Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls PC Port Deep Dive

• Extremely high CPU usage — the game commonly consumed 95–100% of the CPU for 1.5–3 minutes during boot-up, causing massive FPS drops until reaching the main menu . Multiple Sony sub-services (PlayStation PC SDK Runtime) launching on startup contributed to this load .
• Severe stuttering during gameplay caused by runtime shader compilation, even on high-end hardware . Players reported that the game would hitch mid-match as shaders compiled in real time.
• Frame rate drops and poor optimization across a wide range of PC configurations, with many users unable to maintain a stable 60 FPS . In some cases, GPU utilization sat around 10% while the CPU spiked to 60–70% or higher .
• Crashes and black screens occurring regularly .
• Game fails to launch on Steam Deck / Linux due to Easy Anti-Cheat incompatibility — the day-one patch did not fix this .
• PSN account requirement blocks the game in 132 countries, echoing the Helldivers 2 controversy from 2024 .

The open beta was a warning sign. Kotaku reported "hundreds of posts across X and Reddit complaining about performance issues" and noted that the game would "hog upwards of 95 percent of my CPU and occasionally as much as 5,000MB of my PC's physical memory" . In response, Arc System Works promised fixes.

The Failed Day-One Patch

On July 28, developer Arc System Works issued a public apology and committed to day-one fixes covering reduced CPU usage, frame rate improvements, shader compilation optimization, better OBS and Discord compatibility, and rollback netcode / crossplay updates . The studio said: "To our PC players, message received. The team is already hard at work on the performance you deserve" .

The official patch notes (shipped August 6) included removing unnecessary character animation updates to reduce CPU load, improving UI update performance, and adding an anti-aliasing option to the automatic graphics quality setting .

However, post-launch coverage was almost uniformly negative. Reports from Critical Pixel, GosuGamers, and Push Square all confirmed that the patch left most issues standing — crashes, stuttering, and Steam Deck incompatibility all persisted . The game launched to "Mixed" reviews on Steam .

Player Workarounds: The Usual and the Unusual

The community quickly compiled a list of fixes. Some are straightforward; others are genuinely bizarre.

The Most Reliable Fixes

• Enable Shader Warm-Up at Launch — this built-in option pre-compiles shaders before entering matches, which is the single most effective way to reduce mid-fight stuttering. Multiple official troubleshooting posts recommend it .
• Switch to exclusive fullscreen — changing from borderless windowed to exclusive fullscreen significantly improves frame pacing for many users . Some players report that windowed mode with Auto-quality settings also works if exclusive fullscreen fails .
• Disable overlays — turning off Steam overlay, Discord overlay, OBS, and any screen-recording or game-enhancing software improves performance .
• Disable Steam background recording in Steam settings .
• Disable VSync and anti-aliasing, set resolution to 1080p with Best Quality preset and 100% scaling .
• Configure Windows Graphics — add the game's .exe to Windows Display Settings > Graphics and set it to high performance .
• Close PSN/EOS background processes — keeping the Epic Games Store launcher and Sony sub-services closed or limiting their startup helps free CPU overhead .

The Weird Workarounds

Two unusual suggestions have circulated widely in community threads, but they come with important caveats:

• Running Epic Games Store in the background (even if playing on Steam): Polygon reported this suggestion, noting that it originated from an unspecified Discord chat and was shared by the X account WheelsFGC . The logic — that since Marvel Tokon uses Unreal Engine 5 and communicates with Epic's backend services, running EGS at least once might smooth those integrations — is unconfirmed. Most players advise the opposite: closing EGS and other launchers reduces CPU overhead .
• Capping framerates at 59.9 FPS with Riva Tuner Statistics Server (RTSS): Fighting game streamer Chris F surfaced this technique, which is a known approach in the fighting-game community to stabilize frame pacing when a game's internal 60 FPS cap is inconsistent . It has been discussed in community threads, though it is not as widely documented in major reports as the shader warm-up or fullscreen toggle.

Bottom line: Enabling shader warm-up and switching to exclusive fullscreen are the most consistently recommended and officially acknowledged fixes. The "keep EGS running" and "59.9 FPS cap" suggestions are niche and community-debated.

How the Problems Affect Multiplayer — and Why PS5 Players Are Disabling Crossplay

The performance issues don't just ruin the single-player experience — they directly undermine the game's rollback netcode, which is the backbone of competitive online fighting games.

When a PC player experiences stuttering or frame drops, it causes rollback desyncs and teleporting for both sides, even if the opponent has a stable, low-latency connection . This creates what players call "one-sided rollback" — the PC player sees the game run normally (because rollback hides the stutter locally), while the opponent sees their character teleport and skip frames.

In response, many PS5 players have turned off crossplay specifically to avoid matching with PC opponents whose unstable frame delivery degrades the match for everyone . Push Square reported that "the problems – which cause performance drops – have prompted some players to disable crossplay on the PS5, as it can affect rollback netcode consistency if your opponent is constantly dropping frames" .

The Competitive Fallout: Tampa Never Sleeps Bans PC

The most dramatic consequence came on August 8, 2026, when Tampa Never Sleeps — the premier weekly fighting-game tournament series — cancelled its PC bracket entirely and moved all matches to PS5 only . Organizers stated the decision was "to provide gamers with a more positive and comfortable gaming experience" .

According to multiple reports, the decision followed a disastrous exhibition match the day before, where desyncs and one-sided rollback issues made the game virtually unplayable at tournament level . The organizer at VPesports reported that "stutters, frame drops, and rollback netcode issues made the game practically unplayable on PC at tournament level" . This is the most high-profile competitive consequence of the PC port's issues to date.

Developer and Publisher Status

Arc System Works (developer):

• Issued a public apology during the open beta, saying "We sincerely apologise" and "Message received" .
• Shared community-tested troubleshooting steps on July 25 .
• Promised and shipped a day-one patch on August 6 .
• Post-launch, no follow-up patch or timeline has been announced . The game remains in a broken state as of August 9–10, 2026.

Sony (publisher):

• Has not issued a direct public statement on the PC performance issues beyond the standard PSN requirement policies .
• The PSN account mandate blocking 132 countries has drawn heavy criticism, but Sony has not responded since launch . Sony is the publisher, but Arc System Works is the developer handling all technical fixes .

What This Means for Players

If you're a PC player considering Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, the situation as of August 2026 is bleak. The day-one patch failed to deliver on its promises, the competitive scene has already begun excluding the platform, and there is no announced timeline for a second patch. The most effective workarounds — shader warm-up, exclusive fullscreen, and disabling overlays — can reduce stuttering but do not address the fundamental optimization issues. Players in 132 countries cannot play online at all due to the PSN requirement.

For PS5 players, disabling crossplay remains the only reliable way to avoid rollback desyncs caused by PC opponents' performance issues.

The community is waiting for a follow-up patch from Arc System Works. Until then, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls on PC remains a cautionary tale about launch-day promises in fighting games.