How to fix Age of Empires IV’s startup crash issues

The real-time strategy game Age of Empires IV was recently released globally. Although the game is starting to garner a huge player base, many players have reported that they are unable to access the game due to it crashing once launched. Here are different fixes that players can try to resolve the issue.

Reinstalling the game

There is a chance that some files got corrupted during or after the installation process of the game. There is no way to determine if that’s the case, so uninstalling and then reinstalling the game should address the issue.

Update GPU Drivers

Make sure you are using the latest version of GPU drivers. Although drivers are usually set to update automatically, it can also be done manually. You can open your driver’s menu by opening its dedicated software.

Update DirectX and Windows

Much like GPU drivers, ensure that you are using the latest version of DirectX and your Windows is up to date.

Disable third party softwares

Although not often, it has been reported that third-party software mingles with game files, forcing the game to crash on launch. This is particularly prevalent where players have Steam open in the background. That said, players can turn off the Steam overlay by opening Steam followed by opening the settings menu. Once there, disable the Steam overlay by using the toggle option. Similarly, try turning off all the third-party applications such as Discord and Epic Games launcher if the problem persists.