God of War Crashing on PC

God of War is one of the most popular action and adventure game franchise. The game started its reign in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 and has been running successfully ever since. Since January 2024, it has finally made its way to PCs via steam which is a treat for PC users.

However, ever since it was launched on PCs, players have been facing difficulties with launching or playing the game. We have received multiple reports from users saying the God of War keeps crashing on their PC.

I know how frustrating it can get when your favorite game fails to function all of a sudden, making you miss out on a high-quality gaming session. God of War has been facing many issues on the PC, such as black screen, stuttering, and lagging. Moreover, users have been reporting consistent Startup crashing issues, which is super frustrating. If you’ve been experiencing the same issues, don’t you worry, as we’ve got you covered.

Here in this guide, we’ll show you some tricks and tweaks you can apply to fix God of War crashing on PC. The crashing issues can be caused due to multiple reasons, and we’ll get to the bottom of this case. So, let’s get going.

Contents

Why God of War Keeps Crashing?

There could be multiple reasons why God of War is crashing. Take, for example, the Graphics driver. If your graphics driver hasn’t been updated for some time now, it may be the main culprit responsible for the issues you are facing.

At times, certain tasks that are running in the background could be responsible for issues. Corrupted game files can cause the game to keep crashing. Moreover, overclocking may also be a very common reason and must be immediately fixed.

Before you even head on to play a game, you must see the minimum system requirements. If your system fails to meet those requirements, your game will obviously keep crashing. In such a scenario, you must make sure your PC prioritizes your game above all other systems to avoid crashing.

Although this issue can get very annoying, it is fixable. We’ll provide you with a set of fixes that you can apply to your PC to see if things work for you. Hopefully, after going through all the fixes, your God of War game will be all set and running. So stick with us, and we’ll show you how to fix God of war crashing issues.

Fixing God of War Crashing on PC

Before applying the fixes, make sure you have a stable internet connection. Also, allow some free disk space on your PC at the installation site of God of War. At times, poor internet connection and low storage may also create multiple hurdles in the proper functioning of the game. So without further to do, let’s proceed to all the fixes we can apply to resolve God of War crashing issues.

Check System Requirements

First and foremost, you must match your PC’s configuration with the God of War’s system requirements. Incompatible PC hardware can sometimes be responsible for crashing a game or any other application. If your PC has low specs or is outdated, you must upgrade all the required parts to play the game properly.

The following are the minimum and recommended requirements for God of War on a PC:

Minimum Requirements

64-bit processor and operating system
Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 (4 core 3.1 GHz) or Intel i5-2500k (4 core 3.3 GHz)
OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 70 Gb of available space
Graphics: AMD R9 290X (4 GB) or NVIDIA GTX 960 (4 GB)
Direct X: Direct X version 11
Additional Notes: DirectX feature level 11_1 required

Recommended Requirements

64-bit processor and operating system
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2400 G (4 core 3.6 GHz) or Intel i5-6600k (4 core 3.5 GHz)
OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 70 Gb of available space
Graphics: AMD RX 570 (4 GB) or NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6 GB)
Direct X: Direct X version 11
Additional Notes: DirectX feature level 11_1 required

Run Game as Administrator

To avoid any sort of issues and inconveniences, you can run your game as an administrator. You can do this as easily as right-clicking on the game shortcut and selecting Run as administrator. However, it may be a bit difficult to go through these steps before launching the game. Follow the steps below to launch your God of War game as an administrator:

Right-click on your God of War game.
Select the properties option from the menu.
Find your way to the Compatibility tab and tick the box that says Run this program as an administrator.
Now apply the new settings and then click OK.

Remember to perform the same stems for the Steam client as well. This should ultimately fix your God of War issue.

Verify the Integrity of The Game File

If your game files get corrupted, or there’s some other issue with the files, you can go through the following steps to check for the issue and fix it.

Launch the steam application.
Go ahead and find your way to Library.
From the list of installed games, find God of War and Right-Click on it.
From the menu, click on Properties.
Inside properties, go to Local Files.
Now, press on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
Now, wait a few moments for the process to get completed.
Once everything is done, restart your computer. After launching, check to see if the God of War crashing issue has been fixed or not.

Update Graphics Driver

In order to run all programs smoothly on your PC, you must have all the graphics drivers updated. Follow the steps below to perform this task:

To launch the Quick Access Menu, go ahead and Right-Click on the Start Menu.
Select the Device Manager from the list.
Find the Display adapters category and double click on it. This will expand the list.
You’ll see the name of your dedicated graphics card. Go ahead and right-click on it.
Select the Update driver option from the menu and click on Search automatically for drivers.
If an update is available, your PC will have it downloaded and installed automatically to the latest version.
Once the entire process is complete, reboot your computer to apply the effects completely.

You can also have the graphics driver installed manually. Then, by visiting the official website of your Graphics card manufacturer, you can have the latest updates installed. For example, AMD graphics card users can make a visit to AMD’s official website to download updates. On the other hand, Nvidia users can have the GeForce Experience app updated via the Nvidia official website.

Ensure Windows Is Up to Date

Updating your Windows operating system is very important for users. Updating your system gets rid of various system glitches, crashes, bugs, and compatibility issues. The new updated version also includes all sorts of updated features, security patches, many improvements, and so much more.

Follow the steps below to update windows:

Combinedly, press on the Windows + I keys to launch the Windows Settings.
After that, press on Update & Security. Inside here, select the Check for updates option. You can find this under the Windows Update section.
If you find a feature update available, go ahead and have it downloaded and installed.
The update may take some time to complete, so sit back and relax.
Once completed, reboot your computer to have the update installed.

After the entire process is complete, check to see if your God of War is functioning now or not. If it still fails to function, proceed to the next fix.

Change The In-Game Graphics Settings

Although everything may be optimized, God of War may still display glitches at specific scenes. Some gamers, after adjusting the graphics of the game, found out that the glitches have disappeared. You can also give it a try to see if it works for you.

Follow the steps below to change the In-game display settings of God of War:

First, launch the God of War game. Once launched, open the settings.
In settings, select the Display tab.
Find VSync and have it turned off. If you are using an AMD GPU, have the FidelityFX Super Resolution setto balanced or performance.
You can also have the graphics settings lowered according to your specifications. However, it is important to find out whether the crash is graphics related or not.

If the crashing issue still persists in God of War, proceed to the next fix.

Disable Background Applications

Unnecessary programs and tasks running in the background can utilize a lot of system resources such as memory usage and CPU. This automatically reduces your system performance, and you may ultimately face lagging, startup crashing, loadings errors, and other issues. Therefore, it is beneficial to close all the unnecessary applications running in the background to lower the burden on your system resources.

Follow the steps below to disable background applications:

First, you’ll have to open the task manager. You can perform this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc at the same time.
In the task manager, click on the Process tab. Now select the unnecessary tasks that are running in the background and eating all the system resources.
Close each task one after the other by clicking on End Task.
After completing this procedure, restart your system.

Now go ahead and check whether you’ve fixed the issue of God of War crashing. If the issue still hasn’t been resolved, proceed to the next fix.

Set God of War as a priority in Task manager

Using the task manager, you can give high priority to your game. By doing this, your Windows will put in greater resources to try and run your game more smoothly.

Follow the steps below to set God of War as Priority in Task manager:

First, you’ll have to open the task manager. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc at the same time.
Make your way to the Processes tab. Find God of War and Right-Click on it.
Now set the Priority to High for this game.
Once done, you can go ahead and close the task manager,
Launch the game and run it to see if any improvements have been made.

If you can’t see any improvements, move on to the next fixes.

Play God of War in Clean Boot

By playing God of War in clean boot, no other process will be able to run other than God of War. By performing this fix, you may also be able to identify what processes or services are causing problems.

To run the game in clean boot, follow the steps below:

Press on the Windows + R button at the same time. In the text box, type msconfig. This will open System Configuration.
In System configuration, select the Services tab. Now check the box that says Hide all Microsoft Services.
Once done, click on Disable All and then apply the new settings. Now click OK.
After that, launch the task manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc at the same time.
Disable every other startup program.
Once all the steps are performed, restart the God of War to see if the game is still crashing.

If this fix has failed for you, go ahead, and try the next one.

Increase Virtual Memory of Your PC

Some players have also fixed the God of war crashing issue by increasing their system’s Virtual Memory. You can also apply the fix to see how it works for you. Unfortunately, 16 GB of RAM has become the minimum for a decent gaming performance. So, if you have less than 16 GB of RAM, you probably should consider an upgrade of your RAM.

Follow the steps below to increase your Windows virtual memory:

Using your keyboard, press on the Windows key and type the words Advanced System Settings. Go ahead and click View advanced system settings.
Find the Performance section and click on Settings.
A pop-up window will appear. Inside this window, find your way to the Advanced tab.
Beneath The Virtual memory section, click on change.
Now, have the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives checkbox deselected.
According to your computer’s physical memory, you must enter the Initial Size and Maximum size. The recommendation by Microsoft states the virtual memory to be 1.5 to 3 times the size of the physical memory. For example, the physical RAM of my computer may be 8 GB. In this case, the Initial size would be 8 x 1024 x 1.5, which equals 12288 MB. Considering Maximum Size, it should be about 8 x 1024 x 3, which equals 24576 MB. After entering the size of your virtual memory, click on Set, and then OK.

Change the Power Plan Options

Your PC has been programmed to use balanced power by default. However, by changing the settings to high performance, your system will start consuming more power, giving you better performance gains.

To change the power settings of your PC, go through the following steps:

First, press the Windows + R keys simultaneously and type Control. This will launch the control panel.
Go on and change View by to Large icons.
Once done, select the Power Options.
Here, you can select either High Performance or Ultimate Performance.

After performing these steps, your PC will now utilize more system resources to provide to better performance.

Disable CPU/GPU Overclocking

Have you downloaded any benchmarking software for overclocking your CPU/GPU? If so, then this may be the main reason why God of war keeps crashing on your PC. You will have to uninstall the software and have the CPU and GPU run at default settings.

The problem may arise because overclocking your PC generates heat. This heat increases your CPU and GPU temperatures. By disabling overclocking, you can prevent overheating your components which may fix black screens or game crashing issues.

Replace HDD on PC

Your God of War may be crashing due to the corruption of files because of scratches on your HDD disk. Many users have claimed that with increased scratches on the HDD, their games started crashing more and more until they completely stopped working.

If you suspect this to be the cause of the problem, you can buy a new external HDD and have God of War installed on it. Then run the game to see if that fixes your God of War crashing issue.

Disable Windows Firewall and Antivirus

There are high chances that your default Windows Firewall protection or some third-party antivirus program is interfering with or preventing game files from running appropriately. Try temporarily disabling firewall protection along with real-time protection. After that, you can launch God of War to see if the crashing issue is resolved or not.

Follow the steps below to perform this procedure:

First, launch the Start Menu and type Firewall in the search box.
From the search result, go ahead and select Windows Defender Firewall.
In the left pane, you’ll see the option Turn Windows Defender Firewall On or Off. Go ahead and click on it.
This will open a new page. Click on the Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended) option on this page. Apply this to both Private & Public Network Settings.
Once all of this is done, click on OK to save the changes.
Go ahead and restart your computer now.

After turning the Windows Firewall off, you’ll also have to disable Windows Security protection too. To perform this task, follow the steps below:

Press the Windows + I key to launch the Windows Settings menu.
Select the Update & Security option. Here, click on Windows Security.
After doing that, press the Open Windows Security button.
Find your way to Virus & Threat protection and click on Manage Settings.
After that, you’ll have to disable the Real-Time Protection toggle.
Once done, click OK to proceed forward.
You can also have other programs like cloud-delivered protection and tampered protection disabled if you want.

Disable Overlay Apps

A few apps have their own overlay program, which can run in the background and interfere with gaming performance. Moreover, it may also cause launch issues. To fix an issue of such type, you must turn them off.

Follow the steps below to disable steam Overlay:

Open your steam client. Now go ahead and click steam present at the top left corner.
Select settings.
Find your way to the In-Game tab and uncheck the boxes. This will disable overlay features. Finally, click on OK to save the changes.

Once you have disabled the overlays, restart your game to see if everything is working.

Reinstall Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime

By Reinstalling the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime on your PC, you may be able to fix multiple sorts of gaming errors and issues. Follow the steps below to apply this procedure:

Launch the start menu on your PC.
Type in Apps & Features in the search box and click on it from the results.
Search for the Microsoft Visual C++ programs in this list.
Keep selecting each program and have them uninstalled.
Now visit the official Microsoft website. From here, you can download the latest version of Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime.
After the downloading process is completed, have it installed on your computer.
Now restart your computer to apply the changes. Finally, give your game a try to see if things have started working or not.

Wrapping It Up

And this is the end of our in-depth article on how to fix the God of War crashing issue. Crashing of your favourite game on launching can get very frustrating. The reasons to why this may happen are plenty, which is why you must try each and every fix listed in this guide until you find the appropriate solution.

We have provided you with up to 16 fixes. At least one of them should be able to work for you. Remember to follow all the steps in the correct manner to get the best results.

Hopefully, after going through this guide, you’ll be back to rocking gameplays in God Of war in no time. We hope this article would have been of help to you, and your God of War crashing issue would have been resolved.

Why God of War Keeps Crashing?