If you're experiencing crashing, freezing, or performance issues in Phasmophobia, verifying your game files and updating your GPU drivers can resolve 90% of these problems. Follow the steps below to troubleshoot.
🔍 1. Verify Your Game Files
Corrupted or missing game files can cause crashes. To fix this:
- Open Steam and go to your Library.
- Right-click Phasmophobia and select Properties.
- Click on the Local Files tab.
- Select Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- Wait for the process to complete, then restart the game.
If the issue persists, move on to updating your GPU drivers.
🎮 2. Update Your GPU Drivers
Keeping your graphics card drivers up to date helps prevent crashes and performance issues. Follow the steps below based on your GPU type:
✅ NVIDIA Users: Follow Fix 2a
🟥 AMD Users: Follow Fix 2b
🔷 Intel Users: Follow Fix 2c
If updating your GPU drivers doesn't fix the problem, try the advanced clean installation steps below.
🔧 Fix 2a: Update, Reinstall, or Clean Install Your NVIDIA Driver
🖥️ Option 1: Update via NVIDIA Website
- Visit the official NVIDIA Driver Download page.
- Enter your graphics card model and select Windows Driver Type: DCH.
- Download the latest GeForce Game Ready Driver.
- Perform a clean installation (refer to NVIDIA’s instructions).
🚀 Option 2: Update via GeForce Experience
- Open GeForce Experience and go to the Drivers tab.
- Find the GeForce Game Ready Driver (you’ll see a version number & release date).
- Click the three dots next to it and select Reinstall Driver.
- Choose Custom Installation and enable Perform a Clean Installation.
🔧 Fix 2b: Update, Reinstall, or Clean Install Your AMD Driver
- Download the AMD Cleanup Utility.
- Open the AMD Cleanup Utility and select No when prompted for Safe Mode.
- After the confirmation prompt appears, click OK to continue.
- Once the process completes, your screen may flicker as the drivers are removed.
- Restart your PC when prompted.
- Follow AMD's tutorial to reinstall and update your drivers.
- Check if the issue persists.
🔧 Fix 2c: Update, Reinstall, or Clean Install Your Intel Driver
- Download and install the latest Intel Graphics Driver (see image).
- Restart your computer.
⚠️ 3. Other Common Issues & Fixes
🎮 3a. Game is stuck at 90% loading, stuttering, or lagging
- Lower your in-game graphics settings to the lowest possible values.
- Cap your FPS to 60 or lower. Try toggling V-Sync ON and OFF.
- If you have DirectX 10 enabled, remove it:
- Right-click Phasmophobia in Steam → Properties → General.
- In "Launch Options," delete anything entered (DirectX 10 is no longer supported).
🕵️ 3b. Phasmophobia is running in Task Manager, but I don't see it
The Oculus application is known to cause this issue. If you have Oculus installed, follow these steps:
- Open the Oculus application and let it run in the background
(even if you're not playing VR / using Desktop Mode). - When launching Phasmophobia, select the middle option: "Play Phasmophobia".
🖥️ 3c. Fullscreen mode has black bars on the side
- Right-click your desktop and open NVIDIA Control Panel.
- Go to Display → Adjust Desktop Size and Position.
- Under the Scaling tab:
- Select Full-Screen mode.
- Check the box for Override the scaling mode set by games and programs.
- Click Apply and restart Phasmophobia.
💻 3d. Run a System File Check (SFC)
If you suspect Windows corruption, try running a System File Check:
- Open Command Prompt as an Administrator.
- Type:
sfc /scannow - Wait for the scan to complete and restart your computer.
🔧 4. Other Possible Fixes
If the above solutions didn’t help, try these additional fixes:
✅ Move the game to your C drive
✅ Add Phasmophobia as an exception in your Antivirus/Firewall
✅ Unplug any Controllers or VR Hardware
✅ Temporarily disable or make exceptions in your Antivirus software
✅ Uninstall the Oculus app (if not needed)
✅ Uninstall Citrix Workspace and Citrix Receiver (these can cause compatibility issues)
✅ Perform a clean install of UnityPlayer.DLL (see below)
🔍 UnityPlayer.DLL Fix
- Navigate to:
Steam\steamapps\common\Phasmophobia - Delete the file:
UnityPlayer.DLL - Verify your game files via Steam.
🛠️ 5. Still Having Issues?
If you're still experiencing problems after following these steps, try the following:
🔹 Restart your PC
🔹 Lower your in-game graphics settings
🔹 Check for Windows updates
🔹 Disable unnecessary background apps
If nothing works, contact Phasmophobia Support for further help.