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Fans shocked by Tekken 8 storage requirements, why are modern day games so hard to compress?

Amlan Roy
Published

An image showing Jinn from Tekken 8

Tekken 8 blew away fans with its 100GB storage requirement which is unquestionably shocking for a fighting game. Not only that but the game also requires hefty specifications for running it on PC. However, console players do not have to worry about that as the game is well-optimized on next-generation consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

The following are the PC-recommended requirements that have been set for the platform to play it at 60 FPS:

  • Resolution: 1080p (1920×1080)
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-7700K | Ryzen 5 2600
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 | AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT | Intel Arc A770
  • Video Memory (VRAM): 8 GB
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage: 100 GB SSD/HDD
  • Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 11 64-bit

With the high storage requirements, players are concerned about developers not compressing Tekken 8 well. Few of them even compared the game’s size with Call of Duty, which has crossed the 250 GB level at the time of writing. Moreover, fighting games are usually known for taking up less space than well-known Triple-A titles.

With the increase in game sizes in recent years, players are usually concerned about storage requirements. Thus, to install one game, players usually need to uninstall pre-loaded games on their system.

If the fighting game’s size is compared to Rockstar Games’s Red Dead Redemption which requires 150GB, it seems that compression is actually an issue. However, the requirements might be reasonable as Tekken-8 is a next-gen fighting title and has complex mechanics as well as highly detailed models.

Why are modern-day games like Tekken 8 so hard to compress?

Modern-day games have seen substantial increases in storage requirements and most titles also require SSDs. The size increases drastically because of in-game assets like 3D models and textures. Apart from that, games even have millions of lines of code that are required for the functioning of games.

Recent games with high graphics use 4K textures which gives them a more realistic look. Not only that, 3D assets with high poly count increase a game’s size further. Incidentally, sizes can be reduced if models are created with low poly count and textures that are compressed. However, that is a hard task as it is difficult to create high-quality assets with compressed details.

Since compression is a time-consuming process, most developers don’t see it as a required step. Moreover, public demand is another reason that pressurizes developers to bring the game to market as fast as possible. Moreover, at times, uncompressed games run better as they can be loaded faster without getting the GPU involved. 

The same type of technique was used for Alan Wake 2 which looks visually stunning and takes less size. However, when it comes to Tekken 8 the size requirements do come as a concern in some ways as it is a fighting game and not a Triple-A title.

About the author

Amlan Roy

Amlan Roy

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Amlan is an Esports and Game Journalist currently employed at The SportsRush. Before becoming a writer, he completed his Media studies at iLead Kolkata, India. He has been well acquainted with video games since he started gaming at the age of 8. He dived into the world of blogging in 2021 and wrote over 1000 articles across various media houses like Sportskeeda, GGTalks, and Spiel Times. He is also experienced with film and music apart from gaming.

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