How to Fix Helldivers 2 Keeps Crashing on PC

Despite the patch released a couple of days ago by Arrowhead, Helldivers 2 is still crashing for quite some gamers, which means that the game crashing ‘bug’ affecting so many players around the globe still remains, making the gaming experience abysmal for some.

Unfortunate as it may seem, there are some tweaks that you can try on your end to make sure that your computer environment is all good for Helldivers 2, making it less easy to crash. Follow the guide below and get you back on track.

Try these fixes for the Helldivers 2 crashing on PC problem

You don’t have to try all the following fixes: simply work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick to fix the Helldivers 2 crashing on PC problem for you.

1. Reset the GameGuard folder and verify the game files
2. Disable Steam Input
3. Run Helldivers 2 as admin and in compatibility mode
4. Do a clean reinstallation of the display card driver
5. Turn off Screen-Space Global Illumination for AMD GPUs
6. Whitelist Helldivers 2 in Windows Firewall and your third-party antivirus program

1. Reset the GameGuard folder and verify the game files

GameGuard, a type of anti-cheat software, is essential for Helldivers 2 to run properly. If GamGuard is blocked by your system, problems like the game crashing or even not launching are likely to emerge. To see if this is your case, you can first reset GameGuard and then verify the game files.

To do so:

1. Go to C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/helldivers2/bin. Find and delete the GameGuard folder.
   
2. Right-click helldivers2 and select Run as administrator.
   
3. GameGuard will then be downloaded and the game will launch.
4. Close the game and launch Steam.
5. In the LIBRARY, right-click Helldivers 2 and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
   
   
6. Select the Installed Files tab and click on the Verified integrity of game files button.
   
   
7. Steam will verify the game’s files – this process may take several minutes.

When this is done, launch Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If so, please move on.

2. Disable Steam Input

Steam Input comes in handy when you have different controllers, but as per the community gamers, this feature is somehow in conflict with Helldivers 2, and thus with the game crashing problem. To see if this is also the case for you, you can disable Steam Input in this way:

1. Launch Steam.
2. In the LIBRARY, right-click Helldivers2 and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
   
3. Select the Controller tab and select Disable Steam Input from the drop-down menu.
   

Try to launch Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If so, please move on.

3. Run Helldivers 2 as admin and in compatibility mode

This is a popular fix in the gaming community, meaning it’s helped stop Helldivers 2 from crashing on many computers. To see if this does wonders for you too, you can follow the steps below:

1. Right-click your Steam icon and select Properties.
   
2. Select the Compatibility tab. Tick the box for Run this program as an administrator. Then click Apply > OK to save the changes.
   
   
3. Then tick the box for Run this program in compatibility mode for: then select Windows 8 from the dropdown list.
   
4. Then go to C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/helldivers2/bin, and repeat the above to set up the helldivers2.exe so it also runs as admin and in compatibility mode for Windows 8.

Now open Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If the crashing problem remains, please move on to the next fix.

4. Do a clean reinstallation of the display card driver

Another very common reason for game crashes is an outdated or faulty graphics card driver, and Helldivers 2 is no exception. In this case, it’s recommended that you do a clean reinstallation of the display card driver. To do so, DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) is usually recommended, as it can do a pretty good job removing all the older or faulty display driver files on your computer.

To do a clean reinstallation of the display card driver with DDU:

1. Download and search for the execution file of the display card driver from the website of your GPU manufacturer:
   • NVIDIA
   • AMD
   • Intel
2. Download DDU from the official download page. Then unzip the folder, and double-click the DDU file to further extract the execution file.
   
3. Boot your computer into Safe Mode as instructed here: Start Safe Mode using the System Configuration tool
4. When in Safe Mode, go to the folder where you unzip the DDU execution file. Double-click to run Display Driver Uninstaller.
   
5. Select GPU and your GPU manufacturer on the right side. Then click Clean and restart.
   
6. Your computer should restart when the old driver files for your graphics card are cleaned.
7. Double-click the setup file for the display card driver you’ve downloaded from step 1 to run the driver installation.
8. Restart your computer afterward to see if Helldivers 2 still crashes.

If you don’t know what driver to download in the very first place, or the time or patience to do all the above, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to automatically updating your drivers with Driver Easy:

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version – you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All. If you’re not ready to buy the Pro version, Driver Easy offers a 7-day free trial which includes access to all the Pro features such as high-speed download and one-click install. You won’t be charged until the trial ends.)
   
4. Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.
   

Launch Helldivers 2 again and see if the latest graphics driver helps to stop it from crashing. If this fix doesn’t work for you, try the next fix, below.

5. Turn off Screen-Space Global Illumination for AMD GPUs

If you’re using an AMD graphics card, you can try to disable the Screen-Space Global Illumination in-game setting to see if helps to stop the crashing with Helldivers 2. To do so:

1. When in-game, press Esc and go to Options.
2. Select Graphics and find Screen-Space Global Illumination to turn it OFF.
   
3. Save the change.

Relaunch Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If so, please move on.

6. Whitelist Helldivers 2 in Windows Firewall and your third-party antivirus program

Third-party antivirus programs and/or Windows firewall restrictions are another common reason for Helldivers 2 crashing on PC. This is usually because these programs can be a bit sensitive when it comes to detecting possible problematic services, and Steam and games like Helldivers 2 consume a lot of memory and CPU usage when running, which could be mistaken for potential threats.

To see if this is the culprit for you, try adding Steam as an exception to your third-party antivirus application. If you’re not sure how to do it, please refer to your antivirus support page for detailed instructions.

To add Helldivers 2 to the Windows firewall:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the R key simultaneously to open the Run box.
2. Type control firewall.cpl and hit Enter.
   
3. From the left navigation pane, click Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.
   
4. Scroll down and check if Steam and Helldivers 2 are on the list.
5. If not, click the Change settings button.
   
6. Click Allow another app….
   
   
7. Click Browse… and go to the installation folder for Steam and Helldivers 2.
   
   
   
   If you don’t know what the installation folder is for your Steam, simply right-click on its shortcut and select Open file location.
   
   
8. Find steam.exe and click on it. Then click Open.
   
   
9. When it’s located, click Add.
   
10. Now make sure Steam and Helldivers 2 are added to the list and tick Domain, Private, and Public. Once you’re done, click OK.

Try to launch Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If so, please move on.

That’s it for the post. If you have other suggestions that have helped you fix the Helldivers 2 crashing on PC problem, please feel free to share. We’re all ears.

• game
• game crash
• Steam