Quick Fix: Space Marine 2 FPS Drop, Stuttering, Lags, or Freezing on PC

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II is a third-person shooter hack-and-slash game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment, serving as the sequel to the popular Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. Released on September 9, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, the game has been eagerly anticipated by fans of the franchise. However, like many new releases, it hasn’t been without its technical challenges.

Recently, the Space Marine 2 community has been buzzing about persistent issues such as stuttering, lag, and freezing on PC. These performance problems can significantly disrupt the gaming experience, often stemming from in-game bugs or stability issues. While such challenges are not uncommon in the early stages of post-launch, they can be particularly frustrating for players expecting smooth gameplay in such a high-profile title.

Check System Requirements

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

Minimum System Requirements:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 (1903 min)/11 64-bit
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X / Intel Core i5-8600K
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: 6 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon RX 580 / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 75 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD required. 30 FPS in 1920×1080 with “Low” preset.

Recommended System Requirements:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 (1903 min)/11 64-bit
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X / Intel Core i7-12700
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: 8 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 75 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD required. 60 FPS in 1920×1080 with the “Ultra” preset.

Fix Space Marine 2 Stuttering, Lags, or Freezing on PC

Talking about the potential reasons behind the in-game stutters or lags, the chances are high that your game version becomes outdated or the game files are corrupted. Additionally, outdated graphics drivers, conflicts with the in-game graphics settings, lack of system admin permission, device overheating, an outdated system version, issues with the third-party programs, conflicts with the overlay apps, insufficient system resources, overclocked CPU or GPU, and more can also trigger freezes or framerate drops during gameplay.

Fortunately, here we’ve mentioned with you some potential workarounds that should come in handy. Ensure to follow all troubleshooting methods until the problem has been fixed. So, without further ado, let’s jump into it.

1. Restart Your PC

You should try rebooting your Windows PC manually from time to time to avoid potential system glitches or cache data issues whatsoever. Restarting the system can help in reducing temporary conflicts with the program running experience at times. Head over to the Start menu > Click on Power > Select Restart. Once rebooted, try launching the game again to check for the performance issues.

2. Use Launch Options

• Open your Steam client > Go to Library > Right-click on Space Marine 2.
• Select Properties > On the General tab, you’ll find Launch Options.
• Enter the launch options -fullscreen = Forces the engine to start in fullscreen mode.

3. Run the Game Program as an Administrator

The chances are high that allowing the system administrative permission to your game application can help in reducing lags or stutters. You can check the steps below to run the game application with the system admin privilege.

• Open the Steam client.
• Go to the Library.
• Right-click on Space Marine 2.
• Click on Manage.
• Click on Browse local files.
• Navigate to the installed game directory on the PC.
• Right-click on the Space Marine 2.exe file.
• Click on Properties > Go to the Compatibility tab.

• Enable the Run this program as an administrator checkbox.
• Click on Apply and select OK to save changes.

4. Update Space Marine 2

You can also follow the steps below to check for available game patch updates on your PC. Running an outdated game version can often cause performance issues or conflicts within the game.

For Steam:

1. Open the Steam client.
2. Go to your Library.
3. Select Space Marine 2 from the list on the left.
4. If an update is available, click Update.
5. Once the update is complete, restart your PC and launch the game.

For Epic Games:

1. Open the Epic Games Launcher.
2. Head to your Library.
3. Find Space Marine 2 and click on the three dots next to the game.
4. If an update is available, click Update.
5. After the update finishes, reboot your PC and run the game.

Following these steps should help you ensure your game is up to date, improving overall performance and resolving potential issues.

5. Scan and Repair the Game Files

Missing or corrupted game files on your PC can often lead to lag or freezing issues in Space Marine 2. To resolve this, you can verify the integrity of the game files. Follow the steps below to perform this task on both Steam and Epic Games.

For Steam:

1. Open Steam and navigate to your Library.
2. Right-click on Space Marine 2 from the game list.
3. Select Properties, then go to the Local Files tab.
4. Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
5. Wait for the process to complete, then restart your PC.

For Epic Games:

1. Launch the Epic Games Launcher and go to your Library.
2. Locate Space Marine 2 and click on the three dots next to the title.
3. Select Manage, then click Verify under the “Verify Files” section.
4. Once the verification is finished, reboot your PC and check the game.

These steps should help identify and repair any missing or corrupted files that could be causing performance issues like lags or freezes.

6. Check for the Graphics Driver Update

Sometimes issues with the corrupted or outdated graphics driver version on your PC might cause lags and stutters with video games. It’s highly recommended to check for the graphics driver update manually on your computer by following the steps below.

Recommended Update:

• Open the Start menu > Search and open Device Manager.
• Double-click on Display Adapters.
• Right-click on the dedicated graphics card that you use.

• Select Update Driver > Click on Search automatically for drivers.
• If an update is available, the latest driver will be installed automatically.
• Once done, restart the system to apply changes.

Manual Update:

If your graphics driver version not getting updates then you can try visiting the official website of the respective manufacturer for the graphics card model. Ensure to download the latest graphics driver version on the PC and run the installer to get it installed. Once done, reboot the PC. You can jump to the link below to do so:

• Nvidia GPU
• AMD GPU
• Intel GPU

7. Close Unnecessary Background Tasks

Try closing unnecessary third-party background processes on your Windows computer manually by following the steps below. This specific method will help in reducing potential issues with the game performance such as lags or stutters.

• Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager.
• Go to Processes.
• Click on the unnecessary tasks (third-party) in the list.
• Now, click on End Task to close it.
• Close tasks one by one. (don’t close system processes)
• Once done, reboot the system to apply changes.

8. Update Windows

You might also need to install pending Windows updates that help in fixing the system conflicts or bugs. A new update brings new features and improvements that fixes plenty of issues. You can check the steps below to manually check for the Windows updates on your PC.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Click on Windows Update.
• Select Check for updates.
• If an update is available, select Download and Install.
• Wait until the software update is complete.
• Once done, restart your computer to apply changes.

9. Keep Your PC Cool Down

The chances are high that somehow your computer becomes overheated due to the lack of proper air ventilation or pending system reboot. It’s always recommended to reboot the computer and keep the airflow good enough to reduce overheating issues. In case, you haven’t cleaned your machine for a while, try cleaning the CPU & case fans with an air blower and a soft brush to reduce heating.

10. Reduce In-Game Graphics Settings

You can also try reducing or lowering the in-game graphics settings to achieve higher FPS and avoid potential visual stutters or lags most of the time.

• Head over to the in-game Options menu.
• Click on Display Settings.
• Reduce the following options to a certain level:
  • texture quality, shadows, and anti-aliasing
• Disable the V-Sync option.
• Use Fullscreen for the Window Mode.

11. Disable Third-Party Overlay Apps

Another thing you can try is to disable the third-party overlay applications on your PC as follows. Overlay applications may help in chatting with friends during games, recording screens, showing FPS counts, taking screenshots, etc. Some of these overlay apps run in the background without even notifying you. So, you should check it out properly to turn off unnecessary overlays.

Windows Game Mode:

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Click on Gaming > Go to Game Mode.

• Turn Off the Game Mode toggle.
• Once done, restart the PC to apply changes.

Steam In-Game Overlay:

• Open the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Right-click on Space Marine 2.
• Click on Properties.
• Go to General.
• Turn OFF the Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game option.
• Once done, reboot the PC to change the effects.

Xbox Game Bar:

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Click on Gaming > Go to Game Bar.
• Turn Off the Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using the Game bar option.

Discord Overlay:

• Launch the Discord app.
• Click on the gear icon at the bottom.
• Select Overlay under App Settings.
• Turn On the Enable in-game overlay.
• Click on the Games tab.
• Select Space Marine 2.
• Turn Off the Enable in-game overlay option.
• Make sure to reboot your PC to apply changes.

Nvidia GeForce Experience:

• Open the Nvidia GeForce Experience app.
• Click on Options (gear icon) from the top right side.
• Turn Off the In-Game Overlay option.
• Run the Space Marine 2 to check for the issue.

12. Free Up System Resources

It seems that your system resources like CPU, GPU, Memory, or Storage levels are high enough due to some unexpected reasons. Sometimes third-party background running tasks or downloading & installing any heavy application can also cause other gaming lags. You should free up the system resources manually via Task Manager and close individual unnecessary tasks via Processes. Check which programs or tasks are consuming higher resources and take action accordingly.

13. Set the Game Program to High Priority

Ensure that your game program can run properly even if the system resources are allotted enough. The chances are high that your game requires the high-priority option and you can do so by following the steps below.

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

14. Disable Overclocking for CPU or GPU

Last but not least, you can also try disabling the CPU or GPU overclocking option on your PC because most of the PC gamers do prefer overclocking on their hardware but it may also cause several issues with the gaming performance at times. So, disable the overclocking from the specific software that you’re using back to the default clock speed. In case, the CPU or GPU is overclocked by default, you can try using MSI Afterburner software to do the same.

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