Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 File Size Drops 40GB On PC, 15GB On Console

Marvel Rivals will shed roughly 40GB on PC and 15GB on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S when Season 9.5 arrives on 7 August, the result of a texture compression overhaul NetEase Games walked through in its latest Dev Vision video. On console that takes the install down from around 73GB, a cut of roughly 20 percent, while the PC build loses over 57 percent of its footprint.

Creative director Guangyun Chen, who appears in the video under the name Guangguang, said the compression pass costs the game nothing visually. There is a catch attached, though. Because the assets are being repackaged from scratch, the Season 9.5 patch itself will download larger than a normal update before the smaller install size takes hold.

How Much Space Season 9.5 Saves On Each Platform

As of 5 August, the update is two days out. The reduction applies across all three current platforms, but not evenly. PC players stand to recover roughly 40GB, the largest single cut of the three, while PS5 and Xbox Series X|S installs come down by about 15GB each.

The PlayStation Store listing currently puts the PS5 version at a minimum of around 73GB, which makes the console saving a cut of roughly a fifth.

NetEase has not published a pre-patch PC install size. A 40GB cut worth more than 57 percent puts the current build in the region of 70GB, which would leave the PC version finishing the update meaningfully smaller than either console version rather than merely matching them.

Why The First Season 9.5 Download Will Be Larger Than Usual

The compression work does not arrive as a small incremental patch. Every affected asset is being rebuilt and repackaged, so the initial Season 9.5 download is bigger than a standard seasonal update.

“Note: Because we are completely repackaging these assets, the initial Season 9.5 update will be larger than usual, but the final install size will be much lighter,” Chen said in the Dev Vision video.

The space only comes back once that larger patch has finished installing, which makes 7 August a heavier download day before it becomes a lighter install. NetEase also says the compression carries no cost to visual detail, a claim players will be able to judge for themselves once the build is live.

The Content Flow Behind The Growing Install Size

The game’s footprint has climbed steadily since launch, and Chen framed the overhaul as a response to that growth rather than a one-off tidy-up.

“As the Marvel Rivals universe expands with every season, so does our file size,” he said. “While this is the nature of a growing Chronoverse, our tech wizards have been hard at work forging solutions.”

The free-to-play team-based hero shooter launched at the end of 2024 and has run a continuous content cycle since, with a roadmap tied to upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe releases including Avengers: Doomsday. It remains among the most-played titles on both PlayStation and Xbox. Season 9.5 also adds The Hood to the playable roster.

Season 9’s UI Changes Knocked The Steam Rating To Mixed

The run-up to Season 9.5 has not been clean. Season 9 introduced UI changes that drew sustained complaints from players, and the game’s overall Steam review rating has since dropped to ‘mixed’.

No revision or rollback of those UI changes has been announced as part of the Season 9.5 package, which so far covers the compression overhaul and the new hero.

What The Cut Means For The Switch 2 Version

Marvel Games confirmed a Switch 2 version of Marvel Rivals in March 2026, and no release date has been attached to it since. A leaner base install lands ahead of that port rather than after it, which means the version yet to ship is the one that inherits the compressed asset package from the start rather than needing a later cleanup pass of its own.

Season 9.5 goes live on 7 August across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with the Switch 2 version still without a date.