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Unreal Engine is a popular game engine that developers employ to build and design games. As a suite, it has some of the best-integrated tools. Unreal Engine is one of the best modern game engines, but it is not perfect. It has its issues, which sometimes translate into problems for the games that are dependent on its components.

In fact, in this guide, we intend to examine the Unreal Engine crashing issue, which seems to plague a good number of popular titles. People just cannot enjoy their games. From the reports we saw, users complained that their game froze, stopped running, or became unresponsive because something went wrong with Unreal Engine.

Why is Unreal Engine crashing?

Unreal Engine is probably crashing because its processes keep reaching a state or condition where they cannot continue to run or perform tasks. The issue might be down to bugs or inconsistencies in the program; the problem might have something to do with conflicts involving other applications or interference from third-party utilities. Well, we have just outlined the most likely or common causes of the Unreal Engine crashes on Windows 10 computers.

How to fix the Unreal Engine has crashed error in Windows 10

We will now describe the procedures and workarounds that have proven effective in getting Unreal Engine to stop crashing (or crash less frequently) on Windows 10 PCs. We advise that you begin with the first fix on the list. If the first procedure fails to do enough, then you can move on to the next solution and continue with the rest in that order until the problem in your case gets resolved.

  1. Update Unreal Engine 4:

We earlier established bugs as one of the reasons due to which Unreal Engine crashes on computers. Well, the procedure here seeks to rectify things in that direction – if our assumption holds true. Unreal Engine developers probably knew about the crashes disturbing users, so they are likely to have done some work to resolve the issue.

Therefore, by updating Unreal Engine, you will provide the program with fixes and patches to bugs that might be responsible for the crashes – and this is a good outcome. It is relatively easy to check for and install updates for Unreal Engine, so this procedure had to come first.

Do this:

  • Open the Epic Games Launcher by double-clicking on the application shortcut (which is probably on your desktop screen).
  • Once the Epic Games Launcher window comes up, you have to look at the top-left corner of the window and then click on Unreal Engine.
  • Now, you must look at the pane on the right border of the window and then click on Library (to go to this tab).
  • Check the top of the window for a list. Go through the engine versions there.
  • Click on the small down arrow (to initiate a manual check for updates).

The Epic Games Launcher will now use your internet to get in touch with the appropriate servers to see if there is anything new that your computer is lacking.

  • If the application finds a new engine version, you will have to select it and then click on Install.

The Epic Games Launcher will now work to install the new stuff.

  • Once the installation operations for the new engine reach completion, you have to restart Epic Games Launcher.

Ideally, you should reboot your computer (for the best results).

  • Test the game or application with which you experienced the Unreal Engine has crashed error to see how things go this time.

  1. Verify the engine installation:

Here, we are considering the possibility that Unreal Engine is crashing on your computer because its files have fallen to corruption. There is also a good chance that the crashes are down to some important components being modified or deleted. To this end, we want you to use the “verification of files” function to fix things.

Unreal Engine exists as a component inside the Epic Games Launcher, which means you must use the verification function on the latter to check for issues within Unreal Engine files. If inconsistencies or discrepancies get detected, the bad stuff will be replaced with healthy copies (containing the needed data).

Anyway, these are the instructions you must follow to verify the installation:

  • First, you have to open the Epic Games Launcher. You can always do this by double-clicking on the application shortcut (which should be on your desktop).
  • Once the program window appears, you have to look at the top-left corner and then click on Library.

You will be directed to the Library tab now.

  • Look at the pane on the right and then click on the small down arrow (to expand the drop-down menu or see the list of options).
  • Click on Verify.

The Epic Games Launcher will now initialize the processes needed for the verification operation.

  • You have to be patient. Wait for the scans to reach completion.
  • Once the verification gets done, you have to click on the Launch option (which should be visible now).
  • Run the game or app that you struggled with due to Unreal Engine crashes to see if things have gotten better.

  1. Change your default graphics card:

The procedure here targets a specific case of the problem. If you see the Unreal Engine is exiting due to D3D device being lost warning or notification during your struggles with Unreal Engine, then the fix here is likely to do enough to resolve your problems. If our assumptions hold true, then the issue in your case is down to your computer using a weak graphics card to execute operations.

If your computer has a discrete, or dedicated, graphics card, then it has two GPUs to choose from when it has to run applications or games. The discrete GPU is usually the more powerful unit of the lot, so your system is always better off using it for games and other graphics-demanding apps.

Here, we want you to instruct (or force) your computer to use the dedicated graphics card. We are assuming you have a discrete graphics card from NVIDIA, so the description of the procedure here is based on that.

Go through these steps:

  • Get to the Windows Start menu screen by pressing the Windows logo button on your machine’s keyboard (or you can click on the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of your display for the same outcome).
  • Type NVIDIA Control Panel into the textbox (that shows up the moment you begin to type) to perform a search task using those keywords as the query.
  • Assuming NVIDIA Control Panel (App) has now emerged as the primary entry on the results list returned, you have to click on it (to open it).
  • Once the NVIDIA Control Panel window comes up, you have to click on Manage 3D settings.
  • Assuming you are on the Global Settings tab, you have to click on the drop-down menu for Preferred graphics processor (to see the available options).
  • Select High-performance NVIDIA processor.
  • Now, you must click on the Apply button. Click on the OK button too – if this step applies.
  • Close the NVIDIA Control Panel app and other applications.
  • Restart your computer.
  • Run the game or application troubled by Unreal Engine crashes to see how long it stays up now.

  1. Make some changes to your registry:

On some computers, Unreal Engine crashes were proven to be connected to the settings for TDR. On those machines, users managed to improve the stability outcomes for Unreal Engine by altering the TDR configuration. Things might be the same on your computer; you too might be able to alter stuff to get Unreal Engine to stay up for as long as necessary.

TDR – which stands for Timeout Detection and Recovery – is the function that checks whether your graphics card is working as it is supposed to. When this function finds out that the graphics card is malfunctioning or struggling, it acts to reset its components. We want you to disable this function so that your computer will give its GPU all the time it needs to recover (for Unreal Engine’s sake) before going all nuclear on it.

However, before you proceed with the task here, we must warn you of the risks involved. You are about to make changes to entries in the computer registry, which is an incredibly sensitive component in Windows. If you make mistakes, then you might end up with more problems than you currently have. To this end, precautions are advised.

You might want to create a backup of your registry. You will not get a better chance to make the backup than now. You will be able to resolve all problems easily using the backup – if things ever go wrong.

Anyway, these are the steps you must go through to create a backup of the registry:

  • Use the Windows logo button + letter R keyboard shortcut to fire up the Run application quickly.
  • Once the small Run dialog or window appears, you have to fill the blank text field with Regedit.
  • To run the code, hit the Enter button on your machine’s keyboard (or click on the OK button on the Run window for the same outcome).

The Registry Editor window will be brought up now.

  • Look at the top-left corner of the window, click on File, and then choose Export (from the list of options displayed).

The Export Registry File window will be displayed now.

  • Fill the box for File name with your preferred name for the backup. You can use RegBackup, for example.
  • You must also specify your preferred storage location for the backup. Navigate through the appropriate directories to get to the right folder.

Ideally, you should save the file inside a location on an external drive (USB flash drive, for example). If you must save it on your computer, then you can choose Desktop.

  • Assuming you are done with the parameters on the Export Registry File window, you must click on the Save button (to finish things).

Your computer will now work to create the backup and store it in the specified directory.

Meanwhile, these are the instructions you must follow to make the necessary alterations in the registry to fix Unreal Engine crashes:

  • Here, you have to go back to the Registry Editor window, or you must launch the application again (if you closed it).

You can scroll up a bit to see the instructions on opening the Registry Editor (if you need to).

  • This time, you must click on Computer (in the top-left corner of the window) to see its contents and then navigate through the directories on this path to get to your destination:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ GraphicsDrivers

  • Now, on the pane close to the right border of the window, inside GraphicsDrivers, you have to right-click on any spot free of objects.
  • From the list of options displayed, you have to click on New (to see another list) and then select QWORD (64-bit) Value.
  • You must use TdrLevel as the name of the new value. Now, click on the OK button.

Windows will now work to create the value.

  • Double-click on the newly created TdrLevel value.

The Edit QWORD (64-bit) Value window for TdrLevel will be brought up now.

  • Fill the box for Value data with 0 and then click on the OK button to save the changes you just made.

Your work on the registry is done.

  • Close the Registry Editor application and other programs.
  • Restart your PC.
  • Run some tests on the troubled game or program to confirm that Unreal Engine no longer crashes like before.

  1. Reinstall your graphics card driver; update your drivers:

The graphics card driver is the program that manages interactions between the GPU (the hardware component) and applications or Windows itself (the software part). Therefore, your graphics card driver plays an important role in the image display and video rendering operations, which form the basis of graphical processes.

There is a good chance Unreal Engine crashes have something to do with graphical shortcomings or inconsistencies, which can then be traced to the graphics card driver. If we are to consider this possibility, then we can extrapolate that the graphics card is in a bad state. The driver is probably broken, malfunctioning, or corrupted. To this end, we want you to reinstall the driver to fix the problems with it.

When you reinstall a driver, the processes involved (that make up the uninstallation and installation operations) tend to induce changes in driver settings and composition. The resulting changes might do enough to get the driver back into a normal state, so you have to take your chances with it. The procedure is entirely harmless, after all.

Anyway, these are the steps you must go through to reinstall your graphics card driver:

  • First, you have to right-click on the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of your machine’s display to see the Power User menu applications and options.
  • From the list displayed, you must choose Device Manager (to launch this application).
  • Assuming the Device Manager window has been brought up, you must go through the list there and locate Display Adapters.
  • Click on the expansion icon beside Display Adapters to open its contents.
  • Locate your dedicated GPU device from the list, right-click on it to see the available options, and then choose Uninstall driver.
  • We instructed you to locate your dedicated GPU device because your computer probably runs games and other graphics-demanding applications using the dedicated GPU. Your computer is equipped with two graphics units (the dedicated GPU and the integrated GPU), but the dedicated GPU is easily the more powerful or capable card.
  • Therefore, for the best performance results or outcomes, your computer (like most machines) is programmed to perform difficult or intensive graphics operations with the dedicated GPU. And for these reasons, the driver for the dedicated GPU is the one you must reinstall to fix Unreal Engine crashes.
  • However, if you are sure your computer runs games and applications using the integrated card, then you have to right-click on the integrated card instead to see the available options and then select Uninstall. You will then have to proceed with the uninstallation operation on that path (continue with the instructions below).
  • Click on the Uninstall button to affirm the operation – if Windows brings up a prompt or dialog to get some form of confirmation for the uninstallation operation for the graphics card driver.

Your computer is now supposed to work to remove the driver.

  • After everything gets done, you have to close the Device Manager app (and other applications) and then restart your PC.
  • Wait for Windows to boot up and settle down (while you do nothing).

Now, your system is likely to realize that the driver for an important component is missing, so it will work to fetch and install the needed software (without you needing to assist it).

  • At this point, assuming your computer has installed the required driver, we advise that you restart your computer to finish things.
  • Run the game or app affected by Unreal Engine crashes to see how long it stays up now.


If the reinstallation operation failed to do enough to resolve the problem in your case – or if you could not get Windows to reinstall your graphics card driver for any reason – then you have to update the driver. To do this quickly, you need to get Auslogics Driver Updater. This program will help you perform all the driver update tasks as efficiently as possible, so you will not have to bother yourself with many complicated and tedious operations.

The recommended application works this way: It will first initiate a top-level scan to identify the bad drivers (corrupted, old or outdated, broken, and malfunctioning drivers) on your computer; after the identification phase, it will move on to search for and fetch new stable drivers (manufacturer-recommended versions), which it then installs as replacements for the bad software.

In fact, with that application, your computer gets to run new drivers for almost all its components (and not just the graphics card). If Unreal Engine crashes have anything to do with issues affecting other drivers, then the problem will be resolved. Well, this way, since all the driver problems get resolved, nothing gets left out – and this is a good thing.

After the installation processes for all the new drivers reach completion, you have to restart your computer to finish things. Windows needs a reboot to ensure your system takes all the changes that occurred into account. Only after the restart must you run the game or app troubled by Unreal Engine crashes to check and confirm that things are now significantly better than before.

Other things you can try to resolve Unreal Engine crashes on Windows 10

If you are still struggling with the “Unreal Engine has crashed” issue when you are playing games or running dependent applications, then you have to attempt the fixes and workarounds on our final list of solutions to the problem.

  1. Disable all overclocking settings; get rid of all overclocking applications:

If you configured your computer to overclock certain components (your CPU, for example) to get more juice from your machine, then you have to stop now – because the downsides obviously outweigh the gains. If you cannot get your games or apps to stay up and running, then you have no use for the performance improvements. Do away with all overclocking stuff and give your programs a chance at better stability outcomes.

  1. Disable your antivirus; uninstall the security application:

Some reports indicate that certain antivirus brands do overreach by interfering with processes or operations they have no business with to cause issues for users, so you might want to look into this event in your case. Perhaps, your antivirus or security application is doing the same thing. If our assumption holds true, then Unreal Engine will stop crashing after you disable or uninstall your antivirus (or a similar security application).

  1. Configure your computer to use only your dedicated graphics card to run games and other graphics-intensive applications.
  1. Clean reinstall all the applications involved in the crash events.