Fix: Dead Island 2 Stuttering, Lags, or Freezing constantly

Dead Island 2, a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Dambuster Studios and published by Deep Silver, is the sequel to the 2011 video game Dead Island and represents the third major installment in the Dead Island series. The game is now accessible on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S platforms.

To run the game requires enough hardware configuration to run properly, especially for PC, because not everyone may have such a configuration to run the game in full resolution and higher FPS. It’s quite common for most PC titles because they’re performance-hungry. Here, we’ve provided steps to fix Dead Island 2 Stuttering and Lags issues.

Unfortunately, while in gameplay, some Dead Island 2 PC players are experiencing multiple issues like stuttering, lags, crashes, frame drops, etc.. Depending on the compatibility factor, it can be a severe issue on some PCs. So, it’s always better to fix the issue so that at least you can play the game with a respectable FPS count. There may be several reasons behind such an issue that can be resolved by following this guide.

Check System Requirements

Check out the system requirements of the Dead Island 2 game below to ensure that your PC configuration meets the game’s system requirements.

Minimum Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10
• Res/FPS: 1080p, 30 fps
• CPU: AMD FX-9590 or Intel Core i7 7700HQ
• RAM: 10GB
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 480 or GeForce GTX 1060
• Storage: 70GB

Recommended Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10
• Res/FPS: 1080p, 60 fps
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X or Intel Core i9 9900K
• RAM: 16GB
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT or GeForce RTX 2080 Super
• Storage: 70GB

Fix: Dead Island 2 Stuttering and Lags Badly

Fixing in-game lags or frame drop issues isn’t easy because it depends on multiple factors, such as PC hardware, the display resolution of the game, maximum FPS limit count, conflicting third-party apps, and more. So, we recommend you try following all the methods individually until the problem gets fixed or reduced. Changing the in-game graphics-related settings or keeping them low can fix several problems in a jiffy.

It may include the Screen Resolution of the game, in-game Texture Resolution, Shadow Resolution, Maximum Frame rate, number of Characters Displayed, or other visual effects that require higher graphics or memory. So, you can follow the steps below to try reducing the lags or frame drops to some extent depending on which resolution and quality you’re playing the game, apart from FPS count.

1. Use Launch Options

1. Open Epic Games Launcher: Run the Epic Games Launcher on your computer and sign in to your account if necessary.
2. Go to Library: Click on the ‘Library’ tab located in the left-hand sidebar to view the list of games associated with your account.
3. Access Game Settings: Locate the game you want to configure and click on the three-dot menu icon (⋮) below the game title.
4. Edit Game Settings: Select ‘Options’ or ‘Settings’ from the drop-down menu. This will open the game-specific settings window.
5. Configure Full Screen: Look for a setting related to full-screen or display modes. This option may be labelled as ‘Full Screen’, ‘Windowed’, ‘Borderless’, or ‘Windowed Full Screen’. Choose the ‘Full Screen’ or ‘Windowed Full Screen’ option, depending on your preference.
6. Save and Close: Click ‘Save’, ‘Apply’, or a similar button to confirm your changes and close the settings window.
7. Launch the Game: Click on the game’s title or ‘Launch’ button in the Epic Games Launcher to start the game in the configured full-screen mode.

Please note that the specific steps and settings names may vary depending on the game. Some games might not have an option to configure the display mode through the Epic Games Launcher, and you’ll have to adjust the settings in-game instead.

2. Update Graphics Drivers

• Right-click on the Start Menu to open up the Quick Access Menu.
• Click on Device Manager from the list.
• Now, double-click on the Display adapters category to expand the list.
• Then right-click on the dedicated graphics card name.
• Select Update driver > Choose Search automatically for drivers.
• An update will automatically download and install the latest version if available.
• Once done, make sure to reboot your computer to change the effects.

3. Run the Epic Launcher and Game as an administrator

Run the game exe file as an administrator to avoid user account control regarding privilege issues. You should also run the Epic Launcher client as an administrator on your PC. To do this:

1. Locate the Epic Games Launcher executable file: Navigate to the folder where the Epic Games Launcher is installed on your computer. By default, it should be in C:\Program Files (x86)\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries\Win64.
2. Find the executable file: Within the Win64 folder, locate the Epic Games Launcher executable file, named EpicGamesLauncher.exe.
3. Run as Administrator: Right-click on the EpicGamesLauncher.exe file and select ‘Run as administrator’ from the context menu. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click ‘Yes’ to grant the necessary permissions.

The Epic Games Launcher will now launch with administrator privileges. To make this a permanent setting:

1. Open Properties: Right-click on the EpicGamesLauncher.exe file and select ‘Properties’ from the context menu.
2. Compatibility tab: In the Properties window, click the ‘Compatibility’ tab.
3. Run as Administrator: Under the Settings section, check the box next to ‘Run this program as an administrator’.
4. Apply changes: Click on the ‘Apply’ button and then on ‘OK’ to save your changes.

The Epic Games Launcher will now always run as an administrator when launched from the EpicGamesLauncher.exe file

You can also do the same steps for Dead Island 2 game executable file to ensure the game application has UAC access.

4. Set High Priority in Task Manager

Make your game priority in the higher segment via the Task Manager to tell your Windows system to run the game properly. To do this:

• Right-click on the Start Menu > Select Task Manager.
• Click on the Processes tab > Right-click on the Dead Island 2 game task.
• Select Set Priority to High.
• Close Task Manager.
• Finally, run the Dead Island 2 game to check for the issue.

5. Verify the Integrity of Game Files

If there is an issue with the game files and somehow get corrupted or missing, then make sure to perform this method to check for the issue easily. To do so:

6. Change GPU Settings

Make sure to change the graphics card settings on the PC by following the steps below to check whether the problem has been fixed.

For Nvidia:

• Open up Nvidia’s Control Panel > Right-click on the desktop screen.
• Click on Nvidia Control Panel > Click on Manage 3D Settings.
• Select Program Settings > Find ‘Dead Island 2’ and manually add the game if it’s not in the list:
  • Monitor Tech: G-Sync (If available)
  • Maximum Pre-rendered frames: 2
  • Threaded optimization: On
  • Power Management: Prefer Maximum Performance
  • Texture Filtering – Quality: Performance

For AMD:

• Monitor Tech: G-Sync (If available)
• Maximum Pre-rendered frames: 2
• Threaded optimization: On
• Power Management: Prefer Maximum Performance
• Texture Filtering – Quality: Performance

7. Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

Full-screen optimization and DPI settings are the default ones on Windows. You should try disabling it by following the steps below:

• Locate the Dead Island 2 game directory.
• Find and right-click on the Dead Island 2.exe file.
• Select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.
• Checkmark the ‘Disable Full-Screen Optimizations’ box.
• Now, click on the ‘Change high DPI setting’s button.
• Checkmark the ‘Override high DPI scaling behavior’ > Select ‘Application’ from the drop-down menu.
• Click on Apply and then OK to save changes.

8. Update Dead Island 2

If in case, you haven’t updated your Dead Island 2 game for a while, then follow the steps below to check for updates and install the latest patch (if available). To do this:

• Open the Epic Launcher client > Go to Library > Look for Dead Island 2 from the left pane.
• You must tap on the three-dot icon on your Dead Island 2 application.
• Make sure to check the auto-update to get a new update installation automatically.
• It’ll automatically search for the available update. If there is an update available, make sure to click on Update.
• Finally, reboot your PC to apply changes, and then try launching the game again

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide is useful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.