Diablo 4 crashing on startup – how to fix

Diablo 4 is a long-awaited sequel to the franchise that made today's dungeon-crawler RPG genre what it is. Being a long-time fan of the Diablo franchise, I couldn't wait for it to come out after two successive beta runs that have left me and many other players thirsty for more. Unfortunately, our experience has been occasionally marred by the game crashing on startup or sometimes in the middle of gameplay. It's the most annoying thing ever, so we won't waste any time and get right to solving it!

How to patch the Diablo IV bug causing it to crash on startup

There are several factors that could affect Diablo 4 performance on your PC, causing bugs and glitches that can crash your game, so let's immediately start troubleshooting with the most likely culprits first.

Related: How to fix Diablo 4 queued for Game Start Game Pending

Download the latest GPU Drivers to run Diablo 4 without crashing

When trying to start Diablo 4 for the first time, I was immediately prompted with a message offering me to install the latest Nvidia drivers specifically launched to optimize this game. I downloaded them and noticed an improvement in framerates compared to my beta game experience. Outdated drivers can sometimes cause trouble when you run the newest games for the first time, so it's always worth checking for any graphics driver updates for your card model. Furthermore, while Diablo 4 doesn't look like it, it can really be a resource hog, especially on your GPU, so have a look at our article on how to alleviate some of that load!

Uninstall the Diablo IV Beta before running the full game version

Since we live in an age where gigabytes come cheap, creating additional memory space is no longer an issue, and many players still need to remember to remove the old Diablo 4 beta installation from their computers. Keeping the old legacy files on your desktop may conflict with the newest files, mainly since Diablo 4's installation directory differs from the one used for the full version. It was an intentional move to prevent overwrites, but you should always uninstall any beta versions when new games release fully.

Related: How to fix Diablo 4 ‘Your account is currently locked’ Error 395002

It's also good to ensure that the game version you are running is Diablo IV. You can check that in a few easy steps:

• Launch Battle.net on your PC.
• Select Diablo IV.
• Under the Game Version menu on the bottom left, select Diablo IV.
  • If you see an instance called Diablo IV - Beta, this could be the cause of the problem. Simply go to the default installation directory and delete the old instance of the game.

Repair Diablo 4 game files

The issue with Diablo 4 crashing can be caused by corrupt game files or an outdated game client, especially since the game had a day-one patch released. You can perform the repair of game files on your Battle.net client by following the steps below:

• Launch Battle.net on your PC.
• Select Diablo IV.
• Click the Cog button next to the blue Play button at the bottom left.
• Click Scan and Repair from the drop-down menu that will appear.
  • After verifying the integrity of game files, you can click Check for Updates to ensure your game client has the latest version available.

Are you looking for more guides on your quest to save the Sanctuary? You're in the right place! Check out Diablo 4 level cap – what is the max level, explained, and Diablo 4 – How to Fix Error Code 315306 ‘Unable to Find Valid License’ here on Pro Game Guides!