How to Fix the Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 Cutscene Freeze Issue on PC

Unskippable cutscenes strike again!

Space Marine 2 Cutscene Screenshot
Image via Saber Interactive

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is a fantastic sequel from Saber Interactive that takes everything from the original 2011 release and dials it up to 11. It’s also one of the most technically impressive releases of the year, making good use of the studio’s Swarm Engine. However, given the demanding nature, there are a few potential technical issues players are running into. If the opening pre-rendered cutscene is frozen for you in Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, here is how you can fix that.

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Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 Cutscene Freeze Fix

To fix the Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 cutscene freeze, make sure the game is installed in an SSD, or as a workaround, let it fully play out until it loads you into gameplay.

Install Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 on an SSD

Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 requires an SSD, no matter what settings you’re playing this at. Multiple users affected by this issue have confirmed that moving the game to an SSD fixed the cutscene problem.

Workaround: Play the Cutscene in Windowed Mode

For the duration of the cutscene, try playing in Windowed mode instead of Borderless. If the cutscene plays properly in Windowed mode, let it play out fully, and once you’re in gameplay, switch back to Borderless.

Workaround: Let the Cutscene Fully Play Out

If moving it to the SSD didn’t fix the cutscene issue, as a workaround, let the cutscene play out. This means that after a certain point, the progress bar at the bottom right will finish, the cutscene will fully play out, and you’ll be sent into the game.

If these suggestions don’t help, we recommend reporting it on the Focus Entertainment forums. We hope that the developers address this in an upcoming patch. They’re already responding to players on the Steam forums, which is encouraging.

If you can’t get your controllers to work properly with the game as well, it’s a pretty simple fix for controllers in Space Marine 2.

Ali Hashmi

Ali Hashmi is a games journalist, reviewer, and guides writer with over eight years of experience covering the gaming industry across news, reviews, features, walkthroughs, and technical guides. He currently writes for Prima Games and GTA 6 Bible, and has previously contributed to Dot Esports, WhatIfGaming, GameTyrant, and The OuterHaven. With a background in Computer Science and years spent covering PC gaming, Ali has developed a strong focus on performance analysis, optimization, troubleshooting, and in-depth game coverage alongside traditional reviews and features. A longtime fan of action games, Ali spends most of his time obsessing over stylish combat systems, difficult boss fights, immersive sims, and retro shooters that feel like they were pulled straight out of the late ‘90s. When he isn’t replaying Dark Souls for the hundredth time or climbing Ascension levels in Slay the Spire, he’s usually hunting for the next indie game to recommend to everyone around him. His coverage regularly includes AAA releases, indie games, Soulslikes, survival titles, live service games, and technical PC focused guides.