Memory Leaks in Games and How to Handle Them
Some games get progressively worse the longer you play. That specific pattern has a specific cause and one reliable workaround.
The short answer
A memory leak occurs when a game fails to release memory it no longer needs, causing usage to climb steadily throughout a session until performance degrades or the game crashes. The distinguishing signature is progressive worsening over time that a restart immediately resolves, rather than consistent poor performance. Since leaks are defects in the game itself, the practical response is periodic restarts rather than system-level fixes.
Verified and last updated August 12, 2026.
- Time needed
- 11 min
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Read time
- 3 min
Some games run beautifully for forty minutes and then degrade. Stutter appears, frame rate drops, and eventually something gives.
Restart and it is perfect again. That specific pattern is a memory leak and it is not your hardware.
The distinguishing signature
Progressive worsening over a session, fully resolved by a restart. Performance that is consistently poor from the first minute is a different problem.
Confirming it
Open Task Manager, go to the Details tab, and watch the game's memory usage over twenty minutes.
That last row matters. If memory is stable and performance still degrades, you are looking at thermal throttling instead, which has a similar time signature and a completely different cause.
Thermal problems typically show as fine for the first five to ten minutes then progressively worse, alongside rising temperatures. Memory leaks show rising memory.
What you can actually do
The leak is in the game's code. You cannot fix it. You can manage it:
- Restart periodically. Unglamorous and completely effective. For games with a known leak, restarting between matches or every hour becomes routine.
- Close other memory consumers. Browsers especially. This extends the window before problems appear.
- Check your page file is not restricted. A system-managed page file handles the overflow more gracefully than a small fixed one.
- Report it. Developers do fix these when they know, and leaks are frequently missed in testing because test sessions are short.
Does more RAM help
It extends the session length rather than preventing the problem. A genuine leak consumes whatever is available given enough time.
That said, turning a ninety minute limit into three hours is a practical improvement for most people even though it is not a fix. The RAM guide covers whether more memory is worthwhile for your situation generally.
Mods are a common cause
If a previously stable game started leaking after you installed mods, that is very likely the cause. Poorly written mods leak more aggressively than base games.
Disable all of them, confirm the leak stops, then reintroduce in groups. It takes a few sessions and identifies the culprit reliably.
The VRAM variant
Graphics memory can leak too, with a similar signature but different symptoms: texture pop-in, sudden severe stutter, or a driver reset.
The response is the same, since it is equally a game defect. Lowering texture quality extends the window before it becomes a problem. The stuttering guide covers distinguishing this from other stutter causes.
What works
What doesn't
Key takeaways
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if a game has a memory leak?
The signature is performance that degrades progressively during a session and returns to normal immediately after a restart. Watching memory usage in Task Manager confirms it: leaked memory climbs steadily and never falls back during normal play. Consistently poor performance that does not worsen over time is a different problem entirely.
Can I fix a memory leak myself?
Not directly, because it is a defect in the game's code. What you can do is manage the symptoms by restarting periodically, closing other memory-consuming applications to extend the usable window, and ensuring your page file is not restricting the system. Reporting it to the developer is the only route to an actual fix.
Does more RAM solve it?
It extends the time before problems appear rather than preventing them, since a genuine leak will eventually consume whatever is available. More memory turns a ninety minute session into a three hour one, which for most people is a practical improvement even though it is not a fix. It does not address the underlying defect.
Do mods cause memory leaks?
Frequently, and they are a common cause in games that are otherwise stable. Poorly written mods can leak more aggressively than base games do. If leaking began after installing mods, disabling them all and reintroducing them in groups identifies the culprit reasonably quickly.
About the author
PC Hardware & Performance Editor
Marcus has been building, breaking and repairing gaming PCs since 2011, first as a weekend favour for friends and then for eight years as a bench technician at an independent repair shop in Portland, where roughly a third of the job was diagnosing machines that "ran fine yesterday".
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