Six months after Activision released Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the game remains popular as ever Despite the lack of a traditional solo campaign mode, the conventional multiplayer and battle royale-style Blackout modes contain enough gaming goodies to keep gamers coming for more. Despite this, there have been frequent complaints about the game crashing on Windows.
If you fall into this category of people complaining about Black Ops 4 crashing issues, you have come to the right place. We have got you covered with some solutions that will fix your game and let you play it as smoothly as possible.
Why does Black Ops 4 crash?
This is really a tough question to answer for several reasons. Activision’s decision to use Blizzard’s Battle.net instead of Steam for the Windows version of the game further complicates matters. Game crash issues in general can be caused by a wide range of factors, and the case of Black Ops 4 is no different.
However, we have narrowed down the cause of Black Ops 4 crashes to six reasons. Without the correct and updated drivers, the game would likely not function properly. It can also crash if your CPU is overclocked too much beyond its recommended speed. Another reason for Black Ops 4 crashing is the presence of in-game issues that are best fixed with a patch from the developers. Wrong graphics settings can also interfere with the gameplay. Corrupted game files and inadequate hardware are also likely to cause a crash.
How to fix Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 crashing?
With all these reasons in mind, what is the best way to prevent your Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 game from crashing? The reality is, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Since the method that works for you will depend on the cause of your own crashing issue, you will have to try each workaround until one solves your problem.
In no particular order, these are the troubleshooting steps for Black Ops 4 crashing issues:
- Check your computer’s hardware specifications
- Apply the latest patch to the game
- Install updated graphics drivers
- Perform a game repair
- Tweak your GPU clock speeds
- Change your game graphics settings
Method One: Check your computer’s hardware specifications
If you somehow manage to get Black Ops 4 working on an ancient computer, fair play to you. But it is more likely for the game to experience issues on a system that doesn’t meet the recommended specifications. Most modern multiplayer games are designed to run on PCs with fairly advanced hardware and dedicated GPUs. The smoothness of the game is directly proportional to the quality of your hardware.
So, if you come across crashing issues when you fire up Black Ops 4 on your PC, it might be worth examining your system to see if it meets the recommended or minimum hardware requirements to run the game.
Here are the specifications for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 PC Edition:
| Minimum | Recommended | |
| Operating system | Windows 7, 64 bit | Windows 10, 64 bit |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-4340
AMD FX-6300 |
Intel Core i5-2500K
AMD Ryzen R% 1600X |
| GPU | GeForce GTX 660 2GB
GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Radeon HD 7950 2GB |
GeForce GTX 970 4GB
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Radeon R9 390 AMD RX 580 |
| RAM | 8GB | 12GB |
| HDD/SSD | 80GB | |
| DirectX | 11.0 |
Follow these steps to check your hardware specs and compare with the specifications for the game:
- Search for Settings in Cortana and click the top result.
- Got to System > About.
- View your processor, clock speed and memory in the Device specifications section.
- From Cortana, go to System Information.
- Click the Component Display tab in System Information to expand the section.
- View your graphics card information.
- Type dxdiag in Cortana and run the program.
- You will see your DirectX version displayed here.
Method Two: Apply the latest patch to the game
Treyarch—the game developers for Black Ops 4—have upped the excitement for PC players with the release of the new multiplayer mode, Infected, and a new map update—Arsenal Sandstorm—on April 16. These are the latest in a line of recent patches and updates, some of which were released to solve niggling issues within the game.
You can visit the game developer’s site for a patch that can solve your crash issues. You’ll likely find one or two updates accompanied by a changelog detailing the known errors that it was released to fix. Download and install the appropriate patch and check if the error persists.
Method Three: Install updated graphics drivers
Incorrectly installed, outdated or corrupt drivers can and do interfere with the smooth running of games. To fix Black Ops 4 crashes, your best bet might be to bring the relevant drivers up to date. You can perform a manual update, use Device Manager, or employ a third-party tool like Auslogics Driver Updater.
- Update manually
This method entails going to the manufacturer’s website to find the latest compatible drivers for your hardware. This is both cumbersome and time-consuming but still doable as long as you know what you’re doing. For a higher chance of success, you must know all the details concerning the hardware brand, make, model, and variant.
- Update with Device Manager
Device Manager can help you update your video card drivers to their latest iterations. Just go into Device Manager and find the hardware, then right-click it and let Windows search automatically for updated driver software.
- Update with Auslogics Driver Updater
The manual update method is monotonous and requires some technical knowledge. Additionally, using Device Manager isn’t a guaranteed way as Windows might fail to find the necessary drivers. Your best bet is to use an automatic driver update tool that will find all the drivers and bring them up to date with one click. Auslogics Driver Updater is recommended for best results. Download and install it on your PC, then allow it to scan your system. It will find the latest, compatible and manufacturer-recommended drivers for your graphics card.
Don’t forget to restart your PC after Auslogics Driver Updater finishes its work.
Method Four: Perform a game repair
Activision somewhat shocked the Call of Duty gaming community when it picked Blizzard, and not the more popular Steam, as the PC platform for Black Ops 4. But one benefit of the decision is the ability to scan and repair a malfunctioning game:
- Launch the Blizzard app.
- Navigate to Games and find Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
- Expand the Options tab and choose Scan and Repair.
- Follow the onscreen steps.
- Restart your computer.
You should be able to play the game without issues.
Method Five: Tweak your GPU clock speeds
If you recklessly overclock your GPU in a bid to eke out higher performance, you run the risk of destabilizing your game. Try not to go too high beyond the recommended maximum clock speed specified by the manufacturer.
If you’ve followed the steps above but still get crashing issues in Black Ops 4, you might want to try lowering your GPU clock speed and see what happens.
Method Six: Change your in-game graphics settings
Lowering the in-game graphics settings might lead to a small loss in fps and visual clarity, but it might solve any lingering crashing issues. It is a good idea to experiment with setting different levels of Anti-Aliasing, V-Sync and other settings and see which configuration combination eliminates the issue.
Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.
