Microsoft’s February Patch Sparks Gamer Nightmare: Reports of “Rhythmic Stuttering” After Installing KB5077181

 

Community reports on Reddit claim Windows 11’s KB5077181 update may be linked to new in-game stuttering and GPU slowdowns on some PCs

Windows 11 users are experiencing unexpected in-game hitching post-update, forcing many to revert to old compatibility tricks to restore smooth gameplay.

Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday rollout, released on February 10, 2026, was intended to shore up security and refine performance for Windows 11 users running versions 24H2 and 25H2. However, instead of a seamless start to the month, a growing number of gamers are reporting that the cumulative update (KB5077181) has introduced a frustrating new variable into their gameplay: inexplicable stuttering.

The update bumps systems to OS Build 26100.7840 (24H2) or 26200.7840 (25H2) . While this month’s patch has already been linked to a mix of user-reported bugs (including shutdown and networking oddities), a separate set of complaints is now bubbling up from gamers who say the update introduced stuttering that wasn’t there before.

What users say they’re seeing in games

The complaints are technical in nature and remarkably consistent in description. In one Windows Help thread on Reddit, a Windows 11 Pro 25H2 user on Build 26200.7840 reports rhythmic gaming stutter that began immediately after installing KB5077181. They claim it’s not tied to low FPS or network latency, but instead feels like a new hitching pattern that only shows up in-game post-update.

The same user says the stutter stops if they disable Windows “Fullscreen Optimizations” (FSO) for the affected title... but they didn’t need that tweak prior to KB5077181.

Further discussion in the mega-thread on r/Windows11 suggests the issue might be related to how the Windows compositor is handling full-screen applications post-patch, though the root cause remains elusive.

As of writing, this is still firmly in the “user reports” bucket: there’s no Microsoft advisory confirming a gaming-performance regression tied to KB5077181, and the reports don’t yet point to a single GPU vendor, driver version, or specific game as the common denominator.

Workarounds being shared

For those unwilling to roll back the update entirely while waiting for an official fix, the community has identified a temporary lifeline. The most consistent workaround in the thread is per-game: disabling Fullscreen Optimizations stops the stutter for at least one affected user, though it may also change expected overlay behavior (for example, how volume overlays appear in exclusive/fullscreen scenarios).

To apply the fix:

1. Navigate to the game’s .exe file (usually in Steam/steamapps/common or the installation folder).
2. Right-click and select Properties.
3. Click the Compatibility tab.
4. Check the box for “Disable fullscreen optimizations.”
5. Click Apply and relaunch the game.

If you can reproduce this after installing KB5077181, Microsoft’s own community guidance is to file a report via the Microsoft Feedback Hub with as much detail as possible (build, hardware, and steps to reproduce), which is often the fastest way to get an issue in front of the Windows engineering pipeline.

Early days, but the timing will raise eyebrows

Coming right after January’s widely discussed update turbulence, any new Windows 11 Patch Tuesday “gaming hiccup” is going to draw attention... even if the underlying cause ends up being a driver interaction, a game-specific conflict, or a coincidence that only affects a small subset of systems.

For now, gamers are left with a choice: endure the rhythmic hitching, disable fullscreen optimizations title-by-title, or temporarily uninstall KB5077181 until Microsoft clarifies whether a fix is on the horizon.