Live-service games can become increasingly demanding on storage as new seasons, heroes and cosmetic content are added. Marvel Rivals is set to tackle that problem with its next major update.
Season 9.5 launches on 7 August, bringing The Hood and a fresh range of swimsuit skins to NetEase Games’ hero shooter. Its most practical change, however, is a substantial rebuild of the game’s texture-compression system. During the season 9.5 stream, NetEase said the work would be completed “without sacrificing a single pixel of visual fidelity.”
How much storage will Marvel Rivals save?
The current installation occupies approximately 73 GB on consoles and about 100 GB on PC. The season 9.5 overhaul will reduce those requirements by 15 GB on consoles and 40 GB on PC.
- Consoles: approximately 58 GB after a 15 GB reduction
- PC: approximately 60 GB after a 40 GB reduction
That represents a significant saving for console players and a reduction of almost half the existing PC installation. For comparison, Marvel Rivals occupied roughly 40 GB on consoles and 70 GB on PC when it launched in 2024. After the texture overhaul, both versions will be closer to their launch footprints, while the PC edition will be smaller than it was at release.
With modern game installations regularly consuming large amounts of drive space, reclaiming 15 GB or 40 GB can make a noticeable difference. Players managing several games alongside their arcade machines will have more room available without losing the game’s stated visual quality.
The initial update will be larger
The storage saving comes with a temporary inconvenience. Season 9.5 will be larger than a typical Marvel Rivals update because the game’s assets must be completely repackaged as part of the compression process.
That larger download may frustrate players who want to start the new season immediately, but the short-term increase is intended to deliver a smaller installation afterwards. The change is less visible than a new hero or cosmetic range, yet it should provide an ongoing benefit for players with limited storage.
For more gaming and hardware coverage, visit RETROCADE’s Arcade Blog. Readers planning a dedicated setup can also use the Arcade Machine Buying Guide to compare cabinet formats and space requirements.
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