The Last of Us Part 2 stuttering and crashing on PC: Possible fixes and reasons

The much-anticipated PC port of The Last of Us Part 2 is finally available to purchase and play via Steam. Even though the game is incredible, PC ports of PlayStation exclusives have a reputation for being poorly optimised. The Last of Us Part 2 also seems to perform a little notoriously on even some of the best graphics cards available on the market.

In this article, we will explore a few reasons that could be responsible for poor performance while playing TLOU Part 2. Moreover, we have also listed some potential fixes to help you out.

Note: The fixes mentioned here are workarounds and are not guaranteed to work in every case. However, they are worth trying until Naughty Dog rolls out official patches.

Fixing performance issues with The Last of Us Part 2 on PC

1) Update your GPU drivers

Updating the GPU drivers can often fix performance issues (Image via PlayStation Publishing LLC)

Using outdated GPU drivers with even the best graphics card on the market can lead to dips in performance and a terrible gaming experience. This can be fixed very easily, though. You just need to download the latest drivers compatible with your GPU to get the best performance possible.

Nvidia users

If you own an Nvidia graphics card, you can check for updates using these steps:

Open the Nvidia App.
You will find the Drivers on the left side of the screen. Click to check for new available drivers for your GPU.
If there are new drivers available, click Download.
Once the download is complete, install the drivers by hitting Express Installation.

AMD users

If you own an AMD graphics card, follow these steps:

Download and open the AMD Adrenalin Edition app. It will auto-detect any pending driver updates.
If you have a driver update pending, click on Download Now.
Once the download is complete, the driver will begin to install automatically.

2) Run the game as administrator

Another simple fix to avoid performance issues while gaming is to ensure that you have allocated enough resources to the game. This can be done by following the steps:

Right-click on The Last of Us Part 2.exe.
Select Properties.
Under the Compatibility tab, select Run the program as an administrator.
Now, choose Run this program in compatibility mode for and select Windows 8.

3) Verify integrity of the game files

If your game files or save data are corrupted or tampered with by any chance, this can also lead to sudden crashing or stuttering while gaming. Refer to the following points to fix it:

Launch Steam on your PC.
Open your Game Library.
Right-click on The Last of Us Part 2 and open Properties.
Go to the Installed Files tab.
Select Verify Integrity of Game Files and let Steam analyze everything.

Also Read: The Last of Us Part 2: List of main quests and how long to beat the main story

For more guides and news regarding The Last of Us Part 2, stay tuned.