Why Does Black Ops 6 Keep Crashing

Frequent crashes in Black Ops 6 can often be resolved by updating your graphics drivers, verifying game file integrity, or closing unnecessary background applications. If these quick fixes don’t work, more in-depth troubleshooting, such as checking system requirements and monitoring temperatures, might be necessary to pinpoint the underlying cause.

Troubleshooting Black Ops 6 Crashes: A Step-by-Step Guide

Safety First: Before making any hardware changes, ensure your PC is powered off and unplugged.

1. Verify System Requirements

Before anything else, ensure your PC meets the minimum and ideally the recommended system requirements for Black Ops 6. Pay close attention to the following:

CPU (Central Processing Unit): Is your CPU powerful enough? Check against the official specifications.
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit): Is your graphics card capable of running the game at your desired settings?
RAM (Random Access Memory): Do you have enough RAM? Insufficient RAM often leads to crashes.
Operating System: Are you running a supported version of Windows? (Typically, Windows 10 64-bit or Windows 11 64-bit)
Storage: Do you have enough free storage space on your SSD or HDD?

If your system falls short in any area, consider upgrading the specific component to improve performance and stability.

2. Update Graphics Card Drivers

Outdated or corrupted graphics card drivers are a common culprit behind game crashes. Here’s how to update them:

Nvidia: Download the latest drivers from the Nvidia website or use the Nvidia GeForce Experience application. Select “Driver” from the top panel and click “Check for Updates.”
AMD: Download the latest drivers from the AMD website or use the AMD Adrenalin software. Check the “Drivers & Software” section.
Intel: If using integrated Intel graphics, download drivers from the Intel website or use the Intel Driver & Support Assistant.

After updating, restart your computer for the changes to take effect. You may also want to perform a clean install of the drivers through the driver installer to ensure no conflicting files remain.

3. Verify Game File Integrity

Sometimes, game files can become corrupted during download or installation. Use the game launcher to verify the integrity of the game files.

Steam: Right-click on Black Ops 6 in your Steam library, go to “Properties,” then “Local Files,” and click “Verify Integrity of Game Files.”
Battle.net: Select Black Ops 6, click the “Gear” icon next to the Play button, and choose “Scan and Repair.”

This process will check for missing or corrupted files and automatically download and replace them.

4. Close Background Applications

Conflicting software can cause crashes. Close unnecessary programs running in the background, especially those that might overlay on the game screen, such as:

Overlays: Discord, Nvidia GeForce Experience overlay, AMD Adrenalin overlay.
Antivirus Software: Temporarily disable (with caution) to see if it’s interfering.
Hardware Monitoring Tools: MSI Afterburner, RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS) can sometimes cause conflicts.

Use Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to identify and close unnecessary processes.

5. Check for Overheating

Overheating can lead to system instability and crashes. Monitor your CPU and GPU temperatures while playing Black Ops 6.

Use monitoring software like HWMonitor or MSI Afterburner.
Ensure your CPU and GPU coolers are functioning correctly.
Clean dust from your PC case and components.
Consider reapplying thermal paste to your CPU and GPU if necessary.

If temperatures are consistently high (e.g., CPU above 90°C or GPU above 85°C), address the cooling issues before playing.

6. Run System File Checker (SFC)

Corrupted Windows system files can cause game crashes. Use the System File Checker tool to scan and repair these files.

Open Command Prompt as an administrator (search for “cmd,” right-click, and select “Run as administrator”).
Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.
Wait for the scan to complete. It may take some time.

Restart your computer after the scan finishes.

7. Reinstall DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables

Black Ops 6 relies on DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables. Corrupted installations of these components can cause crashes.

Download the latest versions of DirectX from the Microsoft website.
Download and install the latest versions of Visual C++ Redistributables (both x86 and x64 versions) from the Microsoft website. Look for “Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable latest supported downloads”.

After reinstalling, restart your computer.

8. Check Event Viewer

The Event Viewer logs system errors and crashes, providing valuable clues about the cause.

Search for “Event Viewer” in the Windows search bar and open it.
Navigate to “Windows Logs” > “Application” or “Windows Logs” > “System.”
Look for error messages or warnings related to Black Ops 6 or the time of the crashes.
Note the error codes and search online for solutions specific to those codes.

9. Adjust Game Settings

Lowering the graphics settings can reduce the load on your system and prevent crashes.

Reduce texture quality, shadow quality, and anti-aliasing.
Lower the resolution.
Disable VSync (but be aware of potential screen tearing).
Experiment with different graphics presets.

10. Consider a Clean Boot

A clean boot starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This can help identify if a third-party application is causing the crashes.

Search for “msconfig” in the Windows search bar and open System Configuration.
Go to the “Services” tab, check “Hide all Microsoft services,” and click “Disable all.”
Go to the “Startup” tab and click “Open Task Manager.”
Disable all startup items.
Restart your computer.

If Black Ops 6 runs without crashing in a clean boot environment, gradually re-enable startup items and services to identify the culprit.

Frequently Asked Questions