Many video game connoisseurs consider the Gears of War franchise is what catapulted Xbox 360’s success. According to Microsoft, the series has sold millions of units and has generated over a billion dollars’ worth of revenue. However, no matter how phenomenally popular this series is, it is still prone to issues. Lately, there have been quite a number of reports of Gears of War 5 crashes. Usually, the issue shows up during startup or gameplay.

If you’re experiencing the same problem, do not panic. We can teach you how to fix Gears of War 5 crashes. We’ve included several solutions to this problem in this article. Hopefully, by the end of this post, you’re able to load the game without any issue.

Solution 1: Updating Your Graphics Card Driver

Before we teach you how to resolve Gears of War 5 issues, you need to know what’s causing the problem in the first place. According to some users, the game may crash when you’re using an outdated or corrupted graphics card driver. So, one of the ways to get rid of the problem is by updating the driver. Now, there are three ways to perform this procedure:

  • Using the Device Manager
  • Downloading the Graphics Card Driver Manually
  • Automating the Process with the Help of Auslogics Driver Updater

Using the Device Manager

  1. Go to your taskbar, then right-click the Windows icon.
  2. Select Device Manager from the list.
  3. Now, click the Display Adapters category to expand its contents.
  4. Right-click your graphics card, then select Update Driver.
  5. On the new window, select the ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’ option. Let the Device Manager find, download, and install the driver updates.

Downloading the Graphics Card Driver Manually

You should know that while the Device Manager can conveniently update the graphics card driver for you, it is not absolutely reliable. Sometimes, it can miss the latest version of the driver. So, you may still end up searching for the right version online. Keep in mind that this option can be challenging and time-consuming. After all, you’d have to go to the manufacturer’s website and search for the driver that is compatible with your processor and operating system.

Automating the Process with the Help of Auslogics Driver Updater

It is also worth noting that manually downloading the driver can be risky. If you install an incompatible version, you may end up dealing with system instability issues. Thankfully, there is an easier yet more secure way to update your graphics card driver. You can use a reliable tool like Auslogics Driver Updater.

Once you’ve installed the software program, it will recognize your operating system and processor automatically. All you will need to do is click a button, and Auslogics Driver Updater will search, download, and install the latest driver for your graphics card. What’s more, the tool will also address any driver-related issues on your PC. So, once the process is complete, the operations on your computer will perform better than before.

Solution 2: Disabling the Gaming Overlay

One of the new features of Windows 10 is the Game bar. It is a gaming overlay which lets users record videos and take screenshots of their gameplay in the background. Unfortunately, this feature has been known to cause Gears of War 5 crashes. So, if you want to know how to fix frequent Gears 5 errors on Windows 10, you must learn how to disable the gaming overlay. Here are the steps:

  1. On your keyboard, press Windows Key+I. Doing so will launch the Settings app.
  2. Once you’re inside the Settings app, select Gaming.
  3. Now, go to the left-pane menu, then click Game Bar.
  4. Move to the right pane, then toggle the switch below the ‘Record game clips, screenshots, broadcast using Game bar’ section to Off.
  5. Go back to the left-pane menu, then select Captures.
  6. On the right pane, toggle the switch below the ‘Record in the background while I’m playing a game’ section to Off.
  7. Select Broadcasting on the left-pane menu.
  8. Go to the right pane, then toggle the switch below the ‘Record audio when I broadcast’ section to Off.

Close the Settings app, then try running Gears of War 5 again to see if the issue is gone.

Solution 3: Resetting the Microsoft Store Cache

All the downloads you make through Microsoft Store are cached by your operating system. Over time, the cache accumulates and overloads your system, causing various download problems and game crashes. In this case, we recommend that you reset the Microsoft Store cache to get Gears of War 5 to launch without any problem. To do that, just follow the instructions below:

  1. Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows Key+R.
  2. Inside the Run dialog box, type “wsreset.exe” (no quotes), then click OK.
  3. Let the Microsoft Store cache reset process complete.
  4. Once the reset is done, Microsoft Store will come up.
  5. Let the changes take effect by restarting your PC.

When your computer boots, try launching Gears of War again to see if the crashes are gone.

Solution 4: Installing Windows Updates

If your operating system is not updated, it can fail to handle the software components of Gears of War 5. Consequently, the game will crash during startup or gameplay. So, our tip is to check if there are any available updates you should install. Here are the steps:

  1. Launch the Settings app by pressing Windows Key+I on your keyboard.
  2. Once you’re inside the Settings app, select Update & Security.
  3. On the left-pane menu, click Windows Update.
  4. Move to the right pane, then click Check for Updates.

Let your system search for available updates. If there are any, it will download and install the updates automatically. After the process is complete, you need to reboot your PC to let the changes take effect. Of course, you should not forget to check if Gears of War 5 is loading properly. If it is still crashing, you can move on to the next solution.

Solution 5: Updating DirectX

One of the reasons why memory-hogging apps like video games can interact seamlessly with video and audio cards is because of DirectX. It is a suite of software components in Windows 10 that handle graphics rendering and processing operations. Now, if your DirectX is outdated, it is possible for your video games to crash. So, we recommend that you update it to the latest version. Do note that this involves a two-step process:

  • First Step: Checking Your DirectX Version
  • Second Step: Updating DirectX

First Step: Checking Your DirectX Version

If you do not know what version of DirectX is running on your PC, you should check it before you perform an update. Here are the steps:

  1. Go to your taskbar, then click the Search icon.
  2. Inside the Search box, type “dxdiag” (no quotes), then hit Enter. This step should open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
  3. By default, you will land on the System tab of the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. You should be able to see which version you have on this page.

Second Step: Updating DirectX

Now that you’ve learned that you’re not running the latest DirectX version, you should follow the instructions below to begin the update process.

Note: You won’t be able to find a stand-alone package for DirectX. In general, you can only update it through Windows Update.

  1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard, then type “Check for updates” (no quotes).
  2. Select Check for Updates from the results. Doing so should bring you to the Windows Update section of the Settings app.
  3. Click the Check for Updates button and let your system search, download, and install available updates.

Once you’ve updated DirectX, restart your computer, then try launching Gears of War 5 again. Check if it can load properly and run without any issues.

Solution 6: Resetting Xbox and Microsoft Store

If the game is not behaving properly, you can try resetting apps related to it. Your system will reinstall the apps and revert them to their default settings. Do not worry because this process won’t affect any game files you’ve saved. To begin, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to your taskbar, then right-click the Windows icon.
  2. Select Settings from the menu.
  3. Once the Settings app appears, select Apps.
  4. Go to the left-pane menu, then click Apps & Features.
  5. Now, move to the right pane and search for Microsoft Store.
  6. Select the app, then click Advanced Options.
  7. On the next page, click Reset.
  8. Go back to the Apps & Features page, then type “Xbox” (no quotes) inside the search box. You should see all the Xbox-related apps.
  9. Select one of the apps, then perform Steps 5 and 6. Repeat this for all the Xbox-related apps.

After resetting the apps, reboot your computer. Try launching Gears of War 5 again to see if the issue has been resolved.

Solution 7: Ending Unnecessary Processes

It is possible that some processes are interfering with Gears of War 5. So, we suggest that you go to Task Manager and end any unnecessary process. Here are the steps:

  1. On your keyboard, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc. Doing so will launch the Task Manager.
  2. Make sure you are on the Processes tab.
  3. Now, look for processes which are not necessary to run the game. For instance, you might have forgotten to close a Notepad file. Select the process, then click End Task.

After performing these steps, check if Gears of War 5 is no longer crashing during startup or gameplay.

Solution 8: Reinstalling the Game

If you’ve tried all of the solutions above yet none of them has allowed you to launch Gears of War 5 properly, we suggest that you reinstall the game. Remove it from your computer, then go to Microsoft Store to download it again. After reinstalling Gears of War, check if you can run the game without any issues.

We hope one of the solutions we shared helped you get rid of the Gears of War 5 crashes. In any case, you can always submit a ticket to the game’s support. Its developers will diagnose the issue, and soon enough, they will release a patch to fix the bug.

Do you have other suggestions for fixing Gears of War 5 crashes?

Please feel free to share them in the comments below!