Crash/Freeze Fortnite

Fortnite Crashing on PC with DirectX 12 After Update - Fix Guide

📅 Published: 2026-02-06 🔄 Updated: 2026-02-06 👥 Reports: 5 ⚡ Severity: 🟢 Low

🎯 Quick Answer

Revert to DirectX 11 or perform a clean installation of your graphics driver to resolve the post-update DirectX 12 crash during end-game scenarios.

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

The Fortnite DirectX 12 crash on PC is a post-update compatibility failure where the game application terminates unexpectedly during late-match or end-game scenarios. This error specifically affects the Windows platform when the DirectX 12 rendering API is selected within the game's settings. The problem manifests following specific game client updates, indicating a version-dependent conflict. This is a common occurrence following major seasonal or engine updates. The severity is high, as it constitutes a game-breaking crash that prevents match completion and forces the use of inferior rendering modes like Performance Mode. No specific error code is typically presented to the user; the application closes to the desktop without warning or generates a generic crash report dialog.

SECTION 2: SYMPTOMS

The application terminates without warning during the final stages of a match, typically during the end-game phase involving multiple players and complex visual effects. The crash occurs exclusively when the DirectX 12 rendering mode is active in the game's video settings. The user experiences an immediate closure to the Windows desktop. In some instances, the Epic Games Launcher may display a crash reporter window prompting the submission of a diagnostic log. Switching the in-game rendering API to DirectX 11 or Performance Mode allows the application to complete matches without crashing, but with reduced graphical fidelity and potential performance trade-offs.

SECTION 3: COMMON CAUSES

Category: Game Bug / Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Incompatibility between the updated game engine's DirectX 12 shader compilation pipeline and certain GPU architectures or driver optimizations. The end-game scenario triggers a specific rendering call that the updated pipeline cannot process correctly. Why this causes the problem: The game engine attempts to execute an invalid or unsupported graphics command, causing the DirectX runtime to halt and terminate the application to prevent system instability. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: Outdated or corrupted graphics driver components conflict with the new DirectX 12 features implemented in the game update. Driver versions prior to a certain release lack necessary optimizations or contain bugs that surface under the updated game's load. Why this causes the problem: The driver fails to properly translate or execute a graphics API call from the game, resulting in a timeout or fault that crashes the application. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Corrupted or outdated local shader cache from a previous game version. The DirectX 12 renderer relies on a compiled shader cache (C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\FortniteGame\Saved\Dawn\Saved\ShaderCache). An outdated cache contains invalid instructions for the updated rendering engine. Why this causes the problem: The game loads pre-compiled shader data that is incompatible with the new engine code, causing a rendering fault when those shaders are invoked. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: Third-party overlay software (Discord, Xbox Game Bar, NVIDIA GeForce Experience, MSI Afterburner) hooks into the DirectX 12 runtime. The post-update game engine alters its memory access patterns, which these overlays may misinterpret, leading to an access violation. Why this causes the problem: The overlay injects code into the game's process space; a conflict in memory addresses or API calls between the overlay and the updated game causes a crash. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Incorrect or overly aggressive memory/clock settings applied through GPU tuning software. The updated DirectX 12 path may place a different load on the GPU's memory controller or core, exposing previously stable overclocks as unstable. Why this causes the problem: The GPU encounters an error during a critical rendering calculation due to hardware instability, and the driver initiates a TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) event, resetting the GPU and crashing the game. Category: Game Bug Specific technical explanation: A memory leak or resource allocation bug within the game's updated DirectX 12 backend. The end-game, with its accumulated assets and effects, exhausts a specific memory pool (VRAM or system RAM) that the game fails to manage correctly. Why this causes the problem: The application attempts to allocate required memory and fails, triggering a fatal exception that terminates the process.

SECTION 4: SOLUTIONS

Solution 1: Revert to DirectX 11 Rendering Mode

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 2 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: None Steps:

Launch Fortnite and proceed to the main menu.
Open the Settings menu by pressing the Escape key and clicking the gear icon, or from the main lobby menu.
Navigate to the Video Settings tab.
Locate the Rendering Mode setting.
Change the dropdown selection from DirectX 12 to DirectX 11.
Apply the changes and restart the game as prompted.

Technical Explanation: This bypasses the problematic DirectX 12 rendering path in the updated game engine entirely. DirectX 11 uses a different, more stable API pathway that is unaffected by the specific compatibility bug introduced in the update. Verification: Launch a match and progress to the end-game phase. The application should no longer terminate unexpectedly. Graphical settings will remain configurable, though some advanced DirectX 12 features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing will be unavailable.

Solution 2: Clean Graphics Driver Installation

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Administrator access, internet connection. Steps:

Download the latest graphics driver package from the official NVIDIA (https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx) or AMD (https://www.amd.com/en/support) website.
Download the Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) tool from https://www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller-download/.
Boot Windows into Safe Mode. This can be done via System Configuration (msconfig.exe) under the Boot tab, or via Windows Recovery Settings.
Run DDU in Safe Mode. Select your GPU vendor (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel) and choose Clean and restart.
After the system restarts into normal Windows, install the previously downloaded graphics driver package. Select Custom Installation and check the box for Perform a clean installation.
Restart the system when installation is complete.

Technical Explanation: A clean installation removes all previous driver files, registry entries, and configuration profiles that may conflict with the updated game. This ensures the DirectX 12 runtime and driver components are in a pristine state, eliminating corruption-based conflicts. Verification: Confirm the new driver version is installed correctly via the NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Radeon Software. Launch Fortnite, set the rendering mode back to DirectX 12, and test for stability in an end-game scenario.

Solution 3: Clear Fortnite Local AppData and Shader Cache

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: None Steps:

Fully close the Epic Games Launcher and Fortnite. Ensure no related processes are running in Task Manager.
Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Users\[YOURUSERNAME]\AppData\Local\FortniteGame.
Delete the entire Saved folder within this directory.
Navigate to C:\Users\[YOURUSERNAME]\AppData\Local\EpicGamesLauncher.
Delete the Saved folder within this directory as well.
Re-launch the Epic Games Launcher. It will redownload necessary configuration files. Launch Fortnite and allow shaders to recompile.

Technical Explanation: This removes corrupted local configuration files, game settings, and, critically, the outdated DirectX shader cache. Upon relaunch, the game rebuilds these files from scratch, ensuring compatibility with the current game version. Verification: Upon first launch after clearing the cache, the game will display a "Compiling Shaders" progress bar. After completion, test a match with DirectX 12 enabled. The crash should be resolved if it was caused by corrupt local data.

Solution 4: Disable Third-Party Overlays and Monitoring Software

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 3 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: None Steps:

Close Discord completely. Right-click its system tray icon and select Quit Discord.
Disable the Xbox Game Bar. Press Windows Key + I to open Settings, go to Gaming > Xbox Game Bar, and toggle it Off.
Open NVIDIA GeForce Experience (if applicable). Click the Settings (gear) icon, navigate to the General tab, and toggle off In-Game Overlay.
Close any hardware monitoring/overclocking utilities like MSI Afterburner, EVGA Precision, or RivaTuner Statistics Server.
Launch Fortnite directly from the Epic Games Launcher with DirectX 12 enabled.

Technical Explanation: These applications inject code hooks into the game's process to draw their overlays. The updated DirectX 12 engine may use memory addresses or API calls that conflict with these hooks, causing an access violation crash. Verification: Test a match with all overlays disabled. If the crash no longer occurs, re-enable overlays one by one to identify the conflicting software.

Solution 5: Verify Game Files via Epic Games Launcher

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5-15 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: None Steps:

Open the Epic Games Launcher.
Navigate to your Library.
Locate Fortnite and click the three dots (...) under the game title.
Select Manage from the dropdown menu.
Click the Verify button. The launcher will scan all game files against the official manifest and redownload any that are missing or corrupted.
Wait for the process to complete, then launch the game.

Technical Explanation: This process ensures all core game binaries, including the DirectX 12 rendering libraries and engine files, are intact and match the current live version, replacing any that were corrupted during the update process. Verification: The launcher will confirm verification is complete. Launch the game and test the DirectX 12 mode. This resolves crashes caused by incomplete or corrupted game file updates.

Solution 6: Adjust GPU Clock Settings to Stock Values

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: GPU tuning software installed (e.g., MSI Afterburner). Steps:

Open your GPU overclocking utility (e.g., MSI Afterburner).
Reset all GPU Core Clock and Memory Clock offset values to 0.
If applicable, set the Power Limit and Voltage sliders to their default positions.
Apply the settings and ensure they are saved to a profile that loads on startup.
Restart the system to ensure all driver-level settings are cleared.
Launch Fortnite with DirectX 12 enabled.

Technical Explanation: The updated DirectX 12 renderer may stress the GPU in new ways that expose previously stable overclocks as unstable. Returning to factory-specified clock speeds eliminates hardware instability as a cause of the crash. Verification: Monitor system stability during an end-game scenario. If the crash ceases, the previous overclock was incompatible with the new game update's rendering demands.

Solution 7: Perform a Clean Boot and Test

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: Low Prerequisites: Administrator access. Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
In the System Configuration window, go to the Services tab.
Check the box Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all.
Navigate to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager.
In Task Manager, disable every startup item.
Close Task Manager, click OK in System Configuration, and restart the computer.
After booting, launch only the Epic Games Launcher and Fortnite with DirectX 12 enabled.

Technical Explanation: This eliminates all non-essential background processes and services that could be interfering with the game's DirectX 12 runtime or memory management, isolating the issue to the core game and driver software. Verification: If the game runs stable in a clean boot state, a background process is the culprit. Re-enable services and startup items in groups to identify the conflicting software.

SECTION 5: PREVENTION

Maintain graphics drivers at their latest stable versions, checking for updates within one week of a major Fortnite update. Before applying any game update, use your GPU vendor's utility to create a restore point for driver settings. Regularly clear the Fortnite shader cache located in %LOCALAPPDATA%\FortniteGame\Saved after large updates. Avoid applying aggressive GPU overclocks; test stability with each new game season. Monitor system temperatures during gameplay to ensure thermal throttling does not induce instability. Configure Windows Update to delay major feature updates that could affect system-level DirectX components.

SECTION 6: WHEN TO CONTACT SUPPORT

Contact Epic Games Support if all solutions fail and the crash persists exclusively in DirectX 12 mode. Escalation is required when the crash generates a specific error code in Windows Event Viewer under Windows Logs > Application. Provide the full crash log from `C:\Users\[USERNAME]\