What to do when a game won't rYou just bought a new game, eagerly downloaded it, and now that it's ready to go you can't even watch the opening cinematic. It crashes, freezes, or otherwise just isn't playing nice with your hardware. Dammit. Games that won't launch are the most frustrating part of PC gaming, and though it doesn't happen nearly as much as it used to, everyone has to do some troubleshooting eventually.
If you're in this annoying predicament, take a deep breath and follow these 10 steps in order. If your problem isn't solved by the time you get to the last step, you'll at least have ruled out every easy fix and can contact support with confidence that the problem is on their end, not yours.
1. Make sure your PC meets the minimum specs
If you're new to PC gaming, open the System Information window—an easy way to get there is to hit the circle in your Windows 10 taskbar and search for 'system.' Next, find the game's minimum system requirements, which are usually published on the store page (ie, whatever page you bought the game from, such as the Steam store page).
Now compare. If you're unfamiliar with your PC's components, you may have to do some googling to find out whether or not yours meet the minimum requirements. You can find your Windows version, CPU, and RAM in the System Summary screen, and your video card information under Components > Display.
If you're running an especially old version of Windows, or your video card is a couple generations too far back (eg, a GeForce GTX 460 when a GTX 660 is required), then you've probably found your problem. Sometimes the CPU can be a problem as well, if it requires AVX support and you have a pre-AVX processor.
2. Restart your PC and try again
Yeah, seriously: turn it off and turn it back on again. This tried-and-true method for fixing things does sometimes work, as it's possible you're running into memory problems and just need to clean house. If it doesn't work, at least you've ruled out the easiest fix.
Somewhat related to this: if you're overclocking your CPU or GPU, stop it, at least for now. Even if every other game runs fine, it's best to rule out overclocking as a cause. You can always reinstate the overclock later.
3. Update your video drivers
If a game won't run at all, it's unlikely that out-of-date video drivers are the core problem, but you should still rule out the possibility. (You should have the latest drivers anyway, as AMD, Nvidia, and even Intel make changes to better support new games.)
If you own an Nvidia GeForce card, you can check for new drivers in the GeForce Experience application. With an AMD card, check for drivers in the AMD Radeon Settings menu. You can also manually download new drivers: Nvidia here, AMD here, and for Intel integrated graphics try here (and you have my condolences).
If your drivers need an update, do that, and then try running the game again. If that fails, it's also a good idea to do a full graphics driver cleaning, for which we recommend Display Driver Uninstaller. Run that (you don't need to be in Safe Mode) and tell it to clear out all your AMD, Intel, and/or Nvidia drivers (one run each). Then install the latest drivers and try again.
Oh, and while you're at it, stop ignoring that Windows update notification and let it do its thing.
For more tips and to watch how this is done click here: https://smoner.com/jXwe4G