Skip to main content

One room in 'Prey' is causing gamers a lot of framerate headaches

prey performance pc screen 05
Image used with permission by copyright holder
A number of PC users have reported a problem with performance in one specific area in recently released sci-fi mimic-hunt, Prey. Although the game is said to perform rather well — especially if your PC meets the recommended specifications — the Reactor room is giving some players difficulty.

Prey may be a reimagining of the property, but one aspect it shares with the original is that it has some gorgeous environments. While there are no sphincter doors this time around, there are a lot of mimics, but even they don’t stress a high-end system too much. When it comes to the Reactor room though, lots of people are having difficulties.

Recommended Videos

We won’t go into detail about why you happen to be there, or how it fits into the story, but suffice it to say you have some tasks to perform within that region of the space station. However, a lot of people are finding the experience almost unplayable. Despite the rest of the game running smoothly, some have found that particular area chugs down into low double-digit frame rates.

Prey 2017 PC Low Fps In Reactor Room

The above video gives you a good look at what the room does to the game’s framerate. Staring at the Reactor room’s wall yields perfectly fine frame rates, but spinning around and looking into its interior is another thing entirely. Changing settings does help, but it is still not perfect. PC Gamer even reports that higher-tier hardware does not make much difference either.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

A thread on the Prey subreddit garnered a lot of interest and backs up the claim that hardware is not at fault. It doesn’t appear to be specific to Nvidia or AMD graphics cards. That means it will likely need a patch to fix, though some users have reported that soldiering through the experience does yield playable frame rates, as an in-game trigger appears to fix whatever the problem is.

Other users have suggested reloading the game, or reverting to an older driver release, though developer Arkane Studios has yet to release a statement on the bug.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
3 new PS Plus games that you should play this weekend (December 20-22)
Frey in Square Enix's Forspoken.

The latest batch of new PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game catalog additions was released this week. As a result, PS Plus subscribers have a ton of new options when it comes to what to play as we approach what is many people's holiday break. Games from this most recent batch are what I'm recommending people check out this weekend. One of the titles is technically a Christmas game, so it's fitting to play this time of year, while my other recommendations are good options if you're looking for something to play with others.
Forspoken
Forspoken - Official Launch Trailer

Square Enix's Forspoken is a high-profile action RPG console exclusive that was released on PlayStation 5 in 2023. While its quip-heavy dialogue definitely isn't for everyone, the way it incorporates the player's magical abilities into combat and traversal is truly exhilarating. Dashing through large fields, surfing on top of water, and launching bullet-like streams of rocks at enemies is immensely satisfying. Forspoken's Isekai adventure technically begins with the main character, Frey, being whisked away from New York City around Christmas. That technically makes this a Christmas game, giving you all the more reason to check it out this weekend.

Read more
We might get a new Steam Deck next month — and Valve isn’t making it
The Steam Deck OLED on a pink background.

I expected to see some new handheld gaming PCs this year at CES, but it looks like something even more exciting is in store. AMD and Lenovo are hosting an event during the week of the show, and it'll have two special guests in attendance: Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais and Microsoft's Jason Ronald.

I'll be attending the event on January 7, about which Sean Hollister over at The Verge initially shared out the details. There are a couple of reasons why this event could be significant. First, Valve. Since the launch of the Asus ROG Ally, there have been a handful of these types of events featuring spokespeople from AMD, Microsoft, and the company making a handheld -- Lenovo or Asus. Valve hasn't ever been in attendance, and considering Valve makes the Linux-based Steam Deck, it would be odd for the company to have a presence.

Read more
Star Citizen’s 4.0 update supports 500 players per server
star citizen hits one million backers fighter

Star Citizen is the stuff dreams of made of, even if the long development time may feel more like a never-ending fever dream. Cloud Imperium Games has raised more than $750 million in funding and spent over 12 years building up Star Citizen's world piece by piece, and now up to 500 players can wander across the same galactic server in the new Pyro system.

One thing to note: this isn't the full release of the game. Cloud Imperium says it still has improvements it wants to make before releasing a stable version, so consider Star Citizen 4.0 something like an alpha. Even if it isn't all the way finished, this latest update gives more of a glimpse into the final vision that Cloud Imperium has for the title.

Read more