Batman Arkham Knight was surely ahead of its time. The amount of detailing and visual fidelity the game offered back in 2015, when it was initially released, is still unmatched to this date, and that’s quite a feat to achieve. Well, developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by WB Games, it features the ultimate ending/conclusion of the much-loved Batman trilogy. Anyway, in July 2024, the game’s purchase price has gone significantly down, due to Steam’s ongoing sale, and this has led to many players joining in on the adventure the game has to offer. That being said, with new players joining the scene, there seems to be a sudden influx of reports regarding the game not launching or crashing issues. If you are reading this, you too must have encountered the same. If that’s indeed the case, here’s everything you need to know about how to get rid of the problem.
Traversing the crime-infested lands of Gotham City has never been more engaging than in Batman Arkham Knight, as Rocksteady Games introduced the revamped Batmobile with improved mechanics and features. In addition to this, the list of new villains in the game played a huge role in the game’s popularity. From Harley Quinn to the Riddler, these pose as immense challenges for the Batman to defeat, but there is a bigger challenge at bay now. If you are encountering the not launching or crashing error in the game in 2024, do note that you are not alone. Player reports of this issue date back to 2015, which means that it is not a new problem. Anyway, let’s find out whether it can be fixed.
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Batman Arkham Knight Crashing/Not Launching Issue: Is there any fix yet
The crashing or not launching issue in Batman Arkham Knight has been encountered by players since the game’s initial launch, and given the fact that it is not yet fixed officially, we have reasons to believe that the issue is related to your system itself, rather than the game. That said, here are some effective workarounds for you to try and get rid of it. But before trying them, note that these are generic fixes, and we can’t guarantee they will be able to fix the issue. However, trying them once is still worth it.
1) Restart PC
Before trying any workarounds, we suggest that you first perform a restart of your PC. Sometimes, conflicting applications running in the background can result in game crashing issues. So, a restart might be all you need to get rid of the problem.
2) Run the game’s .exe file as an administrator
Now, if restarting your PC didn’t fix the issue, you can try running the game as an administrator. For this, open the Steam client, and go to Library. Here, right-click on Batman Arkham Knight and select Manage>Browse Local Files. Doing so will take you to the game’s installation directory. Here, find the game’s .exe file and right-click on it. Now, select Properties, and go to the Compatibility tab. Here, checkmark the Run as Administrator option. After this, select Apply and OK. Now, double-click on the .exe file to launch it. You can also launch the game via Steam. Now, check if the crashing issue persists.
3) Download the DXGI.dll file and place it in the game’s installation directory
For this workaround, you will have to download a .dll file that is required to download the game and then move it to the installation directory of the game. So, head over to here and download the dxgi.dll file. After downloading, extract the contents, copy the file, and paste it in the game’s installation directory. You can access it by heading over to Steam>Library>Arkham Knight (right-click)>Manage>Browse Local Files. Here, open the Binaries folder, and then the Win64 folder. Paste the .dll file. After this, launch the game and then check if the issue persists.
4) Run vcredist and DirectX
The next workaround involves going to a specific path on your PC. First, open the drive on which Steam is installed, find the Steam folder, and then follow this path: Steam>steamapps>common>Steamworks Shared>_CommonRedist. Here, select the 2010 folder, and run the DirectX file. After this, go back and open the vcredist folder and launch all the x64 and x86 files in the 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2019 folder. Once you do this, chances are that the game won’t be crashing anymore.
5) Verify Game Files
It is also possible that the game files are corrupted for unknown reasons, which is why the crashing issue is occurring. So, to rule out this possibility, go to Steam, open Library, right-click on the game, and select Properties. Here, go to the Installed Files tab, and select the Verify Integrity of Game Files option. Now, wait for the scan to be completed, and then launch the game.
6) Disable Fullscreen Optimization and Run in Compatibility mode
As shared in workaround #2, access the .exe file of the game by heading over to its installation directory, and right-click on it. Select Properties, go to the Compatibility tab, and apply the following changes:
- Checkmark the “Run this program in compatibility mode for” option and select Windows 7 or Windows 8.
- Checkmark the Disable Fullscreen Optimizations option.
After doing so, select Ok, and then launch the game.
7) Launch Options
You can also try using a bunch of launch options for the game via Steam to check if the crashing issue gets fixed. For this, head over to the game’s properties menu on Steam, and then in the General tab, enter the “-dx11” command. This will launch the game using DirectX 11. If doing so doesn’t fix the issue, remove the command and add “-windowed”. This will launch the game in windowed mode, hopefully fixing the problem.
8) Make sure that the game is running on your system’s dedicated GPU
Now, if you are using a laptop or a CPU that has an integrated GPU, it is possible that the game is trying to launch using the iGPU of your system. If that’s the case, the crashing issue is no surprise. So, fix this, first, go to the Windows Settings menu on your PC and then select Display. Now, scroll down to find and select the Graphics option. Here, select the Browse option, and add the game’s .exe file to the list. After adding the game’s .exe file, select the game’s tile and click on Options. Here, make sure to select the High-Performance option to ensure that the game will use your system’s dedicated GPU to run.
9) Reinstall
At last, if none of the workarounds are of help, all there’s left to do is a simple reinstallation. So, begin by uninstalling the game, then installing it. But this time, install the game on a different drive, and then check if the issue persists.
That said, now you have all the workarounds to try and fix the crashing/not launching issue in Batman Arkham Knight. If you found this guide informative, make sure to visit Android Gram, as we feature such guides on a daily basis.
