Fix The Last of Us Crashing on PC

If The Last of Us Part I crashes on your PC, the fix usually involves updating your GPU drivers, verifying game files, and adjusting a few in-game settings. Start with those three steps, and you will resolve the majority of crashes. Below is a detailed guide covering the most common causes and solutions.

Why The Last of Us Part I Crashes on PC

The PC port of The Last of Us Part I, released in March 2023, was notorious for stability issues at launch. Many players experienced crashes to desktop, freezes, and shader compilation stutter. The root causes were a combination of:

• Shader compilation: The game builds shaders on first launch, which is CPU-intensive. If the process is interrupted or fails, it can cause crashes.
• VRAM limits: The game is very demanding on video memory. If your GPU runs out of VRAM, it can crash.
• Driver bugs: Early versions of the game had issues with certain NVIDIA and AMD drivers.
• Memory leaks: The game had a known memory leak that caused performance to degrade over time, eventually leading to a crash.

Most of these issues have been patched, but crashes can still occur due to system-specific configurations or outdated software.

Step-by-Step Fixes

Work through these steps in order. Most users will find a solution in the first three.

1. Update your GPU drivers. Go to NVIDIA or AMD’s website and download the latest driver for your graphics card. Use the “clean install” option if available.
2. Verify game files. In Steam, right-click the game, select Properties → Installed Files → Verify Integrity of Game Files. This will replace any corrupted or missing files.
3. Lower VRAM usage. In the game’s graphics settings, reduce the texture quality and turn off “Dynamic Resolution Scaling”. If you have 8GB of VRAM or less, set textures to Medium or High, not Ultra.
4. Disable overlays. Turn off Steam Overlay, Discord Overlay, and any other overlay software (like MSI Afterburner). Overlays are a common cause of crashes.
5. Run the game as administrator. Right-click the game executable and select “Run as administrator”. Also, go to Properties → Compatibility and check “Run this program as an administrator”.
6. Close background apps. Close Chrome, Discord, and any other heavy applications while playing. The game is CPU-hungry, and background processes can cause instability.

Shader Compilation Crashes

On first launch, The Last of Us Part I compiles shaders for your specific GPU. This process can take 20–40 minutes and may appear frozen. If your PC crashes during this phase, try the following:

• Ensure your CPU is not overheating. Shader compilation is highly CPU-intensive.
• Do not alt-tab or open other programs during compilation.
• If it crashes repeatedly, set the game’s graphics preset to “Low” before launching, then increase after compilation.
• Update your CPU chipset drivers (AMD or Intel).

If the crash happens during the “Building Shaders” screen, you can also try deleting the shader cache folder. In Windows, go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\The Last of Us Part I\Saved\ and delete the ShaderCache folder. The game will rebuild it on next launch.

Common Crash Scenarios and Specific Fixes

Different crash patterns have different causes. Identify your symptom and apply the matching fix.

• Crash to desktop without error message: Usually a driver or VRAM issue. Update drivers and lower texture quality.
• Crash with “Out of Video Memory” error: Your GPU is running out of VRAM. Lower textures, disable dynamic resolution, and close other programs that use VRAM (like Chrome).
• Crash after 30 minutes of play: Likely a memory leak. Restart the game periodically, and make sure your Windows page file is set to system-managed.
• Crash during cutscenes: Disable the “Film Grain” and “Motion Blur” effects in the display settings. Some users report these cause crashes.
• Crash when loading a save: Corrupted save file. Try loading an earlier manual save, or verify game files.

System Requirements and Hardware Limitations

If you meet the minimum requirements, the game should run, but crashes are more likely if your hardware is below the recommended specs. Here are the official requirements (as of the latest patch):

• Minimum: Intel Core i5-4430 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290, 100GB SSD.
• Recommended: Intel Core i7-8700 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA RTX 2060 / AMD RX 5700, 100GB SSD.

Even with recommended hardware, if you have only 16GB of RAM, the game can use up to 13GB, leaving little for the OS. Close all other programs to avoid memory pressure.

Advanced Troubleshooting

If the basic steps don’t work, try these more advanced solutions.

• Disable fullscreen optimizations. Right-click the game’s .exe file, go to Properties → Compatibility, and check “Disable fullscreen optimizations”.
• Change the game’s priority. While the game is running, open Task Manager, right-click the game process, and set priority to “High”. This can help on systems with many background processes.
• Reduce the CPU core count. Some users report crashes are fixed by limiting the game to a certain number of cores. In the game’s launch options (Steam → Properties → General → Launch Options), add -cpu-count=4 (adjust the number to your CPU’s physical cores).
• Check for Windows updates. Ensure your Windows installation is fully updated, especially the .NET framework and DirectX.
• Reinstall the game. If all else fails, uninstall and reinstall the game. This will clear any corrupted files that verification might miss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does The Last of Us Part I crash on my PC even though I have a powerful GPU?

High-end GPUs can still crash due to VRAM usage. The game’s Ultra textures can exceed 10GB of VRAM at 1440p. If you have a 12GB card, it may still run out. Try lowering textures to High and see if that helps.

Is the game still broken on PC?

No, most of the major issues have been patched. The game is now stable for most players, but some specific hardware combinations still experience crashes. The steps above should resolve them.

Will playing on an HDD cause crashes?

Yes, the game is designed for an SSD. On an HDD, you may experience stuttering, long load times, and even crashes due to texture streaming failures. Install the game on an SSD.

Can I play with 8GB of VRAM?

Yes, but you will need to set textures to Medium and disable dynamic resolution. At 1080p, this will keep VRAM usage under 8GB. Expect occasional stutter, but crashes should be rare.

What is the best graphics setting for stability?

The most stable settings are: Textures on High (not Ultra), Shadows on Medium, and all other effects on Medium. Also, disable “Dynamic Resolution Scaling” and set “Frame Rate Cap” to your monitor’s refresh rate. This reduces GPU load and minimizes crash risk.

Does the game crash more on AMD or NVIDIA?

At launch, AMD users had more crash reports, but subsequent driver updates have leveled the field. Both are now equally stable, provided you have the latest drivers.

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