Microsoft shares non permanent repair for Windows 11 gaming points

Microsoft has shared a short lived repair for ongoing gaming points brought on by Windows 11 updates launched throughout the August 2026 Patch Tuesday.

On impacted PCs, customers reported video games crashing or failing to launch, in addition to sport freezes, “EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION” errors, and even sudden system restarts.

When it confirmed it was investigating this identified situation on Wednesday, Microsoft stated it impacts video games like ARC Raiders, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals on methods working Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2.

“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 famous.

In a Thursday replace, the corporate linked the gaming points to drivers or parts put in by RGB gadgets on affected Windows methods.

“Ongoing investigation indicates that this issue is related to peripherals or internal device components which have RGB lighting features. Such devices may install drivers or code components with file names similar to inpoutx64. In systems where these drivers are found, the issue is then triggered by launching certain games,” it said.

“We are presently working to understand the relationship between these RGB components and the games which trigger this issue. We will provide an update when more information is available.”

Embark Studios, the Swedish online game developer behind The Finals and ARC Raiders, confirmed Microsoft’s conclusion that inpoutx64.sys causes these points, but additionally added that they stem from modifications made to the Windows kernel driver.

Official workaround now accessible

Microsoft has now shared a short lived repair till it resolves the problem, which requires avid gamers to disable the inpoutx64 driver utilizing the Windows Registry.

It’s additionally vital to back up the registry, as a result of chances are you’ll must undo the modifications after Microsoft resolves this bug in a future replace.

To disable the motive force from the registry, you must undergo the next steps:

1. ​Open the Windows Registry by opening the Start menu and typing “regedit”. Select the Registry Editor from the outcomes.
2. ​Navigate to the important thing HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesinpoutx64. You can do that utilizing the folders on the left facet of the window or by typing the trail into the deal with bar on the high of the window.
3. ​On the appropriate facet of the window, discover the registry worth named Start. Double-click this key and enter the quantity “4″ below the sphere titled Value knowledge.
4. ​Close the window and restart your pc.

“Please note, it is possible that disabling this registry key can result in unintended behavior, such as issues with RGB features on peripherals or components, or issues with the software used to control RGB features,” Microsoft warned. “If you experience such issues and want to restore that functionality, you may re-enable the driver by restoring the registry key to its previous value.”

Microsoft additionally requested avid gamers experiencing these points to file a report through the Feedback Hub app, and stated that it is nonetheless working to grasp the connection between the video games that set off these points and these RGB parts.

This is not the primary time Microsoft has addressed gaming stability and efficiency points brought on by Windows updates.

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

Most not too long ago, it lifted one other compatibility maintain after fixing a bug within the Auto HDR Windows characteristic that was breaking some video games on Windows 11 24H2 gadgets.

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