How To Fix The Last Of Us Stuck On Loading or Infinite Screen On PC

How To Fix The Last Of Us Stuck On Loading or Infinite Screen On PC

Are you dealing with The Last of Us stuck on a loading screen issue on your PC? According to many players, the game is stuck on an infinite loading screen while launching or starting a campaign.

The problem can occur if your system has insufficient system requirements, antivirus or Windows security, or outdated system drivers. As the game is now the developers will release an update to address this issue.

Until then here we have explained fixes to resolve The Last Of Us stuck on the loading screen on PC.

How To Fix The Last Of Us Stuck On Loading Screen On PC

Before attempting the fixes below, ensure that you have updated your Windows OS, restarted your computer and game multiple times, and tried running the game as an administrator.

1. Check System Requirements

In most cases, the cause of the game being stuck on the loading screen is the insufficient hardware of the PC. You should also check the Last of Us system requirements before playing the game.

Minimum @ 30fps @ 720p:

  • GPU: AMD Radeon 470 (4 GB), AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (4 GB), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (4 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Ti (4 GB),
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or Intel Core i7-4770K
  • RAM: 16 GB
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1909 or newer)
  • Storage: 100 GB SSD

Recommended 60fps @ 1080p:

  • GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8GB), AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (8 GB), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super (8 GB), or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (8 GB)
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel Core i7-8700
  • RAM: 16 GB
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1909 or newer)
  • Storage: 100 GB SSD

2. Update Graphics Card Drivers

Another probable cause of The Last of Us being stuck on the loading screen issue is the missing or outdated graphics driver installed on your PC. Make sure you have updated your GPU drivers to their latest version.

You can visit the NVIDIA and AMD websites to get the release of game-specific updates. However, it’s a time-consuming task to download and install drivers.

Especially, if you are a newbie or don’t have time or skills you might end up installing the wrong graphics drivers.

So we recommend downloading Driver Easy software on your PC. This program is a professional system driver updater that automatically scans a PC’s old driver and updates it instantly.

The Driver Easy is an N0.1 software updater tool in its field and for 12 years users have been using it to fix their PC errors.

So download Driver Easy and let it deal with all the system drivers.

3. Uninstall Conflicting Software

The TLOU Part 1 infinite loading screen issue can also be linked to the third-party software installed on your PC. Antivirus software or screen recorders and streaming utilities tend to interfere with this game. You should uninstall any third-party tool before playing the game.

4. Increase Vutual RAM For The Last of Us

Increasing the size of your virtual RAM can also prove beneficial to play The Last of Us Part 1 seamlessly. Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Start menu and search for “Advanced System Settings.”
  2. Click on “View advanced system settings.”
  3. Click on the “Settings” button under the “Performance” section.
  4. Click on the “Advanced” tab and click on the “Change” button under the “Virtual memory” section.
  5. Uncheck the “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” option.
  6. Select the drive where Battle.net is installed and click on “Custom size.”
  7. Enter a new value for the initial and maximum size of the virtual RAM. The recommended size is 1.5 times your computer’s RAM.
  8. Click on “Set” and then click on “OK” to save the changes.
  9. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

5. Change Display Mode

If the game gets stuck on the loading screen during a cutscene, try running the game in window mode instead of full screen. This solution has been tried by many The Last of Us players and may work for you as well.

In case the game is stuck on the initial loading screen then you can change the settings straight from the Steam client. Follow these steps.

  1. Open Steam and go to your Library.
  2. Right-click on the game you want to change the display mode for and select “Properties“.
  3. Click on the “General” tab and then click on “Set Launch Options“.
  4. In the “Launch Options” box, type in “-windowed” (without quotes) to run the game in windowed mode.
  5. Alternatively, type in “-fullscreen” (without quotes) to run the game in fullscreen mode.
  6. Click “OK” to save the changes and close the Properties window.

The next time you launch the game, it will start in the display mode you selected.

6. Disable Overlay Programs

Overlay programs such as Discord, XBOX game bar, and Nvidia utilities can cause The Last of Us to stuck on the loading screen. Try to disable the overlay programs and see if the game starts working properly.

Disable Discord Overlay

  • Launch the Discord app > Click on the gear icon at the bottom.
  • Click on Overlay under App Settings > Turn on the Enable in-game overlay.
  • Click on the Games tab > Select The Last of Us.
  • Finally, turn off the Enable in-game overlay toggle.
  • Make sure to reboot your PC to apply changes.

Disable the Xbox Game Bar

  • Press the Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
  • Click on Gaming > Go to Game Bar > Turn off Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using the Game Bar option.

If, in case, you’re unable to find the Game Bar option, then just search for it from the Windows Settings menu.

7. Disable Windows Security Temporarily

In most cases, Windows security or firewall considers the game a threat hence preventing it from launching. So you need to disable Windows security temporarily.

  1. Open Windows Security by typing “Windows Security” in the search bar and clicking on the app.
  2. Click on “Virus & threat protection” in the left menu.
  3. Under “Virus & threat protection settings,” click on “Manage settings.”
  4. Scroll down to the “Exclusions” section and click on “Add or remove exclusions.”
  5. Click on “Add an exclusion” and select the type of exclusion you want to add, such as a folder or a file.
  6. Browse to the location of the game that you want to unblock and select it.
  7. Click “Open” and then “Add an exclusion” to save the changes.

8. Use a Dedicated GPU

Stuck on the loading screen problem in The Last of Us may be caused by conflicting integrated and dedicated GPUs. To fix this, disable the integrated GPU in Device Manager.

Follow these steps:

  • Press the Windows + X key on your keyboard to open the Quick Link menu, then select “Device Manager.”
  • In the Device Manager window, expand the “Display Adapters” category and you’ll see both the integrated GPU and the dedicated GPU listed.
  • Right-click on the integrated GPU and choose “Disable device,” then confirm any prompts that appear.
  • Once disabled, the dedicated GPU will become the primary graphics processor used by your computer.

9. Run TLOU in Clean Boot

Follow these steps:

  1. Press Win + R to open Run.
  2. Type msconfig and click on OK to open the System Configuration options.
  3. Navigate to the Services tab.
  4. Check to Hide all Microsoft Services and click on Disable All.
  5. Click on Apply and OK.
  6. Restart your PC.

10. Re-install the game on an SSD

If you are experiencing the issue of The Last of Us game being stuck on the loading screen, one possible solution could be to re-install the game on an SSD. This may help improve the game’s loading speed and reduce the likelihood of it getting stuck on the loading screen.

An SSD’s faster data transfer speeds can significantly improve game performance and loading times, potentially resolving the issue of the game getting stuck on the loading screen.