Extensive testing has confirmed the existence of a persistent PS5 stutter issue when making use of the console's variable refresh rate option. The problem is only going to be apparent to players using high-end TVs that offer VRR support in the first place, but those are the most demanding gamers in Sony's audience – and they've been begging for a fix for months.
Typically, TVs and monitors run at 60Hz, so if a game runs at 60fps, you're getting exactly one new frame every time the screen refreshes – or exactly one frame for every two refreshes if the game's running at 30fps. If a game deviates from that target frame rate, it can start to look choppy and stuttery on a traditional 60Hz display. (See: most FromSoftware games.)
Many popular, high-end TVs correct this issue by offering a variable refresh rate, or VRR. With VRR, the TV can link up with a gaming device – whether that be a PS5, Xbox Series X, or PC – to display those frames at exactly the rate they come from the machine. If a game's wavering between, say, 52fps and 59fps, it'll still look basically smooth with VRR enabled.
But there's a problem on PS5, and one players have sporadically reported since the launch of the PS5 Pro last year. While using VRR on certain games, after a certain amount of time in-game, a persistent, repeated stutter will begin to occur. These stutters happen almost exactly eight seconds apart from each other, and while the effect is subtle, once you've noticed it it's impossible to stop noticing it. Doubly so if you're the type of person sensitive enough to these issues to invest in a VRR display in the first place.
Reddit user Fendera has done an admirable job of collecting community reports on the issue over the past few months, and Digital Foundry has now done extensive testing across a variety of games to prove it's happening. It doesn't affect every game, but big titles like Elden Ring, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Resident Evil 4, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and both parts of The Last of Us all display the issue.
While the issue first appeared around the launch of the PS5 Pro, it affects both versions of the console. Not every game is affected in the same way – DF says Dragon's Dogma 2, Immortals of Aveum, God of War Ragnarok, and Gran Turismo 7 were all unaffected within the scope of its testing – but the eight-second gap between stutters is consistent across every game tested.
DF says Sony has been informed of the issue, but the company has yet to provide a public statement on it. For now, if you notice the issue your best bet is simply to disable VRR from the PS5's system menu.
The stutter shows up in many of the best PS5 games.
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