Fix: Atomic Heart Keeps Crashing on Startup on PC

Atomic Heart, an FPS action role-playing video game, has been developed by Mundfish and published by Focus Entertainment and 4Divinity. The game is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S platforms. However, some PC players encounter frustrating issues such as the game crashing on startup.

Since the launch of Atomic Heart, numerous players on PC have experienced various bugs and glitches, including graphical issues, lags, stutters, and black screens. As a newly-released title, the developers may require some time to investigate and address these problems with lasting solutions thoroughly. It is essential to note that startup crashes on PCs can occur for various reasons, which players can identify and resolve accordingly.

Why is Atomic Heart crashing?

There could be several reasons why Atomic Heart is crashing on your PC. Some of the most common causes include:

1. Outdated drivers: If your graphics card or other hardware drivers are outdated, the game may not run smoothly or might crash. Make sure you have the latest drivers installed for your system.
2. Insufficient system requirements: Ensure that your PC meets the minimum or recommended system requirements for Atomic Heart. If your hardware is not up to par, the game may struggle to perform and result in crashes.
3. Corrupted game files: If any game files are corrupted or missing, it could cause the game to crash. Verifying and repairing the game files through your game launcher (e.g., Steam) can help fix this issue.
4. Third-party software conflicts: Some background applications or software, such as antivirus programs, overlays, or recording tools, might interfere with the game, causing crashes. Try disabling any non-essential programs while running the game to see if that resolves the issue.
5. Overclocking: If you have overclocked your CPU or GPU, it might cause instability in the game, resulting in crashes. Resetting your hardware to its default settings may help fix the problem.
6. Outdated game version: Make sure you install the latest game update, as developers frequently release patches to fix bugs and improve performance.
7. Windows compatibility: Ensure that your Windows version is up-to-date and fully compatible with Atomic Heart. Updating your operating system can help resolve game crashes.

Keep in mind that each system is unique, and the specific cause of the crash may vary. Identifying and addressing the root of the problem is crucial for a stable gaming experience.

Fix: Atomic Heart Keeps Crashing on Startup on the PC

Fortunately, you can now follow this guide to check all the possible workarounds to resolve such an issue on the PC. Now, without further ado, let’s jump into it.

1. Reboot the Game and PC

You can try rebooting the Atomic Heart game on the PC to refresh the system and game cache data whatsoever easily. You should do the same to check for the issue.

2. Check System Requirements

Second, you can check the Atomic Heart game’s system requirements to ensure your PC is meeting the compatibility to run this game smoothly. Now, if you’re using outdated hardware or software, upgrade the particular item to make it compatible.

Minimum Requirements

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 (20H1 version or newer, 64-bit versions)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel Core i5-2500
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: 4 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon R9 380 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 DirectX: Version 12
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 90 GB available space
• Additional Notes: 30 FPS, 1920×1080 in low

Recommended Requirements

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 (20H1 version or newer, 64-bit versions)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-7700K
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: 8 GB VRAM, AMD RX 6700 XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 90 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD recommended, 60 FPS, 1920×1080 in ultra

3. End Tasks from the Background

Some of the reports claim that closing the background running tasks from your system might also help in reducing game crashes, lags, stutters, etc issues in some cases. So, you can follow the steps below to easily end unnecessary background tasks.

• Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager.
• Go to the Processes tab and check which tasks consume higher resources like CPU or Memory.
• Now, click to select the specific task which is not necessary.
• Then select End Task to close it forcefully.
• Ensure to do the same steps for each third-party task consuming higher resources.
• Once done, restart your PC to apply changes.

4. Run the Game Application as Administrator

It’s also suggested to run the Atomic Heart game application as administrator on the PC to grant the User Account Control (UAC) permission to avoid startup crashes. You can follow the steps below to allow the admin permission for one time.

• Open the installed directory of Atomic Heart.
• Right-click on the game application to open the context menu.
• Now, click on Properties > Go to the Compatibility tab.

• Click to select the Run this program as an administrator checkbox.
• Once selected, click on Apply > Click on OK to save changes.
• Now, you can run the game to check for the issue.

You should also do the same steps for your respective game launcher like Steam to allow admin access.

5. Keep Your Atomic Heart Game Up-to-date

We’ll recommend you check the game update manually by following the steps below respective to your game client. It seems that an outdated game version might trouble in launching the game due to stability issues or bugs.

• Open Steam and go to Library.
• Click on Atomic Heart from the list of installed games.
• If there is an update available, click on Update.
• Wait for a while to complete the update process.
• Once done, reboot the PC to apply changes.

6. Repair Game Files

If you’re a PC gamer for a couple of years then you should know that some of the corrupted or missing game files might trigger the game launching issues. So, you can follow the steps below to verify and repair the installed game files on the PC to get back on track.

• Open the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Right-click on Atomic Heart from the list of installed games.
• Click on Properties > Go to the Local Files tab.

• Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
• Wait for some time to complete the repair.
• Once done, you can reboot the PC to apply changes.

7. Update Windows

You can also keep checking for the Windows software update on the machine to ensure you’re running the latest OS version or the build number. Microsoft gradually provides software updates silently that you may not notice in some cases. So, you can follow the steps below easily check for the Windows update and install the same.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Click on Windows Update > Click on Check for updates.
• If there is an update available, click on Download and Install.
• Wait for the update process to complete.
• Once done, reboot your PC to apply changes.

8. Update Graphics Card Driver

Make sure to manually check for the graphics card driver update on the PC by following the steps below to cross-check whether an outdated graphics driver is troubling the game application to run properly. There are two methods to easily check for updates and install the update of the GPU driver that you can check below.

Via Device Manager:

• Press the Win+X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
• Open Device Manager from the list > Then expand the Display adapters option.

• Right-click on the particular GPU card and select Update driver.
• Click on Search automatically for drivers.
• If there is an update available, the system will automatically download and install it.
• Once done, restart your system to apply changes.

Via Website:

You can also try directly visiting the respective website of your graphics card brand to download the latest version of the GPU driver. Once downloaded as per the graphics card model, you can simply install it on the PC.

• Nvidia GPU | AMD GPU | Intel GPU

9. Change Power Options

In some cases, issues with the balanced power options on your Windows machine might trigger performance decreases which directly affects the game launching or gameplay experience. You should follow the steps below to easily set the high-performance power mode.

• Open the Start Menu > Search and open Control Panel.
• Select Hardware and Sound > Choose Power Options.
• Now, select High Performance > Reboot the PC to apply changes.

10. Disable Overlay Applications

Sometimes third-party overlay applications might also trouble in system performance which can affect the game launching issue. Overlay apps can help users in multiple ways but they can always run in the background even though you’re not using them. That’s why disabling overlay apps will be necessary.

Disable Discord Overlay:

• Open the Discord app > Go to Settings (gear icon) at the bottom.
• Go to App Settings and click on Overlay.
• Now, turn on the Enable in-game overlay.
• Click on Games > Select Atomic Heart.
• Turn Off the Enable in-game overlay toggle.

Disable Xbox Game Bar:

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Click on Gaming > Select Game Bar.
• Turn Off the Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using the Game bar option.

Disable Nvidia GeForce Experience Overlay:

• Open the Nvidia GeForce Experience app > Go to Settings.
• Select General > Disable the In-Game Overlay option.

Disable Steam Overlay:

• Open Steam > Click on Library.
• Right-click on Atomic Heart > Click on Properties.
• Select General > Turn OFF the Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game option.

Please Note: The chances are high that you’re using some other third-party overlay apps like MSI Afterburner, Rivatuner, RGB lighting software, etc. If so, you should turn them off too.

11. Whitelist Atomic Heart in Windows Firewall

You should also try allowing the Atomic Heart game program in the Windows Firewall protection by following the steps below to reduce crashes, errors, etc.

• Open the Start menu > Search and open Control Panel.
• Go to Systems and Security > Open Windows Firewall.
• Select Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall.
• Now, click on Change settings > Select Allow another app.
• Select Browse > Click to select Atomic Heart.
• Click on Add and make sure to save changes.

12. Add an Exception for Atomic Heart in Windows Antivirus

Additionally, you should perform the steps below to manually add Atomic Heart as an exception in the antivirus settings to avoid blocking.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Go to Privacy and Security > Click on Windows Security.
• Click on Virus and threat protection > Select Manage ransomware protection.
• Select Allow an app through Controlled folder access > Click on Add an allowed app.
• Click on Browse all apps > Now, select Atomic Heart.
• Then click on Open > Make sure to save changes.

13. Perform a Clean Boot on Windows

Another thing you can do is perform a clean boot method on your Windows machine to hide all Microsoft services from the system and then disable startup apps altogether. Several Windows users claimed that the clean boot method did help the system boot up quicker and increase the system performance in all aspects. We’ll suggest you follow the steps below to do it.

• Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Type msconfig and hit Enter to open System Configuration.
• Go to Services > Select the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox.

• Now, click on Disable all to turn off other services from booting automatically while startup.
• Click on Apply and OK to save changes.
• Once done, click on Startup > Choose Open Task Manager.
• Click on the Startup tab > Make sure to choose the particular task with a higher startup impact.
• Finally, click on Disable to turn it off, and disable the rest of the high-impact programs.

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