This $6 Tool Frees Up Hundreds of GB in Your Game Library

7/25/2026

storagepc-gamingtipswindows

With storage prices stubbornly high in 2026, the smartest upgrade might not be a new SSD at all — it might be six dollars of software. According to Tom’s Hardware, a utility called Game Compressor leverages Windows’ built-in LZX compression to reclaim hundreds of gigabytes across a typical game library.

The key facts

What it does: Applies Windows’ native LZX file compression to installed games
Cost: About $6 — a fraction of any SSD upgrade
Potential savings: Hundreds of GB across a large library
The clever part: LZX decompression happens transparently, so games still launch normally

My take: this is the rare “life hack” that’s actually just good engineering

Here’s what I love about this approach — it isn’t some sketchy magic trick. LZX compression has been sitting inside Windows for years, mostly unused because Microsoft never gave it a friendly interface. Game files are often full of compressible data, and modern CPUs decompress LZX so quickly that on fast machines the performance cost is typically negligible for most titles.

Could you do this yourself for free with the compact command? Absolutely — and tinkerers should. But paying a few dollars for a clean interface that batch-processes your library and shows you what you saved is a fair trade for most people. Your time is worth something.

Practical tips before you compress

Compress your backlog first. Games you’re not actively playing are perfect candidates — you’ll never notice decompression overhead on a game you launch once a month.
Skip your competitive shooters. For latency-obsessed players, keep your daily driver uncompressed. The impact is tiny, but peace of mind is free.
Expect varied results. Some games are already heavily compressed by their engines; others shrink dramatically. It depends on the title.

Who is Game Compressor for?

Anyone with a 1TB SSD and a Steam library that laughs at it. That’s most of us. Laptop gamers with soldered, non-upgradeable storage benefit most of all.

Verdict

Before you spend three figures on a new drive, spend $6 (or five minutes with the free command line) and see how much space you get back. This is the best storage-per-dollar move in PC gaming right now.

Source: Tom’s Hardware