Shenmue 3 stuttering on PC [Fixed]

According to some users, Shenmue 3 keeps stuttering, lagging, crashing or freezing on their Windows 11/10 computers. The issue is known to cause either at the startup or sometimes during the gameplay as well. In this article, we have mentioned solutions and reasons as to why this is happening and what you can do to solve the said issue.

Why is Shenmue 3 stuttering or freezing on your PC?

There’s a long list of causes behind Shenmue 3 stuttering or freezing issues. We have jotted some of them below:

An outdated Graphics Driver is one of the reasons why your game stutters, as it is not compatible with the said Graphics Driver. We are going to learn how to update the Graphics Driver.
Game files that are corrupted or missing can be why Shenmue 3 is crashing on your PC. You can use Steam to verify the integrity of game files to resolve the issue.
Overlays are not compatible with all the games and hence crash the game. We are going to see how to disable Overlays to get rid of this peculiar issue.
If you are playing Shenmue 3 with multiple tasks running in the background, then this is another reason why you are not able to play the game, as there are little to no resources left for the game to run.

Fix Shenmue 3 stuttering on PC

If Shenmue 3 keeps stuttering, lagging, crashing or freezing on your computer, follow the solutions mentioned to resolve the issue:

Disable all the running process
Update your Graphics driver
Run the game as an administrator
Verify game files
Disable Overlay
Troubleshoot in clean boot

Before you begin, ensure that your gaming PC meets the games system requirements that have been listed towards the end of this post.

1] Disable all the running processes

The basic thing to do before going for hard solutions is to check whether the game is running alongside resource-intensive tasks and stopping the game from functioning properly. To do so, open Task Manager, and go to the Process tab. Now, find out apps that are consuming resources such as GPU, and CPU, right-click on them and select End Task. Well if doing so is time-consuming then you can simply restart your device as this will allow you to have a fresh start.

2] Update your Graphics Driver

If your game is still crashing after disabling the running process then there’s a chance that your Graphics Driver is the culprit here. The game might not be compatible with your Graphics Driver either due to it having bugs or being outdated. To resolve the said issue, you can update your Graphics Driver, and here are some ways to do it:

Hopefully, this will do the job for you.

3] Run the game as an administrator

In this solution, we are going to run the game with administrative privileges as a lack of access to some game files seems to cause the issue at the hand. To do so you can right-click on Shenmue or Steam or Epic Games and select Run as administrator, however, this method can be a bit lengthy. Therefore you can follow the steps prescribed below to avoid doing this every time you play the game:

Go to the executable (.exe) file of the game or the launcher, right-click on it and select the Properties option.
Go to the Compatibility tab, and tick on Run this program as an administrator.
Now, select Apply and OK buttons to save the changes.

After doing so, launch your game and check whether the issue persists or not. If yes, then proceed to the next solution.

4] Verify game files

Certain game files that are missing, corrupted, or damaged, can be the potential cause of crashing or freezing issues in Shenmue 3. Using Steam to verify the integrity of game files can help us to find out whether this is the case or not. Here’s how you verify the integrity of game files via Steam:

Open Steam and head to its Library.
Now, right-click on the game and select Properties.
In the Local Files tab, click on Verify integrity of game files.

If you have Epic Game Launcher, then follow the prescribed steps to verify the game files.

Launch the Epic Games Launcher.
Go to Library > Shenmue 3.
Click on the three dots and select Verify.

The process will take some time, but once it’s done there will be no corrupted files, so relaunch your game and see if the issue is resolved or not.

5] Disable Overlay

Steam has a feature called Steam Overlays that allows you to enjoy steam features while in the game. However, this can be the reason why your game is crashing, given that not all games can be played with Steam overlays. To disable Steam overlays, follow the solution mentioned:

Open Steam.
Click on Steam and then on Settings.
Select the In-game settings and uncheck the box Enable the Steam overlay while in-game.
Next, click on the OK button.

Launch your game and see if the issue persists. If you have some other Overlay app, make sure to disable If it does, move on to the next solution.

6] Troubleshoot in clean boot

Third-party software is known to cause mayhem in the game. And if you are not sure which software is the reason then we recommend you troubleshoot in clean boot. Here’s how to do the same:

Hit Win + S.
Type System Configuration and select the Open button.
Navigate to the Services and tick the box next to Hide all Microsoft services.
Now, untick the boxes next to the Video and Sound card manufacturers.
Select the OK button and then click on the Disable all option.

Launch your game and check whether the issue persists or not. If doing so allows you to play the game smoothly then the issue was caused due to third-party software. To find out which app it was you need to manually enable all the processes until you find the one causing the issue. And once you do, either disable the service or uninstall it to resolve the issue.

Hopefully, you will be able to resolve the issue with ease.

Also Read: Valorant Crashing Mid Game or on Startup

System requirement to run Shenmue 3

In order to run Shenmue 3, make sure that your system is of top quality, we have listed recommended system requirements so make sure that you check them before searching for workarounds.

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 (3.60 GHz)
RAM: 16 GB
Operating System: Windows 11/10 (64-bit OS Required)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
Pixel Shader: 5.1
Vertex Shader: 5.1
Sound Card: Yes
Free Disk Space: 100 GB
Dedicated Video RAM: 8192 MB

If your computer meets the system requirements, the game will run perfectly on it.

How to fix Shenmue 3 crashing?

If Shenmue 3 is crashing on your computer, first of all, check if your computer matches the system requirement issued by the developers of the game; if your computer is compatible, follow the solutions mentioned in this post to resolve. You should start troubleshooting from the first solution and then move your way down. Hopefully, you will be able to resolve the issue in no time.

Read: Fortnite was not started correctly and needs to be closed.