There are various factors that can cause your Payday 2 Steam game to freeze. It could be due to a game bug, corrupted game files, or driver issues. To fix this you will need to perform several troubleshooting steps.
Payday 2 is is a first person shooter game that allows you to play with up to four friends as you go on different heists around the Washington D.C. area. You can choose to control one of the twenty-two members of the gang in solo or multiplayer mode as you rob banks, shops, and armored cars. This game which is developed by Overkill Software and published by 505 games can be downloaded over at Steam.
How do I stop Payday 2 from freezing?
One known issue that you might encounter when playing Payday 2 is when the game freezes. This can happen randomly and during any part of the game. If the freezing issue occurs before you have saved the game then its likely that you will lose any progress you made.
Here’s what you need to do to fix this problem.
Solution 1: Check the system requirements of Payday 2
In order for your computer to run Payday 2 without any issues there are certain hardware requirements that it needs to meet. Try checking your computer hardware and make sure that it at least meets the minimum system requirements needed to run the game.
Minimum system requirements:
- OS: Windows 7
- Processor:2 GHz Intel Dual Core Processor
- Memory:4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia & AMD (512MB VRAM)
- DirectX :9.0c
- Storage:83 GB available space
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Recommended system requirements:
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Quad Core Processor
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia & AMD (1GB VRAM)
- DirectX: 9.0c
- Storage: 83 GB available space
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Solution 2: Uninstall mods that you are using
Mods are designed to enhance the gameplay experience and often give advantages to the player by giving additional enemy information. This is not supported by the game developer as it could have compatibility issues with the current game version.
Removing mods you are using in the game will usually fix any freezing issue that you are experiencing. You can go to the game installation folder then delete the folder called Mods. Once deleted try to check if the freezing or crashing issues still occurs.
Solution 3: Update your PC graphics card driver
One of the reasons Payday 2 or other games installed in your computer freezes is due to outdated graphics drivers. You need to make sure that the latest driver is installed as this will have several performance improvements as well as bug fixes that usually addresses any issues found in the older driver version.
Time needed: 5 minutes.
Updating graphics drivers ( Nvidia, Radeon, Integrated graphics card)
- Right click on the Start button.
This can be found at the bottom left part of the screen.
- Click on Device Manager.
This will open the device manager window.
- Click the arrow before Display adapters.
This displays all the graphics adapters in your computer.
- Right click on the selected graphics card then choose Update driver.
This will get the updated drivers of the selected graphics card.
- Select Search automatically for drivers.
This will search online for any new drivers.
You can also update the drivers using the Nvidia GeForce Experience app if you have an Nvidia card or the Radeon Software if you are using a Radeon card.
Once all the outdated drivers have been replaced with new ones restart the computer then check if the Payday 2 freezing or crashing issue still occurs.
Solution 4: Update your Windows operating system
Make sure that Windows has the latest updates installed. These updates will usually have new features, improved security, as well as bug fixes that could fix the crash or freezing issue you are experiencing
Update Windows
Right click the Start button.
Open Settings.
Click Windows Update found on the bottom left side of the new window that appears.
Click Check for updates.
If new updates are found then click on the Install now button.
Once the update has been installed restart your computer then try checking if the crashing issue or freezing problem has been fixed.
Solution 5: Close other applications while playing Payday 2
There’s a possibility that Payday 2 will freeze if it does not have enough hardware resources to work on. Even if your computer meets the necessary hardware requirements, if other programs are running in the background, then the game will not have access to enough RAM to run. You should quit other running applications when you are playing the game.
Right click on the Start button then click on Task Manager.
Make sure to click on More details found at the bottom left part of the window if it appears.
Click on the Processes tab.
Right click on the apps running and select End task. Do this for all apps except Payday 2 and Steam.
Try checking if the game crashes or freezes.
Solution 6: Check your internet connection
One reason why Payday 2 freezes especially if you are on a multiplayer game is because of a poor internet speeds. You should check your internet by running a speed test from some of the popular online websites such as speedtest.net.
A low ping between 50ms to 100ms is good to average. Anything higher than this will affect your online games. Your download and upload speeds should match what you are subscribing for from your internet service provider.
If you have a poor internet speed then you can check if it is caused by your networking equipment by following these steps:
- Turn off your computer.
- Unplug your Modem and Router from the power source.
- Wait for a minute then plug your modem and router back into the power source.
- Wait until the lights turn back on.
- Turn on your computer.
- Reconnect your computer to the internet.
Try checking if the same issue occurs. If the problem is caused by a bad network connection then you should contact your ISP.
Solution 7: Verify integrity of game files
There’s a possibility that the freezing problem you are experiencing is caused by corrupted or missing game files. It could also be caused by a corrupted game cache. You should use the Steam client to check the Payday 2 game files. If any corrupted files are found then they will be replaced with new ones downloaded from the server.
Open the Steam client.
Click on Library.
Find Payday 2 then right click it then select Properties.
On the new window that appears click on Local Files.
Click Verify integrity of game files…
Once the game file integrity has been fixed try to check if the issue persists.
Solution 8: Change your game settings
Your game might freeze if your computer can’t handle some of the game settings that you are using. You need to change some of these settings then check if the issue still occurs.
- Open Payday 2.
- Click Options.
- Click Video.
- Lower the Effects quality.
- Click Advanced.
- Uncheck Use HQ weapons setting.
- Set Texture quality to low.
- Set Shadow quality to low.
- Set Animation quality to low.
- Set Corpse limit to low.
Solution 9: Reinstall Payday 2
If after performing all of the troubleshooting steps listed above the black screen, freezing, or crashing issues still persists then there’s a possibility that the video game installation is corrupted. You have to uninstall Payday 2 and install a fresh version.
Uninstalling the game
- Launch Steam Client.
- Go to the Steam Library tab.
- Right click on Payday 2 then click on Manage then uninstall.
- Click on Uninstall again to uninstall the game.
Installing the game
- Open Steam Client.
- Go to the Library tab.
- Right click on Payday 2 then click on install.
- Click next to proceed with the installation.
Feel free to visit our YouTube channel for additional troubleshooting guides on various devices.