It seems like the Deathloop PC port is having trouble – but the devs are on it

Deathloop
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Deathloop has just launched to almost universal critical praise – including our own – but it seems like the PC port is experiencing some performance issues. But, at least Bethesda is working on it. 

The issues seem to center around stuttering, particularly when playing at higher framerates. This is understandably frustrating for a first-person shooter that is all about fast-paced action like Deathloop. Luckily, a Bethesda Community Manager responded to a complaint on Reddit, saying that the developers are actively investigating the issue and that it's a priority. 

But it seems like the issues are pretty widespread. The Deathloop subreddit is topped with performance and crash issues. Luckily, right now, user u/ItsCigThirty has detailed a fix for the microstuttering issue. And if you're running into the issue on a high-refresh rate monitor, limiting the framerate to 60 might be the best way to alleviate the issue for now. There's more to their fix, so we recommend going to their post and trying it out for yourself. 

We haven't run into this issue ourselves in our limited time with the PC version of the game, and we are playing it on the Samsung Neo G9, which is also a high-refresh display. 

A lot of the comments on Reddit about this port seem to point to Denuvo as the culprit, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. So, it's probably best to wait until Bethesda puts out a patch to fix the issue. And, until then, you might want to pick it up on PS5 instead of PC if you're not interested in tinkering with the game to make it run well. 


Opinion: a blight on what seemed like a good port

When we reviewed Deathloop for TechRadar, it was on PS5, so the full review obviously didn't run into any of these issues. But I have played the Deathloop PC port for about an hour, and it's been running like a dream so far. With that low of a playtime, I cannot definitively say the port is good or not, but I have liked what I've seen. 

It supports the bananas 32:9 ultrawide resolution of the monitor I'm using right now, and even supports both Nvidia Reflex and AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution, which is definitely a combination I didn't see coming. Not to mention there's a wealth of settings that make it easy to tweak the game to your liking. 

However, I'm going to have to try and replicate these issues, just because I can't leave anything like this alone. One of the biggest things that attracts people to PC gaming these days is the fact that it's so flexible and being able to play games at a high refresh rate is incredibly important to a lot of PC players. 

While I might only be an hour into the game, one of my favorite things to do already is mess up stealth because I'm impatient, and then immediately panicking and gunning down everything in sight. And I've been able to do that around 90-110 fps most of the time, which has made it even more enjoyable. 

So there might be a solution out there that fixes the stuttering by limiting the framerate down to 60 fps, but that's no way to play Deathloop, especially if you have the hardware to actually run the game at a high framerate. Hopefully Bethesda is able to figure out the culprit and get it fixed ASAP, because this is definitely a game where a higher framerate is definitely going to benefit the experience. 

Via CNet, Kitguru

Jackie Thomas

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN. Previously, she was TechRadar's US computing editor. She is fat, queer and extremely online. Computers are the devil, but she just happens to be a satanist. If you need to know anything about computing components, PC gaming or the best laptop on the market, don't be afraid to drop her a line on Twitter or through email.

Read more
A character riding their horse through the Japanese landscape of in Rise of the Ronin
Another day, another dreadful PC port - Rise of the Ronin joins the list of woeful PC launches with even an Nvidia RTX 4090 succumbing to stutters
Upset young man plays computer games at home.
Windows 11 24H2 is in danger of becoming hated by gamers
An angry PC Gamer sat at their desk looking unhappy
It looks like the Nvidia App could be doing more harm than good by tanking game performance – but there’s a fix
V is held up at a ramen bar
Cyberpunk 2077 runs above 120fps at 4K in full path tracing using DLSS 4 and Frame Generation on Nvidia's RTX 5080 - should we be concerned about game dev optimization?
Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Nvidia's new DLSS 4 driver might be appealing, but you might want to avoid it for now - it's reportedly causing crashes across several games, potentially even BSoDs
A PC gamer sitting at a desk wearing a headset with a purple-blue LED glow
How to optimize your gaming PC for 60fps performance
Latest in Consoles & PC
Asus ROG Ally using Steam
I think Asus could be the perfect partner for an Xbox handheld – but I have questions
Astro Bot PS5 bundle
Sony officially announces new Astro Bot PS5 bundles and they're available from PlayStation Direct right now for bargain prices we can barely believe
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
Future PlayStation games could have AI-powered characters, if this leaked prototype of Aloy is anything to go by
The artwork for The Last of Us Limited Edition DualSense controller
Where to pre-order and buy The Last of Us Limited Edition DualSense controller today - UK pre-orders are live but stock has sold out already
Playing games on the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma without an external display.
The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma offers Steam Deck owners a premium design and, of course, plenty of RGB
Image of GTA 6 protagonists and PS5
GTA 6's console-only launch reminds me of how much I despise console exclusivity - is it worth waiting years for PC ports?
Latest in News
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #1147)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #378)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #644)
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough