NetEase Games is tackling one of the most persistent complaints surrounding "Marvel Rivals" with its upcoming Season 9.5 update, confirming a major overhaul aimed at shrinking the game's growing install size.
The announcement came through the latest Dev Vision video, addressing an issue that has followed the hero shooter since its earliest days on PC.
'Marvel Rivals' Season 9.5 Brings Storage Optimization
"Marvel Rivals" Creative Director Guangguang detailed the changes during the Season 9.5 Dev Vision Vol. 20, confirming the update includes a massive texture compression overhaul designed to reduce the game's overall visual display demands.
According to Guangguang, PC players can expect the install size to shrink by roughly 40GB, while PlayStation and Xbox players will see a smaller but still notable 15GB reduction.
Guangguang clarified that because of how the optimization works, the initial Season 9.5 download itself will actually be larger than usual as the game restructures its texture data.
Once that process completes, though, the overall footprint on a player's hard drive should end up considerably smaller than before, without any loss in visual fidelity according to the developer.
Long-Running Performance Issues on 'Marvel Rivals'
Every new "Marvel Rivals" season has historically added to the game's total download size, as new heroes, maps, skins, and other content pile on with each update.
Season 9's overhaul to the game's Team-Up system brought some of the most varied gameplay since launch. It also amplified visual clutter and performance complaints that players have voiced dating back to the game's original PC release.
Steam community discussions have documented these performance concerns since December 2024, with players reporting poor optimization even on capable hardware. This is in stark contrast to the game's noticeably smoother performance on PS5.
This is not the first live service shooter to face this kind of storage bloat either, with "Helldivers 2" going through a similar asset optimization pass earlier this year that shrank its own PC install size down to just 23GB.
NetEase's move follows that same broader industry trend of publishers revisiting how their live service titles handle asset storage as seasonal content keeps piling up.
When Is 'Marvel Rivals' Season 9.5 Coming?
"Marvel Rivals" Season 9.5 is set to launch on August 7, bringing the storage optimization alongside a full slate of new content. The update introduces The Hood as a new playable Vanguard hero, giving players access to Parker Robbins.
The Hood, also known as Parker Robbins, is a former criminal turned demonic-powered antihero capable of switching between human and demon forms while wielding dual pistols and cloak-based protective shields for allies.
Beyond the new hero, Season 9.5 also brings a fresh wave of cosmetics, in-game events, and balance adjustments aimed at stabilizing the current competitive meta, alongside the storage improvements themselves.
With NetEase already signaling that future seasons could bring similar optimization passes down the line, Season 9.5 marks one of the clearer efforts yet from the studio to address performance concerns. This issue has infamously followed "Marvel Rivals" since its release, even as the game's overall content library keeps expanding season after season.
