Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Now Optimized for Smaller Storage on Steam Deck

Modern games, like the much-anticipated Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, are notorious for eating up storage space. Thankfully, Square Enix has stepped up to the plate by utilizing a feature that should be on every developer’s radar, helping reduce storage impact, especially on devices like the Steam Deck.

According to GamingOnLinux, the latest update for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has made life a bit easier by significantly shrinking download size for Steam Deck users. This means that instead of the hefty over 144GB you’d need on a desktop PC, the game now trims down to just above 88GB on Steam Deck. While that’s still sizeable, it’s a massive relief for handheld gamers. A big shoutout to Square Enix from Steam Deck communities everywhere!

To illustrate why this matters, consider the Steam Deck itself. It doesn’t really need heavy-duty high-resolution textures or ultra-realistic cut scenes, and developers have an opportunity to capitalize on that.

So, why does this magical reduction in size benefit the Steam Deck specifically? I’ll admit, this strategy wasn’t on my radar until GamingOnLinux shed some light on it. It turns out developers can tailor their content packages exclusively for the Steam Deck when uploading to Steam.

By doing so, they can set up a special content depot that trims down overall file sizes, offering, for example, lower resolution textures. Let’s be honest, nobody’s chasing 4K graphics or high-performance ray tracing on the Deck, right?

This isn’t a revolutionary idea either. Remember Borderlands 2? It offered an HD texture pack as an optional download for those who craved it and had the gear to match.

Sure, the Steam Deck is powerful in its own right, but it’s not built for those ultra-detailed texture packs found on cutting-edge hardware. Offering versions specifically sans these extras is just practical. Unfortunately, very few developers take this approach, though they really should.

Kudos to Square Enix for paving the way here—they’re raising the bar for others to follow. If you’re keen to take advantage of this space-saving update, look for version 1.003. Go ahead, download it, and reclaim that much-needed storage space!