After nearly two years of PlayStation exclusivity, God of War Ragnarok has finally launched on PC. However, like many new releases, this one also comes with a few issues that are preventing players from playing the game.
One of the most common problems is crashing, which occurs either at launch or after a few minutes of gameplay. This can even happen to those who have one of the best GPUs for God of War Ragnarok installed in their system. Aside from crashing, players are also reportedly getting a black screen after launching the game.
If you’re currently in the same boat, don’t worry, as we’ve got a handful of methods that can help fix the problem in no time. But before moving on to the troubleshooting methods, make sure your PC meets the game’s minimum system requirements. If it doesn’t, then you’ll need to upgrade your components to get rid of issues.
Why is God of War Ragnarok crashing on my PC?
There are several possible reasons why the game might be crashing on your PC, including:
- Overheating
- Outdated GPU drivers
- Corrupt game files
- Incorrect graphics settings
- Faulty GPU
Aside from random crashes, players are also getting a D3D Device Crash error in God of War Ragnarok. As per the error message, this happens mostly due to outdated GPU drivers or an overheating GPU.
How to fix God of War Ragnarok crashing on PC
In some cases, the game will stop crashing on its own after you relaunch it or restart your system. But if the problem is not going away, feel free to proceed with the troubleshooting methods mentioned below.
Step
Check for overheating
Overheating is a major cause of game crashes. If your components exceed safe temperature limits, your system may shut down or force the game to close.
To monitor your PC’s temperature, use a tool like HWiNFO. If you notice a significant rise in temperature after launching God of War Ragnarok, shut down your PC immediately.
Next, take steps to prevent overheating, such as cleaning your PC, replacing the thermal paste on your CPU and GPU, and using antivirus software to check for and remove malware.
Step
Update your GPU drivers
AMD, Nvidia, and Intel release new drivers for their GPUs from time to time, which introduce various improvements and make them compatible with the latest games. For instance, AMD recently released new GPU drivers to prepare their Radeon GPUs for God of War Ragnarok.
So, if you’re playing God of War Ragnarok on outdated drivers, this could be the reason why it is constantly crashing. Thankfully, updating the drivers isn’t a difficult task. All you have to do is head over to the official website of AMD, Nvidia, or Intel, depending on your GPU, and download the latest version from there.
Make sure to regularly update your GPU drivers to ensure optimal performance and smooth gameplay.
Step
Repair corrupt files
In some cases, a game can start crashing if even a single file is corrupt or missing. This can happen either right after you download the game or after a few hours of gameplay.
In any case, if a file has gone corrupt or missing, there’s an easy way to fix it.
Steam
- Launch Steam and log in to your account.
- Go to your library and right-click on God of War Ragnarok.
- Open its properties and go to Installed Files.
- Click on ‘Verify integrity of game files.’
Epic Games Store
- Launch Epic Games Store.
- Visit your Library.
- Find God of War Ragnarok.
- Click on the three horizontal dots below it.
- Now, click on ‘Manage’ and then select ‘Verify.’
- Wait for the process to finish.
If verifying the files has not fixed the issue, then you might need to delete the game and reinstall it.
Step
Disable overclocking
If you recently overclocked any of your components and God of War Ragnarok started crashing after that, you might need to disable it.
While overclocking can help boost the performance of your components and get more FPS in games, it can also sometimes cause different issues, including crashing. You can follow our guide on how to stop overclocking a CPU in case you only overclocked your processor.
God of War Ragnarok black screen and stuttering – potential fixes
If the game isn’t crashing but you’re experiencing issues like a black screen or stuttering, you can try following the methods mentioned below to solve the problem.
- Use a different HDMI or DP cable. If there are cuts or too many twists in the current cable, it might be damaged. This often causes black screen issues in games, so try using a new cable to see if that fixes the issue.
- Close background applications. If too many applications are running in the background while you’re playing God of War Ragnarok, the system will be unable to assign the resources it needs. This can lead to different issues, so close all unnecessary applications using the Task Manager.
- Change the graphics settings. If God of War Ragnarok is stuttering on your PC, it may be because you’re trying to run it at settings your PC can’t handle. For instance, if you have a GTX 1060 installed in your system, then you can’t expect to run the game with everything set to Ultra. So, try lowering the graphics settings to see if that stops stuttering.
Conclusion
While crashing and other issues can seem daunting, they can often be fixed with a few simple steps. You can resolve most issues by ensuring your system meets the game’s minimum requirements, keeping your drivers updated, monitoring for overheating, and verifying game files. Also, if you’re planning to play the game on the go, you may want to check out the best gaming laptop for God of War Ragnarok.
