Description:
On NVIDIA GPUs running driver 566.36 (and generally anything above the 560 branch), Path of Exile 2 suffers repeated "Device Removed" driver crashes — gameplay freezes for a second or more, then drops to a hard loading screen while graphics resources are rebuilt. The same driver behaviour also stopped the game's full shader cache from being cleared automatically, producing progressively longer shader-loading stalls, stutter, and occasional missing textures. It affected the game from its very first Early Access build and grew worse in endgame mapping. The root cause was an NVIDIA driver-side shader heap that was too small; NVIDIA only reproduced it after Grinding Gear Games shipped them a complete test PC.
Steps to reproduce:
- Use an NVIDIA GPU with Game Ready driver 566.36 or newer (below 610.47).
- Play Path of Exile 2, especially extended endgame mapping sessions, so the shader cache fills up.
- Observe intermittent 1–2 second freezes followed by a forced loading screen ("Device Removed"), and increasingly long shader-loading stalls over time.
Workaround: Staying on a driver at or below the 560 branch avoids the issue. Manually clearing the NVIDIA shader cache reduces stall length temporarily but does not prevent recurrence.
Severity: Major (no data loss or security impact, but it repeatedly interrupts core gameplay for a large share of the NVIDIA player base, persisted for roughly 18 months, and the only real workaround was pinning an old driver)
First seen: December 2024!
Affected product: Path of Exile 2
Affected platforms: Windows PCs with NVIDIA GPUs
Affected versions: All Path of Exile 2 versions from Early Access launch through 9.5.4d, on NVIDIA drivers 566.36 and newer (below 610.47)
Fixed versions: NVIDIA Game Ready Driver 610.47 / 610.88, combined with Path of Exile 2 patch 9.5.4e
Links:
- https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3991262 (July 30, 2026 — official Grinding Gear Games announcement)
- https://www.pcgamesn.com/path-of-exile-2/patch-shader-cache-device-removed-bug-fixed (July 30, 2026)
- https://massivelyop.com/2026/07/30/path-of-exile-2-declares-victory-over-long-standing-shader-issues-thanks-to-a-new-nvidia-patch/ (July 30, 2026)
- https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/after-a-year-and-a-half-of-rigorous-testing-path-of-exile-2-devs-finally-convinced-nvidia-to-fix-a-driver-bug-by-sending-it-an-entire-pc/ (approx. July 30, 2026, not verified — fetch returned navigation shell only)
- https://wccftech.com/nvidia-required-pc-fix-path-of-exile-2-bug/ (approx. July 30, 2026)
Notes on source disagreement:
- GGG's announcement describes the affected range as "560 and above", while press coverage pins it specifically to 566.36; both are stated above.
- The 610.47 driver is mentioned only in GGG's post; press coverage cites only 610.88.