Ghost of Tsushima PC stuttering error: Possible fixes, reasons, and more explored

Ghost of Tsushima on PC, despite being a fantastic port from Nixxes Software, isn't completely immune to technical shortcomings, with many players reporting crashes and stuttering errors with the latest PlayStation PC title. While the crashes can mostly be remedied by disabling the FSR3 Frame-generation, the stuttering issues can't be fixed using similar measures.

On PC, the stuttering issue can be very jarring, especially if you're playing at higher framerates. Oftentimes, the game tends to dip from the high 90s to the upper 20s at a moment's notice, before eventually stabilizing. This happens most prominently in densely populated regions and/or while arriving in new areas of the map.

Fortunately, there are more than a few ways to eliminate stuttering in the game. Here are some potential fixes for the stuttering error in Ghost of Tsushima PC.

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Potential fixes for stuttering error in Ghost of Tsushima PC

The first thing to make sure of before you start playing Ghost of Tsushima is that your PC meets the system requirements mentioned by Nixxes. While you can technically play the game on a PC with lower than the minimum system requirements, the gameplay experience won't be ideal due to stuttering and freezing issues.

Despite a dedicated shader precompilation step, Ghost of Tsushima can often exhibit stuttering on PC (Image via Nixxes Software)

Ghost of Tsushima, much like other Nixxes PC ports, is very heavy in both the CPU and VRAM department. Even at 1080p, the game can max out an 8GB GPU if Texture Quality is set to Very High. Additionally, Nixxes highly recommends installing the game on an SSD to alleviate any instances of texture streaming stutters.

That being said, other factors might make the game stutter or freeze during gameplay. Here are a few potential fixes to try out if you're facing stuttering issues with the game:

1) Disable PlayStation Overlay

Unsurprisingly, for many PC users, the newly added PlayStation Overlay in the PC version of Ghost of Tsushima can significantly impact performance, akin to most in-game overlays. Thankfully, if you aren't using it to track your trophy progress, there's a way to disable the PlayStation Overlay:

• Head to the Program Data folder in your system's installation directory.
• Under Program Data > Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc, you will find a folder named PSPC_SDK.
• Delete PSPC_SDK.
• Switch Steam to offline mode.
• Launch the game.

Disabling PlayStation Overlay eliminates stuttering and also helps improve performance by 10% to 40% depending on your system specifications.

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2) Reduce graphics settings

If you're facing constant stutters and freezes in the game, I highly recommend reducing graphics settings to free up some GPU resources. You can refer to our Ghost of Tsushima optimization guide for the best settings to use in the game. The most impactful settings that affect performance are - Texture Quality, Shadow Quality, Level of Detail, and Ambient Occlusion.

It's also helpful to use upscalers like DLSS and FSR to boost performance and stabilize the game's framerate.

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3) Disable TAA and Frame-generation

Use DLAA if you have an Nvidia GPU (Image via Nixxes Software)

In the current version of the game, the TAA and Frame-generation implementation seems to be bugged, which can cause stuttering and in rare instances even crashing errors in Ghost of Tsushima. As such, it's best not to use either option for now. You can use DLAA for antialiasing if you have enough GPU headroom. Otherwise, simply use DLSS or FSR3 on their Quality preset.