Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the best RPGs for Windows PC, but some players report it keeps crashing with regularity when they play it. One Wild Hunt player said this, “Witcher 3 keeps crashing, and nothing I’ve tried helps… So I’ve been playing Witcher 3 again, and the game keeps crashing every 5-10 minutes.” If Witcher 3 regularly crashes every hour, then it will be hard to play. This is how you can fix regular in-game Witcher 3 crashing on a Windows PC.
Disable Anti-Aliasing, Ray Tracing, and Hair Works in Witcher 3
Players have confirmed that disabling settings for anti-aliasing, ray tracing, and hair works can fix in-game Witcher 3 crashing. Those are advanced graphical settings that can cause crashing issues to arise. You can disable those graphical settings like this:
- Start your Witcher 3 game.
- Select Options on the menu.
- Click on Video and Graphics.
- Then, set the NVIDIA Hair Works, Ray Tracing, and Ray Tracing options to Off if enabled.
The graphics settings in Witcher 3
- Select Back to apply the settings.
Set a DirectX 11 Launch Option
Setting a DirectX 11 launch option has worked for some players who’ve needed to fix Witcher 3 crashing. Applying this fix sets the game to utilize the DirectX 11 API rather than 12. These are the steps for setting a DX11 launch option in Steam and Epic Games:
Steam
- Run Steam to select Library in that gaming client.
- Right-click on Witcher 3 in the game sidebar to select Properties.
- Input -dx11 inside the text box for launch options.
The launch options in Steam
Epic Games
- Run the Epic Games software.
- Click the user profile button.
- Next, click on the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt game to expand it.
- Select the Additional Command Line Arguments box.
The Epic Games launch options
- Input -d3d11 into the command arguments box in Epic Games.
Install a New Graphics Driver
The CD Projekt Red support service recommends that players install new graphical drivers to fix Witcher 3 crashing issues. However, uninstall the graphics driver on your PC first with the Display Driver Uninstaller software, as instructed on this Intel page. Then, install the latest driver for your PC’s GPU using a method in this KeenGamer guide.
The NVIDIA driver download page
Disable Shader Pre-Caching in Steam
Corrupted or incompatible Shader Pre-Caching cache files can potentially cause the Witcher 3 to crash. Players also say they’ve fixed Witcher 3 crashing by turning off the Shader Pre-Caching feature. You can turn off that feature in Steam like this:
- Start your Steam software.
- Click on Steam and Settings.
- Select the Downloads tab.
- Turn off the Enable Shader Pre-caching option.
The Shader Pre-Caching option
Verify Your Witcher 3 Game
To address game file corruption issues, try running a verification scan for The Witcher 3. Both Epic Games and Steam have Verify options for repairing games. Check out these Steam support and Epic help pages for further details about how to apply this troubleshooting method.
The Verify integrity of game files option
Disable Fullscreen Optimizations
A few players have confirmed that they’ve fixed the in-game Witcher 3 crashing by disabling full-screen optimizations. I would also recommend setting Witcher 3 to run with admin rights while you’re at. This is how you can disable full-screen optimizations for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt:
- Open the Witcher 3 game installation folder in File Explorer.
- Right-click the witcher3.exe file to select Properties.
- Next, select Disable full-screen optimizations on the Compatibility tab.
- Select the Run this program as an administrator box for elevated privileges.
The Compatibility tab
- Click on Apply and OK to select the options set.
Select a Borderless Window Display Mode
Selecting the Borderless Window display setting is another player-confirmed way to fix in-game Witcher 3 crashing that might be worth trying. Borderless Window is the most compatible display option for The Witcher 3. You can select that display setting like this:
- Start your Witcher 3: Wild Hunt game.
- Click Options > Graphics > Display within Witcher 3.
- Change the Display Mode setting to Borderless Window.
The Display tab
Other Possible Ways to Fix Regular In-Game Witcher 3 Crashing
There are probably more potential ways to fix Witcher 3 crashing beyond those troubleshooting methods above. If the game still crashes too much, try applying these extra potential fixes:
- If you’ve added mods, try disabling those mods. To do that, rename the mods folder for Witcher 3 to mods.old.
- Reinstall your Witcher 3 game.
- Disable the NVIDIA Streamer Service via the Services window by selecting Disabled for its Startup type option.
- Turn off VSync via in-game Witcher 3, NVIDIA, or AMD graphical settings.
- Set the Maximum Frames Per Second option in Witcher 3’s Graphics tab to Unlimited.
The troubleshooting methods here are among the best ways to fix regular in-game Witcher 3 crashing. They’re potential remedies that players have applied and confirmed to work for them. You can also ask Witcher 3’s support service for more potential crash fixes from this contact form page.
