Microsoft says August Windows updates might trigger gaming points

Microsoft is investigating a possible difficulty with the August 2026 updates that will forestall some video games from launching or trigger them to crash on affected Windows 11 programs.

The affirmation follows person stories {that a} restricted variety of video games, together with ARC Raiders, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals, change into unresponsive on gadgets working Windows 11, model 25H2, and Windows 11, model 24H2.

The full listing of signs customers are experiencing on impacted programs contains:

• video games freezing
• video games closing with out discover
• “EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION” errors
• and sudden system restarts

“Following the release of Windows updates on August 11, 2026 (KB5121003) and later, Microsoft received reports of issues involving inability to run games as expected,” Microsoft said in a Windows launch well being dashboard replace on Wednesday.

“We are presently investigating to determine if this is an issue caused by Microsoft. We will provide an update when more information is available.”

The KB5121003 replace was launched final week as a part of the August 2026 Patch Tuesday with Secure Boot updates and File Explorer and Windows Search enhancements.

Microsoft additionally requested players experiencing these points to file a report through the Feedback Hub app.

Unofficial workaround accessible

Embark Studios, the Swedish online game developer behind The Finals first-person shooter, says these points are brought on by adjustments to the inpoutx64.sys Windows kernel driver.

“We’re aware of a crash that has been impacting some players since the most recent Windows update (KB5121003). This is a crash related to the file inpoutx64.sys, which changed with the Windows update,” Embark mentioned on Monday.

“We’re working towards a long-term fix that we hope to deploy ASAP, but in the meantime, as you may have seen on Reddit and other places, there is a work-around solution that will safely remove the file in question and allow you to play the game without issue.”

Until Microsoft ships an official repair for the problem, Embark shared a multi-step temporary workaround that requires customers to cease and delete the service and take away the inpoutx64 file from the C:WindowsSystem32drivers folder.

This is not the primary time Windows updates have prompted efficiency and stability points for Windows players. For occasion, in October 2024, Microsoft blocked Windows 24H2 upgrades on some programs due to identified points that prompted Easy Anti-Cheat blue screens and Asphalt 8 sport crashes.

Last yr, it additionally lifted a compatibility maintain added after confirming that the Auto HDR Windows function was breaking some video games on Windows 11 24H2 programs.

More just lately, it eliminated a number of improve blocks that prevented gamers of Asphalt 8: Airborne, Assassin’s Creed, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora from upgrading their gadgets to the most recent Windows model.

Update August 20, 08:33 EDT: Added Embark Studios troubleshooting info.