If The Last of Us Part 2 is stuttering, freezing, or there are FPS drops, here’s how you can fix it
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There's nothing worse than waiting for years to finally play The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered on PC, only to deal with annoying performance issues when you launch it. Stuttering, freezing, flickering, and FPS drops can ruin the whole experience, as the game starts lagging, feels slow, and the fun quickly disappears. What's worse is that these issues can happen even if your PC has the latest hardware, like an RTX 5090.
If you’re currently in the same boat, don't worry, as we’re here to help. While the developers will most likely release updates to fix everything in the next few weeks, you don't have to wait. This is because there are plenty of methods that you can try right now to get rid of the problems, and we’ll go over them one by one.
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How to fix stuttering, freezing, and FPS drop issues in The Last of Us Part 2 on PC
Here are the methods you can try if the issues are not going away on their own.
Prevent overheating
Overheating is one of the most common reasons behind stuttering, FPS drops, flickering, and freezing. When your PC parts get too hot, they slow down to protect themselves. This can cause your game to lag or crash. You can check the temps using tools like MSI Afterburner or HWiNFO.
If the temperatures go too high right after launching The Last of Us 2, or just a few minutes into gameplay, that means something is wrong. Your system might not be getting enough airflow, or it could need cleaning. Make sure your fans are also working and nothing is blocking them. You should also replace the thermal paste of your CPU and GPU, as this can help with improving cooling.
Update your GPU drivers
GPU drivers help your graphics card work well with new games. If your drivers are old, the game might not run smoothly. For example, AMD recently released Adrenalin Edition 25.3.2, which adds support for The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered and improves performance. So, if you haven’t already, follow these steps to update the drivers:
- Visit the official website of Nvidia, AMD, or Intel, depending on the GPU you’re using.
- Go to the drivers section.
- Search for your GPU model.
- Download and install the latest driver.
If you have the dedicated application of your GPU installed, like the Nvidia App, you can also use it to update the drivers.
Lock the FPS
The Last of Us Part 2 isn’t a fast-paced shooter, so you don’t need super high FPS. Instead, 60 FPS will be enough to enjoy the game smoothly without any issues. This also means that you can lock the FPS without worrying about the performance getting affected. A user on the Steam Community forum claimed they were able to fix stuttering in the game by locking the FPS to 60.
They also turned V-Sync on, a feature that is designed to match the FPS with the monitor’s refresh rate. With the FPS locked to 60 and V-Sync turned on, you will hopefully no longer face any issues like stuttering, freezing, flickering, or FPS drops. Both settings can be changed from the game’s graphics menu, but don’t forget to restart TLOS 2 after making the changes.
Turn off Frame Generation
If you’re using an Nvidia card, you might have Frame Generation turned on. For those who don’t know, this feature uses AI to create extra frames and improve performance. But for now, it’s not working properly in The Last of Us 2, as it can make things worse instead of improving them. If you’re currently using it, turn it off until a future update fixes it. You can do this from your Nvidia Control Panel or inside the game's settings.
Close background applications
If you have lots of apps open while playing The Last of Us Part 2, your system might not have enough resources left for the game. Apps like Discord, Spotify, and browsers can take up a lot of memory and processing power, and keeping such applications open in the background can put a lot of burden on the system.
To fix this, close all apps you don't need. We recommend using the Task Manager to quickly find and shut down any background programs. This will free up system resources and help the game run better.
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