Game stuttering at first: shader compilation and cache (2026)

A game that stutters in the first matches, or right after you update your graphics driver, is almost always compiling shaders: translating its graphics effects for your graphics card and saving the result in a cache. In the next matches it reuses what’s already done and the hitches fade. The fix is to let that cache do its work, not to delete it.

What shader compilation is

Shaders are the small programs that tell the graphics card how to draw light, shadows, smoke and reflections. Before they run, they have to be compiled for your GPU. Microsoft explains that, without precompiled shaders, this happens on a loading screen or at the moment an effect shows up for the first time, during play, and that’s where the stutter comes from. The result is saved in the shader cache, and next time it comes from disk, with no compiling.

• A “compiling shaders” or “optimizing” screen on first launch, sometimes a long one.
• A hitch the first time an effect, a map or a skin shows up, and not the second time.
• Stutter right after a driver or game update that goes away on its own after a few matches.
• High average FPS and still short hitches, even on a good PC.

Why the game stutters again after a driver update

A compiled shader is tied to an exact combination of game, graphics card and driver. Microsoft says the cache lasts until the driver is updated, because the update invalidates what was stored. So in your first matches on a new driver, it’s normal for the game to compile everything again. A game patch that adds a new map, effect or character also brings shaders your PC hasn’t compiled yet.

The shader caches that exist today

• NVIDIA driver: in NVIDIA Control Panel › Manage 3D Settings you’ll find Shader Cache Size. Since driver 496.13, it sets how much disk space the driver uses to store compiled shaders.
• AMD driver: according to AMD, the cache speeds up loading and lowers CPU usage because it stores frequently used shaders instead of generating them again. In AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, Reset Shader Cache sits in the advanced Graphics settings and deletes everything stored.
• Steam: with Shader Pre-Caching turned on in the settings, Steam can download shaders already compiled for your graphics card, when the hardware and driver allow it. Valve says this cuts loading and stutter during the first launches of OpenGL and Vulkan games. DirectX games rely on the driver cache.
• Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery: shaders are compiled in the cloud and downloaded with the game. Since October 2026 it works on AMD, Intel, NVIDIA and Qualcomm graphics, on Windows 11 24H2 or later, in supported games from the Microsoft Store and the Xbox app. Microsoft says Steam and Epic are coming later.

What to do when a game stutters at first

1. 1Give the cache time. Play two or three matches before drawing conclusions. If the game has a shader compilation screen, let it finish before you start playing. If the stutter shrinks with each match, the cache was being built.
2. 2Check that the cache is on in the driver. On NVIDIA, Shader Cache Size shouldn’t be set to Disabled. On AMD, don’t turn off the shader cache.
3. 3Keep free space on your Windows drive. The driver cache takes up disk space; with a nearly full SSD, there’s less room to store shaders.
4. 4New driver: wait a few matches before blaming the version. If the stutter stays the same after several matches, then it’s worth trying the previous version, downloaded from the manufacturer’s site.
5. 5On Steam, keep Shader Pre-Caching on if you play Vulkan or OpenGL titles. Valve notes it uses a little extra bandwidth, because it sends a shader usage report after each session.
6. 6For Microsoft Store or Xbox app games with Advanced Shader Delivery, Microsoft asks for Windows 11 24H2 or later, an up-to-date driver and the Xbox app installed before you download the game.

When clearing the cache makes sense

Clearing the cache is a diagnostic step, not a routine. It makes sense when the game shows corrupted graphics, crashes at the same loading point every time, or keeps stuttering the same way after many matches, even though the cache has had time to build. After clearing it, the first matches will stutter again while the cache is rebuilt, and that’s expected.

If the stutter never gets better, even after several matches, it probably isn’t shaders. Then the cause is usually temperature, memory, disk or a background program, and it’s worth following the order in the PC stuttering guide. To know whether things improved, measure the 1% low before and after, not just average FPS.