Microsoft has released a fix for a bug in the 22H2 update of Windows 11 that causes slow game performance and stuttering (open in new tab). Known as KB5020044, this fix also addresses a variety of other issues and adds numerous features, numerous additional features.

The main event for gamers is the stuttering problem in the 22H2 update, which Microsoft itself emphasizes as "lower than expected performance in some games. Quite a ways down in the release notes for the new bug fix is this critical item:

"We are addressing an issue that affects some games and applications. This issue is related to the GPU performance debugging feature. This will degrade expected game performance.

As previously reported, some games and applications inadvertently enabled the GPU performance debugging feature which is not intended for consumer use. (Open in new tab)

It is a fairly complex issue, and earlier reports indicated that the problem was related to the GeForce Experience software on PCs with Nvidia GPUs, with Nvidia stating that "Windows 11 22H2 includes new graphics and Windows 11 22H2 adds a new graphics debug tool, which is inadvertently triggering and causing some users to experience poor performance in games. We are working on a fix.

Nvidia issued an updated version of GeForce Experience (opens in new tab) in September designed to resolve this issue.

Fortunately, Microsoft has now issued a global fix for this stuttering issue. So if you are running the latest 22H2 build of Windows 11 and are suffering from performance issues, jump into Windows Update on your PC right now and make sure you are set to download the latest update.