In case you missed it, a brand-new F2P title is making waves and its name is Once Human. The open-world multiplayer survival game launched on the 9th of July and is available on multiple platforms, including Steam and Epic. While we expect the majority of PC gamers to grab the game on Steam (who doesn’t like all their games in one place?), user reports now suggest that trying out a different launcher is the way to go.

We’ve noticed multiple users complaining about low FPS on the Steam version of the game, even with an RTX 4090 – the current best GPU on the market. So, if you are indeed experiencing low framerates on Steam, maybe try out the NetEase launcher, or Loading Bay as it is known.

Once Human players are getting better performance on the NetEase launcher

Poor performance on the Steam version doesn’t seem to be an isolated case. According to multiple users on this Reddit thread, the game runs much better when playing through the NetEase launcher, the developer’s official platform it seems. Rather than getting the game through Steam, downloading it directly from the Once Human site with the ‘Windows’ option looks to be the way to go for now. Or maybe try out the Loading Bay launcher which is the ‘NetEase Game Official Platform’.

According to the original poster, merg93, they were getting just 50 FPS via Steam. But on the NetEase launcher, they enjoyed 150+ as you’d probably expect from an RTX 4090 – especially since Once Human’s system requirements are hardly demanding.

Whether improvements will come to Steam in the future remains to be seen, though we imagine this will be a hot topic moving forward if it continues to plague users. No one wants to play with low FPS or stuttering, and it will only turn users away from the fan-favorite platform.

What’s the cause of this?

Though there’s a small sample size at the moment, one user suggests that your GPU will not be fully utilized on the Steam version. The reason why exactly? We don’t know for now, but it seems to be the biggest performance bottleneck at the moment. Through NetEase, a user’s benchmark reports 93% GPU usage, achieving 203 FPS. On the flip side, the Steam version only clocks in 45% GPU usage and a much lower 82 FPS as a result.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.