Early 2023 Valve applied for “instant start” technology. The document describes the operation of the file system, which allows you to play until full download, as well as reduce the size by removing unused content.
The patent appeared on the web only today, and Pavel Dyundik, the creator of SteamDB, drew attention to it.
New Valve patent for tracking game file read operations and to allow “instant play” where you can start a game before it finishes downloading.https: //t.co/VYGj7p9siG
– Pavel Djundik (@thexpaw) September 21, 2023
A similar feature has been present on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One since launch. In addition, the ability to play until fully loaded is offered in the Battle.net client, but it is not available on Steam. It is worth noting that a patent does not always mean implementation, so it is not possible to say for sure whether Valve will add technology to its client in the future.
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