Fix New World Crashing at Startup, Won’t Launch and FPS Drops

After the disastrous launch of the Crucible, we have another promising title from Amazon Games, the New World. From the initial gameplay, the game appears to be promising. But, some players are encountering the New World crashing at startup, won’t launch, and FPS drops that are preventing them from playing the game.

One of the most obvious causes of the game crashing or failing to start is your antivirus or the Windows Defender. It has a tendency to block the game.

Often, during the download and installation, some game files can go missing or become corrupted, if this happens it can lead to a crash at startup. The other culprits are an outdated or old graphics card, outdated Windows, and other software. Hence, before you start to launch the game, ensure that you have updated the graphics card drivers and other software on the system.

New games are designed to run on the latest versions of software including the GPU driver and the OS. Sometimes, third-party software could be hindering the process of the game that’s causing the crash.

Stick around with us and we will help you resolve the errors such as New World crash at startup, won’t launch, and FPS drops.

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New Solutions for New World Crashing Problem – 28 Sep

1. Set Shadows to Low or Medium and it should reduce the New World crashing, freezing, and FPS drops. The caveat is the quality of the game also drops a bit. Tune down the Object Details settings to lower while having everything else as it is. If you are playing on Fullscreen, switch to Windowed Mode.
2. Reinstall the GPU drivers or get the latest GPU driver for your respective graphics cards. For Nvidia users, there is a new Game Ready Driver for Windows 11 and day-one support for a lot of new games including New World. Here is the link to GeForce Game Ready 472.12 WHQL
3. If the game starts to crash at startup or mid-game, Verify the Integrity of game files. Also, ensure that the game has administrator privileges. You can enable it by going to the game’s executable > Properties > Compatibility tab > Check run this program as an administrator.
4. If the game is crashing a lot mid-game, it could be because of your GPU, update its driver software and reduce the in-game settings.
5. If your system is running out of virtual memory that can also be crashing the game. Increase the Virtual memory and the crash should improve. Open the Task Manager and set New World on High Priority.
6. Ensure that you are not overclocking the GPU or CPU. OC can crash the game as it makes the hardware unstable.
7. Enable the V-Sync and lock the FPS. A fluctuating FPS can strain the GPU and crash the game. Start by setting the FPS at 60 lower depending on your GPU.
8. Delete the game files and folder in the below locations:
   • C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\AGS\New World (Delete the save data and user_preload_settings)
   • C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local (Delete the AGS folder. Try this if deleting the files from the Roaming did not work. If you are not able to view the files in either of the two locations, you need to enable to see hidden files.)

That’s all we have for now, but we will update the post prior to the launch of the game, so do visit it again if the issue resurfaces. If you have any other issues with the game, let us know in the comments.

Fix New World Crashing at Startup, Won’t Launch and FPS drops

Before we even begin to implement the fixes to resolve the error, you must verify that your system meets the minimum requirements to run the game. If all the system requirements are met and you still see the error, you can proceed with the fixes, trying one at a time, and between each fix, try to run the game.

If you meet the system requirements, let’s proceed with the fixes.

Fix 1: Disable the Antivirus Completely

As the antivirus is the primary culprit, disable the antivirus or the Windows Defender and try to play the game. If the game works, you need to set an exception for the game on the respective antivirus software as you can keep the security software disabled for a long. Here are the steps.

Windows Virus & Threat Protection

1. Press Windows Key + I and select Update & Security
2. Click on Windows Security, select Virus & Threat Protection
3. Under Virus & threat protection settings, click on Manage settings
4. Locate Exclusions by scrolling down, click on Add or remove exclusions
5. Click on Add an exclusion and select Folder
6. Browse the New World folder and set the exclusion.

Kaspersky Internet Security

• Home >> Settings >> Additional >> Threats and Exclusions >> Exclusions >> Specify Trusted Applications >> Add.

AVG

• Home >> Settings >> Components >> Web Shield >> Exceptions >> Set the exception.

Avast Antivirus

• Home >> Settings >> General >> Exclusions >> Set the exclusion.

Fix 2: Verify Integrity of Game Files

If the game itself is corrupted that could also lead to a crash at startup or a mid-game crash with New World. Here are the steps to check and repair corrupt files on Steam.

1. Launch the Steam client
2. From the LIBRARY, right-click on New World and select Properties
3. Go to LOCAL FILES and click on VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES…

Fix 3: Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

If the game is set for full-screen optimization, it can lead to a crash and not launching problem. As such you must disable the full-screen optimization. You can also provide the game with admin permission, often that’s another cause for these errors. As both settings are located at the same place, the procedure is simple and straightforward.

In order to perform the above two fixes, go to the desktop shortcut of the game and right-click, select Properties. Now, go to the Compatibility tab and check Disable fullscreen optimization and Run this program as an administrator. Click Apply and Ok to save the changes.

Verify if the New World crashing at startup, not launching and FPS drop problems still occur.

Fix 4: Update the Graphics Drivers

Although an outdated graphics card driver causes the most crashes, you should keep all drivers and software updated on the system. This includes the OS, audio drivers, motherboards, processors, etc.

So, first update the graphics card drivers and check if New World crashes on startup or in-game. Nvidia recently released Game Ready Driver. Here are the link to both Nvidia and AMD drivers you need.

Nvidia Game Ready Driver

AMD Radeon Software Driver

Select your OS and other specs and download and install the software. If the problem persists, update everything from OS to audio drivers and check again.

Fix 5: Terminate Unnecessary Applications and Perform Clean Boot

With so many games, third-party software that forcefully inject themselves between operations cause crash in the game. Hence, the first thing we must do to resolve the New World crashing on startup or failed to launch error is suspend all unnecessary programs and then launch the game. Here are the steps you can follow.

1. Press Windows Key + R and type msconfig, hit Enter
2. In General tab, uncheck Load startup items
3. Go to the Services tab
4. Check Hide all Microsoft services
5. Now, click Disable all
6. Click on Apply and OK.

Try launching the game, check if the error still occurs. If it does, disable all startup tasks from Task Manager, restart the system and try playing again.

Fix 6: Disable Steam Overlay

If the game crashes right after the intro video, the cause of the problem can be the Steam Overlay. This feature has been known to act up with some games. You can resolve the error by disabling the Steam Overlay. Launch Steam client. Click on Library and right-click on New World. Select Properties and uncheck Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.

Close Steam and check if the in-game crash or New World crash at startup still occurs.

Fix 7: Disable or Remove GeForce Experience / MSI Afterburner

Sometimes third-party software can tune the GPU settings that does not pair with the game leading to the error. By simply disabling the software, you can resolve the errors. You can uninstall the programs to disable them or simply disable them from the Task Manager. Disable the programs via any method that suits you. Once done, try playing the game and check if the error still appears.

Fix 8: Disable Shader Cache

For Nvidia users, you can disable the Shader Cache which is known to crash games. Here are the steps to disable Shader Cache from the Nvidia Control panel.

1. Right-click on Desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel
2. Expand 3D Settings > Manage 3D settings > Program Settings
3. Click Add and select CK3
4. Under Specify the settings for this program, locate Shader Cache and select Off.

Check if the New World Game Crashes at Startup, Crashes Mid-game, and other performance errors still occur. If they do, try the next fix.

Fix 9: Remove Bad Sectors from the HHD

If you have bad sectors on your HDD, it could also be causing the crash. Although you could correct the corruption in the file system via CHKDSK on Command Prompt, here is a simple alternative.

1. Right-click on C drive or the partition where you have installed the game and the launcher.
2. Select Properties and go to Tools
3. Click on Check and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. Try playing the game.
4. After the process is completed, the window will auto-exit.

Now, try playing the game and check if New World crashing error still occurs.

Fix 10: Modify Discord Settings

The in-game overlay and the hardware acceleration of Discord is also known to cause crash in games. So, if you have the software installed and running disable the overlay and hardware acceleration. Here are the steps you can follow.

1. Launch the Discord app and click on User Settings
2. Click on Voice & Video in the left menu
3. Locate Advanced by scrolling down and clicking
4. Next, disable OpenH264 Video Codec provided by Cisco System, Inc. and Enable Quality of Service High Packet Priority
5. Go to Overlay and disable it
6. Go to Advanced and disable Hardware Acceleration.

Fix 11: Update Windows 10

Running New World on an updated operating system can help resolve compatibility issues. Make sure you have the latest Windows 10 updates installed on your computer. To do this:

• Go to “Settings” (Windows key + I).
• Click on “Update & Security.”
• Select “Windows Update” and check for updates.
• Install any available updates.

Fix 12: Increase Your Virtual Memory

In cases where your system is running low on physical RAM, increasing your virtual memory can help. To adjust virtual memory, follow these steps:

• Right-click on “This PC” and select “Properties.”
• Click on “Advanced system settings” on the left.
• Under the “Advanced” tab, click on “Settings” in the “Performance” section.
• Again, under the “Advanced” tab, click on “Change” in the “Virtual memory” section.
• Uncheck the box that says “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.”
• Select your system drive (usually C:) and choose “Custom size.”
• Set an initial size and maximum size for your virtual memory (for example, 4096 MB initial and 8192 MB maximum).
• Click “Set” and then “OK.”

Fix 13: Change In-Game Graphics Settings

If New World is crashing or experiencing FPS drops, adjusting in-game graphics settings can help. These settings can be found in the game options. Consider setting the following options to low or off:

• V-Sync: Off
• Lightning Details: Low
• Terrain Details: Low
• Water Details: Low
• Texture Details: Low
• Effects Details: Low
• Object Details: Low
• Post-processing Details: Low

Fix 14: Delete Particular Files

Delete the following folders to resolve crashing issues:

• Find the folder %appdata%/AGS/New World on the drive where the game is installed. Delete the folder entirely.
• Locate the folder %localappdata%/Temp/AGS/New World/shaders and delete it as well.

Fix 15: Install Games to Another Disk

If you continue to experience problems, consider reinstalling New World on a different drive. Sometimes, issues are tied to drive-specific problems.

Hopefully, the above solutions have resolved the New World Crashing at Startup and Won’t Launch problem with the game. Let us know in the comments if you have better solutions.

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