on PC and console”.