The long wait for The Witch Queen is finally over. But for some players, that isn't quite the whole story. Some are being affected by The Witch Queen Crashing Error, which has prevented them from enjoying the new content from Bungie.
While errors are an almost inevitable aspect of new games, issues that render a game unplayable are (thankfully) rarer. But when they do crop up, it's more than a little irritating. So we've put together our best advice to help you resolve the crashing error on PC. Here's what you need to know.
How To Fix The Witch Queen Crashing on PC
We say this almost every time we write about crashes. Before you try anything else, make sure that your computer meets the minimum recommended specifications for the game. If your equipment doesn't meet those specs, it's always going to struggle to cope with the demands of the game. This means you will almost always run into problems of some sort. The minimum system requirements are as follows:
- A 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows® 7 / Windows® 8.1 / Windows® 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i3 3250 3.5 GHz or Intel Pentium G4560 3.5 GHz / AMD FX-4350 4.2 GHz
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660 2GB or GTX 1050 2GB / AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 105 GB available space
Also bear in mind that you need the Destiny 2 base game to be able to run The Witch Queen. But we'll assume you have checked all this, and are good to go. Here's what to try next.
Read More: Destiny 2 The Witch Queen Won’t Install: How To Fix The Witch Queen Installation Error
Steps To Prevent Crashing
- First and foremost, try the classic system restart. Sometimes, if this is a one-off glitch, this will fix the problem. It's simple, but surprisingly effective.
- Next, make sure you have checked for any system or software updates. This is applicable to your graphics drivers as well. If you have an AMD graphics card, check here. For Intel, go here and for GeForce, go here.
- Check that you have the latest version of DirectX.
- In case third-party software (such as an antivirus) is interfering with the game, you can try a clean boot. Some third-party tools in particular seem to be linked to this issue - Discord, RGB software, and MSI Afterburner. But we'd recommend trying this, even if none of those apply to you, as other software could be ahving the same impact. To do this:
- Press Windows Key + R and type msconfig, then press Enter
- Go to the Services tab
- Check the box marked Hide all Microsoft services
- Click Disable all
- Go to the Startup tab and click on Open Task Manager
- Disable one task at a time and restart the system.
- Your next step is verifying the integrity of the game files. To do this:
- Restart your computer and launch Steam
- Next, you can either right click the game in your Library, or click the gear icon from the game's Library page on the far right
- From the drop down menu, select Properties...
- Select the Local Files tab and click the Verify integrity of game files... button
- And now you play the waiting game. It usually takes just a few minutes.
Read More: Destiny 2 The Witch Queen Won’t Launch: How To Fix The Witch Queen Not Opening On PC
Other Steps You Can Try
- If you like to overclock your computer to boost performance, it's worth stopping to see if this makes a difference. As well as risknig damage to your hardware, overclocking can actually inhibit performance in certain circumstances.
- Try reducing the performance settings on the game.
- Finally, if all else fails, try uninstalling and reinstalling the game.
Should you reach this point and still be struggling, contact Bungie Support for further assistance.
What Is The Witch Queen Crashing Error?
As you'd probably expect based on the wide range of solutions we've suggested, at this stage there isn't a definitive explanation for what's causing The Witch Queen crashing error. So working through those suggestions is the best approach.
Keep an eye out for any patches that become available after the game is released. There are often day one patches to fix bugs that have been quickly identified. So if a patch is available, we recommend you download and install it as soon as you can. Whether it's an underlying issue that a patch fixes, or a PC problem that can be resolved by following our advice, hopefully, you'll soon rid yourself of crashes.