# PS5 Deadlock Between Main Thread and FMOD Studio Update Thread Causing Game Freeze **URL:** \ **Category:** FMOD Engine\ **Tags:** ps5\ **Created:** [July 22, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/ps5-deadlock-between-main-thread-and-fmod-studio-update-thread-causing-game-freeze/24414 "2026-07-22T11:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![s.vieshniakov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@s.vieshniakov](https://qa.fmod.com/u/s.vieshniakov)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/ps5-deadlock-between-main-thread-and-fmod-studio-update-thread-causing-game-freeze/24414/1 "2026-07-22T11:26:38Z")
Hi, We’ve encountered a deadlock issue on PS5 when using FMOD Studio. The game completely freezes because two threads are waiting on each other while holding FMOD critical sections. The issue has only been reproduced on PS5. We have not observed it on any other platform (PC, Xbox, etc.). Thread #1 (Main Thread) is stuck inside `FMOD::System::getChannelsPlaying()` called from `FFMODStudioModule::Tick()`: Call stack: ```cpp FFMODStudioModule::Tick(float DeltaTime) FMOD::System::getChannelsPlaying() FMOD::System::validate() FMOD::System::enterMainUpdateLock() FMOD::System::enterCrit(FMOD_SYSTEM_CRIT) ``` Thread #2 (`FMOD Studio Update Thread`) is blocked in FMOD’s internal update code: ```cpp FMOD_OS_Thread_Callback() FMOD::AsyncManager::threadLoop() FMOD::AsyncManager::asyncProcessAndUpdate() FMOD::RuntimeAPIManager::update() FMOD::PlaybackSystem::update() FMOD::System::update() FMOD::System::updateInternal() FMOD::DSPPanner::commandInternal() FMOD::System::lockDSPQueueCmd() FMOD::System::flushDSPQueue() FMOD::System::enterCrit(FMOD_SYSTEM_CRIT) ``` It appears that both threads are waiting for locks held by each other, resulting in a deadlock. Additional information: - Platform: PS5 - FMOD integration: Unreal Engine 5.4 - The freeze is permanent (the game never recovers). - Reproduced only on PS5. - Other platforms do not exhibit this behavior - FMod version 2.03.14 - PS SDK: 12 . Has this issue been reported before on PS5, or is there any known workaround or recommended synchronization strategy for these FMOD API calls? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/fmod/original/2X/8/82ff6b175538768ebf56e013f77962339bd1f055.png) ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/fmod/original/2X/9/9f11f70b5b1a99ca938fc8e114c6cdd3becf1648.png) ---
**Author:** ![jeff\_fmod](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/jeff_fmod/32/1766_2.png) [@jeff\_fmod](https://qa.fmod.com/u/jeff_fmod)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/ps5-deadlock-between-main-thread-and-fmod-studio-update-thread-causing-game-freeze/24414/2 "2026-07-28T05:53:37Z")
I can’t see any known issues or recent fixes related to deadlocks in our backend. I have done some slow stepping and freezing through these threads around those callsites but I can’t get them to deadlocklock on their own so I suspect there’s another thread at play- looks like the mixer thread is also making some calls into `DSPPanner` which could potentially hold a relevant crit under some circumstances. Can you please upload a dump with full memory to your [FMOD Profile](https://fmod.com/profile#uploads) so I can take a closer look at what’s happening in these threads? ---
**Author:** ![s.vieshniakov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@s.vieshniakov](https://qa.fmod.com/u/s.vieshniakov)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/ps5-deadlock-between-main-thread-and-fmod-studio-update-thread-causing-game-freeze/24414/3 "2026-07-29T12:00:59Z")
How can I send you the dump? The forum here doesn’t allow me to attach it. ---
**Author:** ![jeff\_fmod](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/jeff_fmod/32/1766_2.png) [@jeff\_fmod](https://qa.fmod.com/u/jeff_fmod)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:56am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/ps5-deadlock-between-main-thread-and-fmod-studio-update-thread-causing-game-freeze/24414/4 "2026-07-30T05:56:21Z")
You should be able to upload it to your [FMOD Profile](https://fmod.com/profile#uploads): ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/fmod/original/2X/8/8fcc18cc9687e8083dd533caec7e301eacd8185b.png) Please let me know if you encounter any issues accessing this page. ---
**Author:** ![s.vieshniakov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@s.vieshniakov](https://qa.fmod.com/u/s.vieshniakov)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 8:56am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/ps5-deadlock-between-main-thread-and-fmod-studio-update-thread-causing-game-freeze/24414/5 "2026-07-30T08:56:27Z")
I just downloaded the dump ---
**Author:** ![jeff\_fmod](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/jeff_fmod/32/1766_2.png) [@jeff\_fmod](https://qa.fmod.com/u/jeff_fmod)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 7:32am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/ps5-deadlock-between-main-thread-and-fmod-studio-update-thread-causing-game-freeze/24414/6 "2026-08-03T07:32:53Z")
Thank you for sending that over. Here is what I’m seeing on my end: - The FMOD Unreal integration is making a call to `getChannelsPlaying`, which is waiting on a crit called `MAINUPDATE`. - The FMOD studio update thread is holding the `MAINUPDATE` crit, and waiting on a different crit called `DSPMIXER`. - The FMOD mixer thread is holding `DSPMIXER`, and is currently waiting for a large instance of a streaming sound to complete playing. - The FMOD feeder thread is trying to load a large stream, but it just received `SCE_AJM_ERROR_OUT_OF_RESOURCES` and is waiting for streams to become available. So, the core problem appears to be that FMOD can freeze your game on PS5 if you run out of hardware Opus codecs. While I investigate this issue, can you please try [rebuilding your bank as Vorbis](https://fmod.com/docs/2.03/studio/getting-events-into-your-game.html#compression-and-encoding-settings) and let me know if you can still reproduce this issue? ---
**Author:** ![s.vieshniakov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@s.vieshniakov](https://qa.fmod.com/u/s.vieshniakov)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 10:59am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/ps5-deadlock-between-main-thread-and-fmod-studio-update-thread-causing-game-freeze/24414/7 "2026-08-03T10:59:35Z")
Yep, vorbis banks fixes it