Deathloop is a strong “game of the year” contender thanks to its unique design and gorgeous art style. However, that opinion may only be held by people playing the game on PlayStation 5, where it is a console-exclusive. PC players, on the other hand, are struggling to enjoy the game because it has been butting up against performance problems on some rigs, an issue that developer Arkane is now officially looking into.
In response to a post on Reddit that praises how high-quality Deathloop‘s hamburgers look (and they’re admittedly pretty damn good), a community manager for the game said that its PC performance issues are the focus of an ongoing investigation. “We’re actively investigating the issue right now as a priority, and will update you with more specific information as soon as possible,” wrote the community manager, who goes by MortalEmperor on Reddit.
Deathloop‘s performance on PC has varied from user to user, with some saying the game runs fine at 1080p thanks to their RTX 3070, while other users with the same setup say that any explosive action can lead to frame rate dips into the single digits. My experience with the game so far has been solidly mixed. My PC meets the game’s recommended specs almost exactly, but I’ve experienced some choppy gameplay as well. Deathloop runs from 80 to 100 frames per second but experiences hitches due to spikes in frame time. I’ve also experienced a few hard crashes with the game, including one that happens consistently when I try to change the monitor the game displays on.
While the reason for Deathloop‘s poor PC performance hasn’t been nailed down, many PC users are blaming the game’s inclusion of Denuvo’s antipiracy software. Denuvo has a proven reputation for interfering with a game’s performance, with the software most recently impacting Resident Evil Village on PC. In 2020, the addition of Denuvo anti-cheat and subsequent review bombing prompted Doom Eternal developer ID Software to remove the service in a later patch.
