How To Fix Call of Duty Modern Warfare Cutscenes Lagg & Stuttering Issues on PC & XBOX

Here are the best solutions that will help you watch cutscenes smoothly.

M. Mateen
Dec 5, 2023

Are you frustrated with the gaming experience of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare due to persistent cutscene stuttering, lag, and cinematic disruptions? You’re not alone.

Many players have reported issues with the performance of cutscenes on various platforms, including Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. The problem seems to extend across different titles within the Call of Duty franchise, such as Modern Warfare 2019 and Infinite Warfare. From MW2 cutscenes being laggy to the latest Warzone 2 cutscene lag concerns, players have encountered a range of issues that impact the immersive storytelling aspect of the game.

In this article, we’ll explore potential solutions to address these cutscene-related problems, covering everything from adjusting graphics settings to reinstalling the game.

How to Stop Stuttering in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Let’s dive into the strategies to enhance your Call of Duty Modern Warfare cutscene experience and get you back into the action seamlessly.

1. Enable Sync Every Frame option

The solution to address issues with cutscenes stuttering or not working properly in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is to adjust the graphics settings option.

Here are the steps to implement the solution:

Go to the game’s options menu.
Navigate to the “Graphics” settings.
Look for an option related to syncing frames, which can be labeled as “Sync Every Frame,” “V-Sync,” or “G-Sync” (if you have it).
Enable the “Sync Every Frame” option.

2. Play Offline For Physical Copy

This solution involves uninstalling the game, disconnecting from the internet, and playing offline. This might prevent automatic updates that could be causing issues. This is particularly recommended for users with a physical copy of the game.

3. Moving Game from External to Internal Storage (Xbox)

Some Xbox users report success in resolving laggy cutscenes by moving the MW game from an external hard drive to internal storage. This could be due to faster data transfer rates on internal drives.

4. Move Modern Warfare onto an External Hard Drive (PC)

This workaround can give mixed results so try it and if the problem doesn’t fix undo it.

Try moving the entire game from your PC’s HDD to an external hard drive. This will take a while as Modern Warfare is a massive game

Load the game up, open a save file, and see if the cutscenes still lag. If this helps, play the game from an SSD until Infinity Ward can patch a fix through

5. Disable Subtitles and Uninstall Campaign Packs (Series X)

The XBOX Series X users can fix this issue by disabling subtitles and uninstalling campaign packs. Uninstalling campaign packs will free up space on your Xbox Series X and potentially resolve issues.

Disable Subtitles:
- Navigate to the in-game settings menu.
- Look for the subtitles or captioning option.
- Disable subtitles.
Uninstall Campaign Packs:
- Access the Xbox Series X dashboard.
- Navigate to “My Games & Apps.”
- Locate Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 in the game library.
- Highlight the game and press the “Menu” button (three horizontal lines) on the controller.
- Select “Manage Game and Add-ons.”
- In the “Installed” tab, look for any additional content related to the campaign, such as campaign packs or additional data.
- Highlight and select the campaign packs or additional content.
- Choose the option to uninstall.

6. Change Custom Framerate Limit (PC)

A few players have found that changing this setting to “Unlimited” fixed the problem for them
Head to the “Graphics” tab and scroll down to “Custom Framerate Limit.” Select “Unlimited” from the drop-down menu
Save your changes and then load up your most recent save file to see if this helps
You may still experience a bit of lag, but not to the same degree that you did before

7. Turn off NVIDIA In-Game Overlay

If you have an Nvidia graphics card, turning off “In-game overlay” fixes the issue as it removes Shadowplay from the experience
Open up the Nvidia GeForce experience’s Settings section. Find “In-game Overlay” and toggle this off
Load up the game and last save the file to see if this helps
Lag may still turn up occasionally, but not as much as before.

8. Increase Page File Size

Right-click on “This PC” or “My Computer” and select “Properties.”
Go to “Advanced system settings.”
Under the “Advanced” tab, click on “Settings” under the “Performance” section.
In the “Performance Options” window, go to the “Advanced” tab.
Click on “Change” under the “Virtual memory” section.
Uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” and set a custom size or let Windows manage it.

9. Full-Screen Temporary Fix

If you’re playing in full-screen mode instead of windowed, press and hold Alt+Tab for two to three seconds
Release both keys at the same time to potentially sort out lag issues

10. Backout from Mission to Avoid Cutscene Stuttering

Hopefully, this will fix COD campaign cutscenes stuttering as someone on the forum presented this cool idea. When the cut scene comes and starts stuttering also audio goes off. Then do this;