Helldivers 2 is a popular game that seemingly crashes more often than most. Players have posted on Steam and Reddit about persistent in-game Helldivers 2 crashing on PCs and consoles. A player’s Steam forum post said this about the HD2 game crashing: “I am getting frequent (Helldivers 2) crashes. It took three tries to get through the tutorial. Have not been able to finish a mission due to crashes.” This is how you can fix regular in-game Helldivers 2 crashing on Windows 11/10 PCs.
Read also: 8 Ways You Can Fix Helldivers 2 Not Launching on a Windows PC
Lower the Graphical Quality Settings
First, try disabling the graphical quality settings in Helldivers 2. Doing this will at least reduce the graphical system resource needs of the game. This is how you can lower the graphics settings in Helldivers 2.
- Select Options in Helldivers 2.
- Click the Graphics tab.
- Select a lower Graphics Preset option than the one currently set.
The Graphics Preset setting
Turn Off Screen-Space Global Illuminations
Some players have said disabling the Screen-Space Global Illuminations setting has reduced the Helldivers 2 crashing on their PCs. So, that’s a simple potential fix that must be worth a try. You can apply this potential fix by setting the Screen-Space Global Illuminations setting off in the Graphics tab.
The Screen-Space Global Illuminations option
Disable Crossplay
Crossplay is another in-game setting that can seemingly cause Helldivers 2 crashing issues. To disable that option, select the Gameplay tab within HD2. Then select Off for the Crossplay option.
The Crossplay setting
Delete the GameGuard Folder
Erasing the GameGuard folder is a potential solution for Helldivers 2 crashing that some players confirm to have worked for them. GameGuard should automatically reinstall after deleting that folder when you start Helldivers 2. You can erase the GameGuard directory as follows.
- Press the Windows logo + E keyboard key combination to go into File Explorer.
- Navigate to SteamLibrary > steamapps > common > Helldivers 2 > bin in File Explorer.
- Right-click the GameGuard folder to select Delete.
Uninstall Sonic Studio and Suite
Do you have the Sonic Studio Virtual Mixer or Sonic Suite Companion software installed on your PC? If you do, try uninstalling Sonic software via Settings or Control Panel, as instructed on this Microsoft help page. Players confirm uninstalling those Sonic software packages has fixed Helldivers 2 crashing on their PCs.
The Programs and Features Control Panel applet
Run a Verification Scan for Helldivers 2
The possibility of corrupted game files causing Helldivers 2 cannot be overlooked. Running a verification scan may repair missing or corrupted Helldivers 2 game files on some players’ PCs. Steam’s help page for verifying game files provides instructions for applying this potential solution.
The Verify integrity of game files option
Set a Frame Rate Limit for Helldivers 2
Players confirm setting a frame rate limit for Helldivers 2 can remedy its crashing. It’s recommended to set a frame limit at or below 100. A max frame rate range between 60-100 should be ok for playing the game. You can set a frame rate limit in Helldivers 2 like this.
- Start the Helldivers 2 game.
- Click Options and Display.
- Select On for the Framerate Limit setting.
- Set the Framerate Limit option to 100 or lower.
The Framerate Limit setting
Other Possible Ways to Fix Helldivers 2 Crashing
If Helldivers 2 continues crashing, try applying a few other potential remedies. These are some additional troubleshooting methods for fixing a Helldivers 2 game that keeps crashing.
- Turn off overlay features in Steam, Discord, GeForce Experience, and other programs that include them.
- Uninstall Helldivers 2 to reinstall that game.
- Update the graphical (GPU) driver on your Windows PC.
- Select the Disable Steam Input setting on Steam’s Controller tab.
There probably isn’t a surefire way to fix Helldivers 2 crashing on Windows PCs that will work for all players. However, the potential solutions covered above have worked for some players. So, applying them might at least make Helldivers 2 more playable by considerably reducing the regularity of its crashing.
