How To Fix Death Stranding Error Code 51003, Resolution, FPS Drops, Crashes

Death Stranding is now available on PC and if you are experiencing bugs, crashes or random FPS drops, there might be some fixes you can try.

Death Stranding is now available on PC through Steam and Epic Games Store. Fans all over the world have been waiting for the launch to see if this title is up to par with expectations on PC. The last time we played a Kojima game on PC, Metal Gear Solid V, the experience was as fine as it gets. However, even Death Stranding didn’t escape casual crashes, bugs, and performance issues. How can you solve them?

First things first, make sure that you meet the minimum system (PC) requirements for Death Stranding:

Death Stranding PC Requirements

Minimum

  • OS: Windows 10
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
  • RAM: 8GB
  • GPU: GeForce GTX 1050 3GB or AMD Radeon RX 560 4GB
  • Direct X: Version 12
  • HDD: 80GB

Recommended

  • OS: Windows 10
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400
  • RAM: 8GBGPU: GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB or AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
  • Direct X: Version 12
  • HDD: 80GB

Death Stranding PC Downloading Stuck / No Update

If Death Stranding is not downloading on Steam, it’s most likely that the platform is not reloading properly. Close Steam and reopen it. If the issue persists, click on the play button to force download. When all else fails, check your connection or HDD hard drive space.

Death Stranding PC Startup Crash / Dx12-ErrorCode : 0x887a0005

Players are reporting a startup crash with Death Stranding opening up a popup saying “Error initializing rendering configuration” or “An Access Violation (C0000005h) has occurred in thread ‘Main'”. This is a common issue faced by players at this moment. Some believe that it’s something related to the pre-load downloading phase and a simple redownload will fix it. Before you do that, try verifying your game’s files and see if that fixes it.

FPS Drops / Stuttering

If you’re experiencing FPS drops, stuttering, or glitches throughout Death Stranding, you might want to first check your GPU drivers and make sure they’re up to date. If that’s not the issue, try switching off some of the most demanding graphics features in the game like ambient occlusion and v-sync and try out windowed screen. As a last resort, check your GPU settings and set it to best performance on your respective manufacturer.

Resolution Lower than normal

Some Death Stranding players report that even though they have 1920×1080 screens, their in-game resolution is stuck at 1280×720. You can override those settings by setting your own via your GPU settings. This could also be an issue caused by a second monitor so try unplugging it and try to launch the game again. A Steam user has uploaded a rather unconventional way to also set the resolution manually. You can try that at your own risk. To do so, navigate to SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Death Stranding\settings.cfg. There, check the presets for top/bottom/left/right and edit them accordingly. Here are the values you want:

  • “rendering_width” “1920”
  • “rendering_height” “1080”
  • “hdr” “0”
  • “window_left” “-10”
  • “window_top” “0”
  • “window_right” “1910”
  • “window_bottom” “1080”
  • “window_mode” “1”

Error Code 51003

This is an issue related to online connectivity. There are two main reasons for that, with two easy explanations. The first one is you are not connected to the internet. Check your connection and restart it, if you feel there’s a problem there. The second one is due to the DS servers set up by Sony Interactive Entertainment. If the second is the source of your issue, then the only thing you can do is wait.

If you can’t exactly pinpoint the origin of your issue and cannot find a solid solution out there, your best practice is to wait. Kojima Production will address any unsolvable issues with a hotfix. In addition, there might be more answers coming through forums and sources in the next days if not hours. With all that being said, have a great time playing Death Stranding. If you have an ultra-wide monitor, well, we are super jealous of you.

Always looking for a deep story, empathetic characters, and a great soundtrack in video games. Hardcore game hoarder and a strong believer that one day Xbox will win the console war.