How to Fix Alan Wake 2 Keeps Crashing on PC

Alan Wake II is a survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games Publishing. A sequel to Alan Wake, the story follows best-selling thriller novelist Alan Wake, who has been trapped in an alternate dimension for 13 years, as he attempts to escape by writing a horror story involving an FBI agent named Saga Anderson. Although the fans have waited slightly longer than expected, most enjoyed it. But some players face the Alan Wake 2 Crashing issue on their PC.

If you’re also one of the victims, follow this troubleshooting guide to resolve it. There is nothing new to PC gamers because no matter whether they play a newly released game or an older one, every title has its fair amount of issues. Alan Wake 2 is no exception, and some players are encountering issues with the in-game crashing or startup crashing.

Page Contents

Why does the Alan Wake 2 Keep Crashing?
Alan Wake 2 is Crashing on my PC; how do I fix it?

Why does the Alan Wake 2 Keep Crashing?

Well, that’s quite a common question most affected PC players ask on online forums or search for online. To be precise, PC games rely on multiple things to launch and run properly, including compatible system requirements, configured display or graphics settings, DirectX version, graphics card compatibility, graphics driver version, installed game files, antivirus programs, other background tasks, and more.

Sometimes, an outdated game patch version or even a newly installed patch version may have some bugs or stability issues you’ll encounter while launching the game, leading to startup crashes or errors. Luckily, there are a couple of possible workarounds mentioned below that you should consider.

Alan Wake 2 is Crashing on my PC; how do I fix it?

We should also remember that Alan Wake 2 is a newly released title when writing this article. So, the chances are high that you’ll experience multiple issues or bugs until developers release a couple of patch fixes to make it more stable. Now, let’s jump into the guide below without wasting more time.

1. Check System Requirements

First of all, you should check whether your PC configuration is meeting the system requirements or not. If your PC hardware can’t run the game normally, you’ll face glitches, lags, frame drops, crashes, graphical issues, and more.

Minimum Requirements:

Memory: 16 GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 6600
CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K
File Size: 90 GB
OS: Windows 10

Recommended Requirements:

Memory: 16 GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 or Radeon RX 6700 XT
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
File Size: 90 GB
OS: up to Windows 11

2. Set an FPS Limit

If, in case, you don’t have higher RAM or a powerful graphics card, then we recommend you set a maximum FPS limit for the Alan Wake 2 game on the PC. It’ll reduce the extra load from the CPU or GPU, and you may get minor crashes than before. You can play the game quite smoothly if you see the FPS limit to 60FPS maximum or a lower 30FPS.

Open Alan Wake 2 > head over to the graphics/display settings > video > advanced settings > Enable FPS Lock and set it to 30/60FPS maximum even though your PC can run higher FPS.

3. Run as an Administrator

Check whether you’re running your Alan Wake 2 executable file or the Epic game launcher as an administrator. If not, it could be one of the reasons behind such an issue. Just right-click on the game exe or Epic launcher exe file and select Run as administrator, then click Yes (if prompted by UAC) to fix the issue.

Right-click on the Alan Wake 2 exe shortcut file on your PC.
Now, select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.

Make sure to click on the Run this program as an administrator checkbox to checkmark it.
Click on Apply and select OK to save changes.

As mentioned, do the same steps for your Epic launcher, too.

4. Verify and Repair Games via Epic Launcher

If you’re still experiencing issues with the Alan Wake 2 game crashing, then make sure to verify your installed game files with the Epic Connect software by following the steps below:

Open the Epic Games Launcher > Click on Library.
Click on the three-dots icon next to The Alan Wake 2.
Click on Verify > Wait for the process to complete and restart the launcher.
It should resolve the Alan Wake 2 Crashing issue on the PC.

5. Update Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable

You can also try updating the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable on your Windows computer to check whether the startup crashing issue has been fixed.

Head over to the official Microsoft website here and download the file.
Next, install the exe file and restart the PC to apply changes.

6. Update DirectX

Go to this official link and download the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer file on your PC.
Then install it and check for the latest DirectX updates.
Once done, restart your computer to apply changes.

You can finally check the latest DirectX version on your computer from the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. Press Win+R keys to open Run > Type dxdiag and hit Enter.

7. Update GPU Drivers

If in case, your graphics driver version becomes outdated or has some issues; you may encounter crashing issues with the newly released game titles. Make sure to update the graphics driver on your PC to cross-check for the issue. To do so:

Press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Now, click on Device Manager from the list > Double-click on Display adapters.
Right-click on the dedicated graphics card that you’re using.

Next, select Update driver > Choose to Search automatically for drivers.
If an update is available, the system will automatically download & install it.
Once done, restart the computer to apply changes immediately.

In most scenarios, this method may help you fix your games’ graphical glitches, crashes, lags, and stuttering issues. If not, try following the next method.

8. Update The Alan Wake 2

We should also recommend you manually check for the game update at your end via the respective game client to ensure no outdated game version conflicts with the game launching. An outdated game patch version can trigger several potential issues that might trigger crashes. To do this:

Open the Epic Games Launcher > Head over to Library.
Click the three-dot icon next to The Alan Wake 2.
Make sure the Auto Update option is turned on.
It should automatically install the available update of the game.

9. Try Disabling Overlay Apps

As per some affected players, disabling overlay apps on the Windows computer before launching and playing the game can also help reduce crashes or other glitches. Just make sure to disable in-game overlay apps like Discord or Steam overlay. You can additionally turn off the MSI Afterburner tool, Nvidia GeForce Experience tool, Xbox Game Bar, etc.

10. Disable Antivirus and Firewall Program

Sometimes, turning off the antivirus software and the firewall program can help the system run apps or games freely without any prevention. You should also turn off the real-time protection feature. Otherwise, try whitelisting the game file directly from the antivirus program to check for the issue.

Click on the Start menu > Type Control Panel and click on it.
Now, type firewall in the search box > Click on Windows Firewall.
From the left pane, click on Turn Windows Firewall on or off.
Select Turn off Windows Firewall for the Private, Domain, and Public Network Settings.
Finally, reboot the PC to apply changes and try checking the issue.

Now, you’ll have to disable the anti-virus protection (Windows Defender) as well by following the steps below:

Head over to the Windows Settings > Privacy and Security.
Now, go to Windows Security > Virus & Threat Protection.
Click on Manage settings >Then turn off the Real-time Protection option.
Once done, make sure to reboot your PC to apply changes.

Turn it off properly even using third-party antivirus software on your PC.

11. Perform a Clean Boot

Sometimes, a couple of programs or their services can run in the background and start automatically while booting the Windows system by default. Those services or programs can consume a lot of system resources that may eventually trouble you. Make sure to perform a clean boot by simply turning them off.

Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Now, type msconfig and hit Enter to open the System Configuration window.
Go to the Services tab > Enable the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox.

Click on Disable All.
Click on Apply and then OK to save changes.
Now, click on the Startup tab > Click on Open Task Manager.
Under the Startup tab from the Task Manager interface, click on the tasks enabled for startup boot > Click on Disable.
Select the high-impact startup programs and disable them one by one.
Once all is done, restart your PC to apply changes.
Finally, check whether the Alan Wake 2 Crashing issue on the PC has been fixed.

12. Close Unnecessary Background Tasks

It may also be possible that some of the tasks or programs are always running in the background on your PC and are troubling you while launching other apps or games. By turning them off, you’ll free up some CPU/RAM space whatsoever.

Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open Task Manager.
Click on the Processes tab > Select the task you want to close.

Once selected, click on End Task. Make sure to do the steps for each task individually.
Once done, restart your computer to change effects immediately.

13. Check for Windows Updates

If, in case, your Windows OS version or the build version becomes outdated for a while, then make sure to check for the Windows updates completely. The latest update always offers new features bug fixes, other improvements, etc. Even if a cumulative update or security patch update is available, you should install it.

Press the Windows + I keys to open up the Windows Settings menu.
Next, click on Update & Security > Select Check for updates under the Windows Update section.

If there is a feature update available, select Download and Install.
Wait for some time until the update gets completed.
Finally, reboot your PC to apply changes immediately.

14. Reinstall Alan Wake 2

If none of the methods worked for you, try reinstalling the Alan Wake 2 game to check if that helps you fix the crashing issue. To do so:

Click on the Start menu and search for Control Panel.
Open Control Panel > Click on Uninstall a Program.
Locate and right-click on The Alan Wake 2 > Select Uninstall.
If prompted, click on Uninstall again to confirm.
Wait for the uninstallation process to complete. You can follow the on-screen instructions to do so.
Once done, make sure to reboot the PC to apply changes.
Finally, head over to the game launcher you use (Epic Games Launcher) and reinstall The Alan Wake 2.

That’s it, guys. We hope this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.