Nvidia driver update could help fix stuttering in Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Image for Nvidia driver update could help fix stuttering in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 7 is one of the most beloved console titles of all time, but it’s always had a bit of a rocky time on PC. The original port from PlayStation to PC back in 1998 was always considered a bit inferior due to framerate issues and was only recently modded to run at 60 FPS. Over 20 years later and the HD remake of Final Fantasy 7 seems to be singing a similar tune of letting down PC players

One of the biggest issues with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PC, a relentless stuttering  especially in crowded areas while running in DirectX 12, has finally been addressed. WCCFTech reports that the issue appears to be mostly resolved by a recent Nvidia GeForce driver update. Nvidia claimed the update to Game Ready Driver v511.65 should fix the bug in an email shared by a player, and so far the consensus seems to be that it's helping.

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The bug was bad enough it had many players dropping the game to DirectX 11 and forgoing features like HDR in favour of a far smoother experience. Some players report the new driver fixing the issue enough that they’re ready to change back to DirectX 12, while others are still having the issue to varying degrees.

Thankfully, modders have also taken to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake to help improve the lacklustre port. Most are visible improvements like keeping Cloud in his dress for the whole game, but many can also help with resolution or HDR improvements. We may see a better fix released by the community in conjunction with this driver update, but there’s only so much that can be done to improve a bad port. Without that foundation there, we could be waiting another 20 years before this new version of Final Fantasy 7 catches up with today’s standards. 

Hope Corrigan
Hardware Writer

Hope’s been writing about games for about a decade, starting out way back when on the Australian Nintendo fan site Vooks.net. Since then, she’s talked far too much about games and tech for publications such as Techlife, Byteside, IGN, and GameSpot. Of course there’s also here at PC Gamer, where she gets to indulge her inner hardware nerd with news and reviews. You can usually find Hope fawning over some art, tech, or likely a wonderful combination of them both and where relevant she’ll share them with you here. When she’s not writing about the amazing creations of others, she’s working on what she hopes will one day be her own. You can find her fictional chill out ambient far future sci-fi radio show/album/listening experience podcast right here.

No, she’s not kidding.