The community loves Noita. The physics, the wand building, the secrets—it is a masterpiece. However, this audio crackling issue has persisted for over five years, driving players to refund the game or play on mute [citation:1][citation:2]. As one user put it, "Noita is the ONLY game in 3 years of gaming with this audio card that has given me the crackling noises" [citation:2].

While the above fixes work for many, they are workarounds. A proper patch addressing the FMOD audio engine integration would be a welcome alchemical fix for this long-standing bug.

The audio crackling in is a well-documented issue, particularly for players using external audio interfaces like Focusrite or Behringer. The problem often stems from how the game engine handles sample rates and audio buffers. Quick Fixes & Workarounds

If you are experiencing "crispy" or distorted audio that worsens during long runs, try these steps in order:

Adjust Sample Rate: Many users find that setting their audio output to 192 kHz or 44.1 kHz in the Windows sound settings resolves the issue.

Modify Buffer Size: For external interfaces (like the Scarlett Solo), lowering the buffer size to the minimum (e.g., 16 or 128 samples) or raising it to 256/512 has been reported to stop the popping.

Disable Audio Enhancements: Right-click the volume icon on your taskbar, go to Sound Settings > More sound settings, select your device, and check "Disable all enhancements".

Restart the Game: Unfortunately, for some, the audio artifacts "stack up" over time. A full restart is often the only way to reset the audio engine after it begins to glitch. Linux/Proton Specifics

If you are playing on Linux or Steam Deck, you may need to adjust your environment variables to fix latency:

Sound crackling issue :: Noita Bug reports - Steam Community

Audio crackling in is a known issue that usually occurs when the game struggles to communicate with specific audio drivers or hardware (like external DACs and interfaces). Quick Fixes

Restart the Audio Engine: Sometimes simply toggling the audio off and back on in the game settings can temporarily clear the buffer.

Adjust Sample Rate: Change your Windows playback settings to 16-bit or 24-bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality). Higher sample rates (like 96kHz or 192kHz) frequently cause desync and popping in the Noita engine.

Switch to Default Drivers: If you use a dedicated audio interface (e.g., Focusrite Scarlett), the game often fails to handle its specific drivers. A common permanent fix is to route the game audio through your computer's default onboard audio (Realtek) instead. Advanced Troubleshooting Disable Audio Enhancements:

Right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar > Sound settings. Select your device > Device properties. Click Additional device properties > Enhancements tab. Check Disable all enhancements.

Change Audio API: If you are comfortable editing configuration files, you can try forcing the game to use a different API (like XAudio2 instead of DirectSound) if options are available in the config.xml file located in your Noita save folder.

Increase Buffer Latency: Crackling often happens when the CPU is overwhelmed. In the game's Options > General Settings > Audio, look for any latency or buffer settings and increase them to give your processor more "breathing room." Hardware Check

USB Interference: If using a USB headset or DAC, try plugging it into a different port (preferably a USB 2.0 port if available, as USB 3.0 can sometimes cause electrical noise). If you'd like, let me know: Your audio device (Headset? Interface?) If the crackling starts immediately or after some playtime Your CPU model I can give you more specific steps for your setup.

This is a common issue in Noita caused by the game’s heavy CPU load affecting the audio thread, or buffer mismatches in the FMOD sound engine.

Below is a design document for a "Noita Audio Crackling — Diagnostic & Mitigation System." This feature introduces an in-game audio profiler and a "Smart Buffer" system to dynamically prevent audio dropouts without forcing players to manually edit .cfg files.

This is the gold standard fix for users with external audio interfaces (Scarlett 2i2/2i4, etc.) but also works for many onboard sound cards.

The Logic: Noita seems to choke on standard 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz rates at high buffer sizes. Forcing a non-standard rate or a very low buffer size bypasses the bottleneck.

This is the burning question on the Steam forums. As of late 2025, threads spanning five years remain active without an official hotfix [citation:1].

The most likely theory is that the issue is deep within the OpenGL and FMOD integration. Because Noita uses a falling-sand physics engine that processes every pixel, the CPU is often under unique stress. The audio engine seems to lose priority or fails to flush its buffer during high-physics moments. Since the issue doesn't affect 100% of users, replicating it in a development environment is difficult.

This issue has been reported since 2019 across countless hardware configurations[citation:1][citation:3]. The development team hasn't officially addressed it, making these workarounds your best bet. The good news is that most users find a working configuration by adjusting sample rates or buffer sizes.

If you find a combination that works for your specific hardware, please share it — the community continues to crowdsource solutions for this persistent bug.

Audio crackling in a well-documented issue often linked to how the game's engine interacts with specific audio hardware and sample rates

. It typically presents as a persistent popping or distorted static that may worsen during intense gameplay or after a few minutes of play. Common Causes External Audio Interfaces: Devices from brands like

are frequently cited as prone to this issue when playing Noita. Sample Rate Mismatch:

The game may struggle if your system's sample rate is set too low (e.g., standard 44.1kHz or 48kHz) or if it doesn't align with the hardware's preferred processing speed. Buffer Latency:

Issues with how the game requests low-latency audio from drivers, especially on Linux/Proton or older Windows drivers. Recommended Solutions

Community members and official troubleshooting guides suggest the following fixes: Increase Sample Rate: Raising your device's sample rate to

in Windows Sound Settings has been a highly successful fix for users with external DACs. Toggle Audio Enhancements: Right-click your speaker icon, go to Properties > Advanced , and uncheck "Enable audio enhancements" Switch to Onboard Audio:

If using an external interface, temporarily switching to your computer's built-in headphone jack or speakers can bypass the driver conflict. Restart the Session:

For some, the crackling is a temporary glitch that can be cleared by restarting the game or quickly toggling through different sample rates in your audio control panel. Linux/Steam Deck Fix: Use the launch option PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=60 %command%

in Steam to force a slightly higher latency, which often stabilizes the audio stream.

If standard game settings don't help, checking your Windows driver configurations can often resolve hardware-level popping: How to FIX Crackling/Popping Audio on PC Windows 10/11 Tropical Tech YouTube• Mar 19, 2024 If you'd like to troubleshoot further, let me know: Are you using an external audio interface (like a Scarlett Solo)? Does the crackling start immediately or after some time playing? Are you on Windows, Linux, or Steam Deck

The "audio crackling" in is a notorious technical issue often described by players as a "crispy" or distorted sound that worsens over time. It is primarily associated with external audio interfaces (like the Focusrite Scarlett series) and how the game engine handles high-resolution audio. Common Fixes and Workarounds

While there is no official permanent patch from the developers, the community has found several ways to mitigate the crackling:

Adjust Sample Rate: Change your audio device's sample rate to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Some users found success by raising it significantly (e.g., to 88.2 kHz or above) to bypass the distortion.

Modify Buffer Size: For those using interfaces like the Focusrite Scarlett, adjusting the buffer size (e.g., toggling between 160 and 192) can temporarily "reset" the audio.

Switch to Onboard Audio: A frequent permanent solution is to bypass your external sound card entirely and use your computer's default onboard audio (motherboard jack) while playing.

Linux/Proton Command: If you are playing on Linux via Proton, users have reported success by adding PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=10 to the game's Launch Options in Steam.

Restart the Game: In many cases, the crackling is a "memory-like" leak in the audio engine that only goes away after a full game restart. Why Does It Happen?

Steam launch options can reset problematic settings[citation:2].

How to add launch options:

| Flag | What it does | |------|---------------| | -clean_config | Resets configuration file (safe, keeps saves) | | -windowed or -w | Launches in windowed mode |

You can combine them: -clean_config -w