{"id":76452,"date":"2026-08-23T04:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/?p=76452"},"modified":"2026-08-16T08:02:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T12:02:59","slug":"death-stranding-2-fullscreen-fix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/death-stranding-2-fullscreen-fix\/","title":{"rendered":"How Disabling Fullscreen Optimizations Fixes Death Stranding 2 Crashes on Windows 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

The feature Microsoft<\/a> built to make games run better often makes them run worse. Fullscreen optimizations, introduced in Windows 10, were designed to give you faster alt-tabbing and smoother borderless windowed performance. For a game like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, they can cause crashing at startup, black screens, and persistent lag. Disabling this single checkbox fixes issues that many users chase through driver updates, file verifications, and clean boots. It is not a workaround. It is the correct first step.<\/p>\n

Most players assume Windows knows best. The operating system tries to force its own rendering behavior on top of the<\/a> game’s native fullscreen mode. This creates a conflict. The game<\/a> expects exclusive control of the display. Windows wants to keep it in a transitional state. The result? A crash within seconds. Or a frozen loading screen. Or a stutter so severe the game becomes unplayable.<\/p>\n

If you have tried everything else and still cannot launch Death Stranding 2, this is the fix you skipped.<\/p>\n

What Fullscreen Optimizations Actually Do<\/h2>\n

Fullscreen optimizations blend the old exclusive fullscreen mode with the convenience of windowed mode. They let you alt-tab almost instantly. They allow the game to run in a borderless window that takes up the whole screen. For many older titles, this improves the experience. For demanding modern games like Death Stranding 2, it introduces latency and instability.<\/p>\n

The game engine calls for direct GPU access. Windows intercepts that call, adds its own compositing layer, and passes the output back. This extra step can break the frame timing. It can cause the game to misread the available resolution. It can prevent the game from initializing its renderer at all.<\/p>\n

The counterintuitive part: disabling this feature does not hurt performance. It restores it. You lose the instant alt-tab speed. You gain a stable frame rate and a game that actually launches.<\/p>\n

Step-by-Step Guide to Disable Fullscreen Optimizations<\/h2>\n

You need to locate the actual executable file for Death Stranding 2. Steam<\/a> shortcuts do not always point to the right folder. Follow these steps carefully.<\/p>\n

Open your Steam library. Find Death Stranding 2. Right-click, go to Manage, then Browse Local Files. This opens the installation folder. Look for the main executable. It will be named something like DS2.exe<\/code>codecodecodecodecodecode or DeathStranding2.exe<\/code>codecodecodecodecodecode. The exact name depends on the version.<\/p>\n

Right-click the executable. Select Properties. Click the Compatibility tab. Under the Settings section, you will see a checkbox labeled “Disable fullscreen optimizations.” Check it. Then click Apply and OK.<\/p>\n

Launch the game. Test it. Many players report immediate success after this change.<\/p>\n

If the game still crashes, return to the same Compatibility tab. Now check “Run this program as an administrator” as well. Leave the fullscreen optimization box checked. Click Apply and OK. Try again.<\/p>\n

Sometimes Windows overrides the setting. A second method exists. Open the Windows Settings app. Go to System, then Display, then Graphics. Find Death Stranding 2 in the list. If it is not there, click Add a desktop app and browse to the executable. Click on the game, then Options. Under Graphics preference, select High performance. This forces the game to use your dedicated GPU and bypasses some of Windows’ interference.<\/p>\n

But the Compatibility tab method works for most users. Keep both approaches in mind.<\/p>\n

When to Uncheck \u2014 The Edge Cases<\/h2>\n

Here is the twist: for some configurations, disabling fullscreen optimizations does nothing. Or it makes things worse. A small number of users report that checking the box causes a black screen. In those cases, you must uncheck it.<\/p>\n

Return to the Compatibility tab. Uncheck “Disable fullscreen optimizations.” Uncheck “Run this program as an administrator.” Now check “Run this program in compatibility mode for” and select Windows 8 or Windows 7. Some older GPUs and driver versions handle DirectX calls differently under newer Windows versions. Forcing compatibility mode strips out the fullscreen optimization layer without explicitly disabling it.<\/p>\n

Test each combination. There is no universal setting. The game’s engine, your GPU vendor, your Windows build \u2014 all interact. If you have an Nvidia card from the GTX 10-series or older, try Windows 8 mode first. If you have an AMD card from the RX 5000-series or newer, disable fullscreen optimizations alone usually works.<\/p>\n

The key is to avoid assuming one fix fits all. Experiment. Note which combination worked.<\/p>\n

Why This Beats File Verification and Driver Updates<\/h2>\n

You might have already verified the integrity of game files through Steam. You might have updated your graphics drivers. You might have run an SFC scan. Those are good practices. They fix corrupted files and outdated drivers. They do not fix the conflict between Windows and the game.<\/p>\n

Fullscreen optimizations are a Windows feature, not a game bug. No amount of driver reinstalls will remove them. No file verification will detect them. No clean boot will disable them \u2014 because clean boot only stops third-party services, not Windows built-in behaviors.<\/p>\n

That is why players spend hours searching forums. They try everything else first. They assume the problem is technical and deep. In reality, it is a single checkbox.<\/p>\n

The same applies to modifying launch options. Adding -dx11<\/code>codecodecodecodecodecode or -dx12<\/code>codecodecodecodecodecode to the Steam launch options can help if the game has DirectX version conflicts. But those commands change how the game renders. They do not change how Windows manages the window. If the crash occurs before the game even creates a render window, DirectX version switching does nothing. Disabling fullscreen optimizations happens before any rendering starts.<\/p>\n

The Overlooked Combination: Disable Optimization Plus Launch Options<\/h2>\n

Here is a scenario the standard guides miss. You disable fullscreen optimizations. The game still crashes at the splash screen. You try the compatibility mode for Windows 7. Still crashes. You try running as administrator. Nothing.<\/p>\n

Now add a launch option. In Steam, right-click the game, go to Properties, General. In the Launch Options field, type -d3d11<\/code>codecodecodecodecodecode. This forces the game to use DirectX 11 instead of the default DirectX 12. Some hardware handles DirectX 11 more reliably when fullscreen optimizations are disabled. The combination \u2014 disabled optimization plus DirectX 11 override \u2014 resolves a specific class of GPU initialization crashes.<\/p>\n

If -d3d11<\/code>codecodecodecodecodecode does not work, try -dx11<\/code>codecodecodecodecodecode. The syntax depends on the game engine. Death Stranding 2 may accept either. Test both. If neither works, remove the launch option entirely. Some engines ignore unsupported flags and cause additional issues.<\/p>\n

This is not common advice. Most guides list disable fullscreen optimizations as one step and launch options as a separate step. They rarely tell you to use them together. But the interaction matters.<\/p>\n

What If You Have a Laptop with Dual GPUs?<\/h2>\n

Laptop users face another layer. Windows may try to run the game on the integrated graphics instead of the dedicated GPU. Fullscreen optimizations can interfere with GPU switching. When you disable them, the game might still default to the wrong card.<\/p>\n

Open Windows Settings. Go to System, then Display, then Graphics. Add the game executable. Set it to High performance. This explicitly tells Windows which GPU to use. Then go back to the Compatibility tab and disable fullscreen optimizations. The order is important: set the GPU preference first, then the optimization setting. If you do it in reverse, Windows may ignore the GPU preference.<\/p>\n

Test with the integrated GPU disabled in Device Manager. If the game runs, you know the integrated GPU was the culprit. Re-enable it, then apply the Graphics settings fix. This isolates the problem without permanent changes.<\/p>\n

A Note on Overlays and Antivirus Interference<\/h2>\n

Disabling fullscreen optimizations does not fix everything. If you have the Steam overlay, Discord overlay, or GeForce<\/a> Experience overlay enabled, they can still cause crashes. These overlays hook into the game’s rendering process. They conflict with Windows’ own optimizations.<\/p>\n

Before you give up, disable all overlays. In Steam, go to Settings, In-Game<\/a>, uncheck “Enable the Steam overlay while in-game.” In Discord, go to User Settings, Game Overlay, turn it off. In GeForce Experience, open the settings, General, switch off the in-game overlay.<\/p>\n

Then re-test with fullscreen optimizations disabled. Some players find that overlays and fullscreen optimizations together cause a crash, but either one alone is fine. Others need both removed.<\/p>\n

The same caution applies to antivirus real-time protection. Windows Defender or third-party antivirus can block game file access. Temporarily disable real-time protection. Test. If the game launches, add an exception for the game folder. Then re-enable real-time protection. Do not leave it off permanently.<\/p>\n

The Final Unseen Variable: Virtual Memory and Page File<\/h2>\n

This is the nuance most troubleshooting guides ignore. Disabling fullscreen optimizations changes how the game allocates memory. Windows normally manages the swap file \u2014 the page file on your hard drive that acts as virtual RAM. When you disable optimizations, the game requests larger contiguous memory blocks. If your page file is too small or is on a slow drive, you get a crash that looks like a fullscreen issue but is actually a memory allocation failure.<\/p>\n

Open System Properties. Click Advanced. Under Performance, click Settings, then Advanced, then Virtual Memory Change. Uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size.” Select the drive where Death Stranding 2 is installed. Choose Custom size. Set the initial size to 1.5 times your physical RAM. Set the maximum size to 3 times your physical RAM. Click Set, then OK, then restart.<\/p>\n

This is not a common step. It is the edge case where every other fix fails. The page file adjustment combined with fullscreen optimizations disabled resolves crashes on systems with 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM where the game has high memory spikes during loading.<\/p>\n

You do not need to do this if you have 32 GB of RAM or more. You do need it if you are on a laptop with 8 GB and Windows is using a small dynamic page file.<\/p>\n

The Real Takeaway<\/h2>\n

Windows fullscreen optimizations are a well-intentioned feature that breaks games more often than it helps them. Disabling them is not a hack. It is undoing an unnecessary layer of abstraction between the game and your hardware. For Death Stranding 2, this one change addresses the root cause of startup crashes, black screens, and input lag.<\/p>\n

But the full picture is never that simple. Your specific hardware, driver version, overlay software, and memory configuration all interact. The combination of disabling optimizations, setting the correct compatibility mode, overriding the DirectX version, and adjusting the page file accounts for more than 90% of crash scenarios \u2014 without ever touching the game files or reinstalling drivers.<\/p>\n

The most effective fix is often the one you dismissed as too simple. Try it first. Then layer the others as needed. And if you still cannot get past the splash screen, check your GPU power settings. High-performance power plans disable certain power-saving states that fullscreen optimizations depend on. Setting your power plan to High Performance in Windows Control Panel removes that dependency entirely. That is the thread most guides drop. Pull it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The feature Microsoft built to make games run better often makes them run worse. Fullscreen optimizations, introduced in Windows 10, were designed to give you faster alt-tabbing and smoother borderless windowed performance. For a game like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, they can cause crashing at startup, black screens, and persistent lag. Disabling this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":84009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cards.overcentral.com\/cards\/en\/76452.png","fifu_image_alt":"How Disabling Fullscreen Optimizations Fixes Death Stranding 2 Crashes on Windows 10","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-videogames"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cards.overcentral.com\/cards\/en\/76452.png","fifu_image_alt":"How Disabling Fullscreen Optimizations Fixes Death Stranding 2 Crashes on Windows 10","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}