Fix: WWE 2K22 Crashing/Freezing/Shuttering/Black Screen or Not Launching Issue on PC

After a bit of silence, WWE 2K22 was released on all major platforms, retaining the classic professional wrestling gaming experience. As promised by game developer Visual Concept, WWE 2K22 comes with significant improvements over the disastrous WWE 2K20. In addition, the game allows its players to play through the greatest moments of their WWE career in 2K Showcase. But despite all the new features, the crash issue prevented a few players from running the game, while others couldn’t even launch the game properly.

There might be different causes for the same issues, such as faulty drivers, corrupted game installation, and many more. Anyway, don’t worry; in this article, we have tried to gather all possible solutions to the WWE 2K22 crashing/ freezing or won’t launching issue. Let’s see the details.

Some workarounds:

  • Install the latest game patch
  • Close all unwanted apps/services running in the background.
  • Disable antivirus temporarily.
  • Lower graphics settings.
  • Check System Requirement.

If you go through all the suggestions above and the problem still bothers you, you can follow the detailed solutions given below.

Fix 1: Run as Administrator

The first step in resolving the WWE 2K22 crashing/freezing or won’t launch issue is to open the game with all administrator privileges. To do so, 

  • Firstly, open the WWE 2K22 installation folder, right-click on the WWE 2K22.exe file and choose the Properties option from the sub-menu.
  • Then on the next window, select the Compatibility tab from the top section of the screen and tick the checkbox beside the Run this program as an administrator option.
  • Finally, restart the system and see this change affected your game performance. 

Fix 2: Update Driver

In most cases, an outdated or damaged graphics driver might be one of the main causes of WWE 2K22 crashing or black screen issues. The best possible solution here is to update your driver to the latest version. To do so,

  • Firstly, type ‘device’ in your search box and open the Device Manager window from the top search result.
  • Then select and expand the Display adapters category and right-click on your Graphics driver you need to update.Update driver
  • And click on the Update driver option in the drop-down menu and let the process complete.
  • Finally, restart your system and check your game again fell into the same issue or not.

Fix 3: Check Integrity of Game Files

Sometimes, the corrupted game files might be the reason for the WWE 2K22 crashing or shuttering issue. To escape from this situation, you should check the integrity of game files. To do so,

  • Firstly, open Steam and expand its Library section.
  • Then choose and right-click on the WWE 2K22 icon and select the Properties option from the drop-down menu.Verify integrity of game files
  • On the Properties screen, click on the Local Files option and select the Verify integrity of game files from the right side.
  • Finally, relaunch the game and check the issue again disturbing you or not.

Fix 4: Disable Overlay

If you enabled Overlay to improve the game’s performance, it can sometimes interfere with the game unnecessarily and cause it to crash and freeze. The effective solution here is to disable the Overlay as soon as possible to continue the gameplay. To do so,

In GeForce Experience,

  • Firstly, open GeForce Experience and select the Settings icon from the top right side of the home screen.
  • On the next screen, disable the toggle next to the In-game overlay option.

In Discord,

  • Firstly, open Discord and click on the Settings icon at the bottom left side of the home screen.
  • On the next screen, select the Overlay and disable the toggle next to Enable in-game overlay option.
  • Finally, restart the system and try again to play the game and see the issue disturbs you or not.

Fix 5: Install Visual C++ Redistributable

Another solution to overcome the WWE 2K22 crashing or black screen issue is reinstalling the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable. To do so,

  • Firstly, visit the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable download webpage using your browser.
  • Inside the newly opened screen, click on the X64 and X86 files link.
  • Download and install them on your system by following the on-screen instructions.
  • Finally, restart the system and see the said issue in your game is resolved or not.

Fix 6: Update Windows:

If your Windows is not updated for a long time, it may cause WWE 2K22 to crash or freeze. The most effective trick here is to update your Windows Operating System to the latest update released by Microsoft. To do so,

  • Firstly, press Windows + I simultaneously to open the Settings menu on your system.check for updates
  • Then select the Update & Security section and click on the Check for updates button from the newly opened screen.
  • Finally, restart the system, relaunch the game and check the game is running smoothly or not.

Fix 7: Run the Game on Dedicated GPU

As WWE 2K22 is a highly graphics-intensive game, launching the game with an integrated GPU is not the right choice. In such a situation running the game with a dedicated GPU allows you to play the game without crashing/freezing or lagging issues. To do so,

  • Firstly, type ‘Graphics’ in your search box and open the relevant search result.
  • Inside the Graphics Settings screen, locate and select the Graphics Performance Preference option.
  • On the next screen, click on the Browse button and select WWE 2K22 from the installation folder.
  • Once WWE 2K22 is added to the list, click on the three dots and select the Options.
  • Then choose High Performance from the next screen and save the changes.
  • Finally, relaunch the game and feel the improvement.

Fix 8: Reinstall DirectX

Sometimes reinstalling the Microsoft DirectX on your system might help you to resolve the WWE 2K22 crashing or not launching issue quickly. To do so,

  • Firstly, go to the Microsoft DirectX download webpage using your browser.
  • Then click on the Download button and install it on your system by following the on-screen directions.
  • Finally, restart the system and check your game’s performance.

Fix 9: Launch in DirectX 11:

If WWE 2K22 does not launch smoothly on your system, you need to run the game on DirectX 11. To do so,

  • Firstly, open Steam and select the Library from the home screen.
  • Then select and right-click on the WWE 2K22 from the game list and select the Properties.dx11
  • On the next screen, select General and under the Launch Options type -dx11 and save the changes.
  • Finally, relaunch the game and see the problems in the game persists or not.

Fix 10: Reinstall the Game:

If all of the above fails to resolve your WWE 2K22 crashing or freezing issue, you may need to uninstall the game and all related files. Once done, reinstall WWE 2K22 from the associated source.

These are all about the WWE 2K22 Crashing/Freezing/Shuttering/Black Screen or Not Launching Issue on PC and its fixes. If you have any queries or concerns regarding this article, you can leave a comment in the comment box below.