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The highly anticipated open-world action-adventure superhero game, Gotham Knights, from WB Games Montreal, admittedly did not make a good first impression, with mediocre reviews, shallow gameplay systems, and a plethora of technical issues.
One of the most lingering issues players continue to face in the game is crashing, which happens quite frequently and makes playing it an unnecessarily frustrating experience.
Here is a comprehensive guide on the possible reasons for Gotham Knights' "crash to desktop" error, how players can fix it, and more.
Possible reasons for the "crash to desktop" error in Gotham Knights
Crashes in video games could be caused by several different factors, ranging from corrupt files, incomplete installations, outdated video drivers for operating systems, and many more.
However, the most common issue is when players' PCs do not meet the minimum requirements set by the developers.
Gotham Knights is a very demanding game and requires a top-of-the-line CPU-and-GPU combination to run the game optimally.
Here are the official minimum and recommended system requirements for Gotham Knights:
Minimum requirements:
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i5-9600K (3.7 GHz) OR AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (3.60 GHz)
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti OR AMD Radeon RX 590
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 45 GB available space
Recommended requirements:
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i7-10700K (3.8 GHz) or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (3.7 GHz)
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 45 GB available space
While not listed, it is also recommended that players boot the game off of an SSD, which seems to eliminate many of the framerate and crashing related issues with the game.
Potential fixes for Gotham Knights crashing on PC
For players who are still facing the "crash to desktop" error despite meeting the system requirements for Gotham Knights, here are some potential fixes.
These should allow them to finally play the title before WB Games Montreal steps in with an official patch to fix the plethora of technical issues in the game.
1) Check for graphics driver updates
One of the most important aspects of PC gaming is keeping drivers up-to-date, especially GPU's, which include various fixes and performance optimizations for new games.
To update the graphics drivers:
- Right-click on Start Menu and go to Device Manager from the Quick Access Menu pop-up.
- Click on Display adapters to expand the list.
- Right-click the dedicated graphics card from the list and select Update driver.
- A pop-up should follow asking if you wish to automatically or manually search for driver updates.
- Select "Search automatically for drivers."
- If there are any updates, it will automatically download and install them.
- Once updated, you will need to reboot your system for the changes to take effect.
Alternatively, you can also choose to manually download video drivers from the manufacturer's website and then install them. Nvidia users can also use the very useful Geforce Experience application to automatically keep their graphics card drivers up-to-date.
2) Reinstall all redistributables and DirectX
Unlike most Unreal Engine 4 games out there, Gotham Knights uses DirectX12 api, which comes with its own set of benefits and limitations. It is also necessary for the ray-tracing and DLSS upscaling feature that the game supports.
While DirectX versions are automatically refreshed and updated with Windows and GPU driver updates, you can manually install and update to the latest DirectX files by downloading the software installer from Microsoft's official website. The game also requires the most updated C++ redistributables to be installed to function properly.
While Steam makes sure the redistributables are installed properly before booting the game for the first time, you can also manually install these programs from Microsoft's official website. Reinstalling redistributables often remedies issues related to game crashes and stuttering.
3) Perform a clean boot
While not necessary, performing a clean boot often helps remove any conflicting application that might be causing Gotham Knights to crash. To perform the procedure, follow these steps:
- Press Windows+R keys, to open the Run dialog box.
- Now, type "msconfig" and press Enter to open System Configuration.
- From there, go to Services > Enable "Hide All Microsoft Services" checkbox.
- Click on Disable All > Click on Apply, and then OK to save the changes.
- Now, go to Startup > Click on Open Task Manager.
- On the Task Manager, go to the Statup tab, and disable all the services that have high startup-impact.
- Once done, simply reboot the system for the changes to take effect.
4) Updating Windows
Keeping Windows up-to-date is crucial for most recent games to run without facing any significant issues. These are usually packed with fixes, improvements, and essential features that are necessary for new titles, and thus it is recommended that players update their operating system to the latest version.
Windows also has the annoying habit of updating in the background and hogging the necessary CPU and disk resources. This can end up causing conflict with a resource-intensive game like Gotham Knights, especially on lower-end hardware, causing crashes and framerate issues.
To update Windows, follow these steps:
- Press the Start Menu key and go to Windows Settings. (Alternatively, you can press Windows+I keys to open up the Settings menu)
- Next, go to Updates & Security > click Check for Updates under the Windows Update section.
- Any pending or new updates available will show up, which you can install by clicking Download and install.
- It may take a while for Windows to download and install the updates.
- Once it is done, you just need to reboot your system once to fully install the updates.
5) Verify the integrity of the game files on Steam
Steam is a very helpful tool that can be used as the first line of troubleshooting in case players face any issues with their titles. The best way to fix most issues with games on Valve's platform is to verify the integrity of the game files.
With modern games going up to hundreds of gigabytes in size, it is very common for files to get corrupted while downloading or installing, which is the prime cause of crashes.
Verifying the files' integrity essentially checks the game's directory for any corrupt files, and redownloads and replaces them. This potentially fixes most of the issues, whether it be framerate drops, texture streaming or crashing. To verify the integrity of the files in Gotham Knights, you can complete the following steps:
- Launch Steam > Click on Library.
- Right-click on Gotham Knights from the list of games.
- Click on Properties > Go to Local Files.
- Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- It will take some time while Steam checks for the missing components in the game's directory.
- Once done, launch the title.
These five tips should help players get Gotham Knights up and running on their computer, and not crash. It is also good practice to look for the crash logs, which detail the potential cause of the game's executable abruptly terminating the program.
More about Gotham Knights' optimization issues
While the aforementioned fixes are the general rule of thumb to remedy most game crash issues, the best solution to the performance and technical problems with Gotham Knights will be an official patch from WB Games, which should arrive soon. Gotham Knights is now available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC.
The game is built on Epic Games' Unreal Engine, which is a fairly optimized engine for most computer configurations at this point. It should be noted that WB Games Montreal did add and improve on the base Unreal Engine 4, adding modern graphical techniques such as ray-tracing, advanced global illumination, and support for high-resolution texture streaming.
However, the developers failed to optimize the game, resulting in bizarre technical issues such as frequent crashes and framerate drops. Technical issues often end up getting patched by the developers either in the game's Day 1 update or subsequent post-launch patches.
However, Gotham Knights is yet to receive any updates to fix the crashing issues players are facing on PC.
