What Steam lists now
According to the current Steam store page, the minimum tier requires a 64-bit processor and operating system, Windows 10, an Intel Core i7-4790K or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, 8 GB RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 470, and 135 GB of available space. The recommended tier lists an Intel Core i7-9700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, 16 GB RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600XT, 135 GB of storage and a note that an SSD is recommended.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10, 64-bit | Windows 10, 64-bit |
| CPU | Core i7-4790K or Ryzen 5 1500X | Core i7-9700K or Ryzen 7 3700X |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | GTX 1050 Ti or RX 470 | RTX 2060 or RX 6600XT |
| Storage | 135 GB | 135 GB |
| Note | None | SSD recommended |
Where the 40 GB figure fails
The Explosion guide, published October 12, 2026, says it checked Steam on October 8. It lists 135 GB for the minimum tier and only 40 GB for the recommended tier. The guide calls that an oddity and guesses the recommended number is an error or an outdated entry.
The Steam page retrieved in our research, indexed as updated six days ago, shows 135 GB under both tiers. I could not confirm when or whether the 40 GB figure ever appeared on Steam. If it did, it is not there now. Treat 40 GB as unreliable and plan around the figure on Steam's live listing.
Third-party tables also vary:
- Thetechverdict lists 135 GB for both tiers, matching Steam.
- Older guides show 100 GB. Esports.gg lists 100 GB for both tiers, and Chillblast lists 100 GB across its tiers.
- PC Gamer's launch-era coverage noted that the steepest requirement was 100 GB of free space, with an SSD recommended for anything above minimum spec.
The stated space requirement has apparently grown from 100 GB to 135 GB since launch. The sources I found don't explain why. A game's footprint tends to grow as updates add content, but that is general industry knowledge, not something these sources say. Many guides still carry the old figure.
What to do before installing
- Open the Steam store page and read the System Requirements section, not a third-party summary.
- Check that the target drive has the full 135 GB free. Don't plan around 40 GB or 100 GB.
- Put the game on an SSD. Steam's recommended tier says so, though the listing doesn't say how much faster it will be.
- Compare your CPU, GPU and RAM against the table above. Steam gives no resolution, frame-rate or preset targets, so meeting a tier doesn't guarantee any particular experience.
- Check your Windows version. Steam's wording names Windows 10 with a 64-bit processor and OS. It doesn't say Windows 11 is unsupported.
Hardware context
The listed parts are a few years old. PC Gamer's launch coverage described the RTX 2060 and RX 6600 XT as four years old and two-and-a-half years old at the time and the recommended CPUs as more than four years old. That was written near launch, so those parts are older now. Whether your own PC will run the game well depends on your hardware and settings, which Steam's listing doesn't cover.
Beware of aggressive third-party tables. One site, Perfgamer, lists a GTX 1080 Ti as the minimum GPU and says an SSD is mandatory. That conflicts with Steam's minimum GTX 1050 Ti and its "SSD recommended" note, so treat it with caution.
Steam Deck status
Valve's Deck Verified program defines "Playable" as a game that may require some manual tweaking by the user to play. That is different from Verified, where a game works great out of the box. SteamDB's record for Helldivers 2 lists the category as Playable. Its notes say some in-game text is small and may be hard to read. They also say all functionality is reachable with the default controller configuration and that the default graphics configuration performs well on Steam Deck. SteamDB records a test date of March 20, 2026. Check the live badge on Steam, since ratings can change.
Bottom line
- The CPU, GPU, RAM and OS requirements on Steam are consistent across the sources I checked.
- Storage is the number to watch. Steam currently lists 135 GB for both tiers, and older guides still say 100 GB.
- The 40 GB recommended-tier figure in Explosion's guide doesn't match the current Steam listing.
- The game is listed as Playable on Steam Deck, not Verified.