While the game has been relatively stable, we’ve had Alan Wake 2 crash to desktop several times while playing it on PC. These have yet to be regular or consistent, so it’s been tough to determine the cause and fix it (especially since the game doesn’t generate any crash logs we could find). However, we have discovered several steps you can take to alleviate the issue, which we’ll detail below.
How to fix Alan Wake 2 crashing to desktop on PC
There are a few ways to fix Alan Wake 2 crashing on PC, but there’s not a definitive cause or fix. We’ve had it crash during regular gameplay, when opening a menu, and on loading screens. However, there are a few things you can do to lessen or prevent this from happening entirely:
- Update to the latest drivers
- Don’t Alt+Tab
- Close any recording programs
- Disable overlay software
Update to the latest drivers
Alan Wake 2 features support for DLSS 3.5, which gives you access to goodies like Frame Generation and Ray Reconstruction. However, toggling these on without the latest Nvidia drivers can cause the game to become a bit unstable. So, launch GeForce Experience and make sure you’re on GeForce Game Ready Driver 545.92 or newer. AMD users should also update their drivers, but since they won’t be using DLSS, there’s likely less of an impact if they don’t.
Don’t Alt+Tab
The days of games being affected by Alt+Tabbing are mostly past us, but it seems like Alan Wake 2 might be a bit sensitive to switching focus. Our crashing typically occurred at some point after Alt-Tabbing, but it’s hard to tell if it was a direct result of doing so. So, just to be careful, try to avoid it.
Close any recording program
We record each game we play, so we’ll have material for guides and reviews. I had the game crash when using Nvidia Shadowplay and OBS Studio, so it’s possible that any recording hook can cause the game to become unstable. Again, it’s hard to tell if that’s the case, but it could be an issue.
Disable overlay software
Most players will have both the EGS Launcher and Nvidia or AMD overlays active when they launch the game. Again, this isn’t a definitive cause of crashes, but overlays are known for affecting game stability, so disabling them can’t hurt here.
