Windows 11’s August replace is breaking video games, and Microsoft is investigating after a studio blamed the replace

I informed you that the Windows 11 August 2026 replace may break sure video games, reboot your PC out of nowhere, and trigger different efficiency points, together with lower-than-usual body charges. A gaming studio later flagged Windows 11 KB5121003 as the basis trigger, and Microsoft is now formally investigating the reviews after per week of silence.

“Following the release of Windows updates on August 11, 2026 (KB5121003) and later, Microsoft received reports of issues involving an inability to run games as expected,” the corporate noted in a help doc noticed by Windows Latest. “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 August 2026 replace (KB5121003) rolled out on August 11, bringing the OS to Build 26200.9168 in case you are on model 25H2 or Build 26100.9168 on PCs with model 24H2. You can confirm the OS construct from Settings > System > About. If it matches what I’ve within the screenshot under, you’re on the August 2026 Update:

The August 2026 Update appears like a good replace on paper, and I additionally didn’t run into surprising issues after putting in it. But that was till I performed ARC Raiders, which might merely crash and reboot Windows.

At first, our assumption was that it was on account of Nvidia or another driver replace, however eradicating Windows 11 KB5121003 mounted the issue.

Windows Latest’s investigation later discovered that a whole bunch of avid gamers had reported related issues inside a number of hours, and a number of widespread titles have been affected, together with:

• ARC Raiders
• MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls
• The Finals

I’ve had reviews of points affecting different titles as nicely, however at this level, it’s confirmed that the above three video games are affected. ARC Raiders and The Finals are developed by the identical studio, Embark, which later shared extra particulars about what it believes is inflicting the crashes.

Gaming studio confirms Windows 11 August replace broke its video games

“We’re aware of a new crash introduced with the release of a Windows update (KB5121003) that may be affecting some of you,” an Embark Studios developer wrote in a message on Discord, as first noticed by Windows Latest. “The team is working on a fix, and we will keep you posted on any updates.”

Embark Studios later narrowed the problem all the way down to a compatibility drawback involving inpoutx64.sys, a third-party kernel-level port entry driver. It’s not included with Windows and is usually put in by third-party software program or {hardware} utilities. For instance, one consumer informed us that the motive force had been put in on their PC by Razer’s software program.

“This is a crash related to the file inpoutx64.sys, which changed with the Windows update,” Embark noted in a Discord put up. “We’re working towards a long-term fix, but in the meantime there is a workaround solution that will safely remove the file in question and allow you to play the game without issue.”

Embark Studios’ discovering aligns with our personal assessments and consumer reviews. After the August 2026 Update shipped, customers noticed that ARC Raiders began crashing, whereas eradicating the replace introduced issues again to regular.

Affected customers have additionally reported errors similar to “Hang detected on GameThread” and EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION after Windows 11 KB5121003 was put in.

If you’re affected, Embark’s momentary workaround is to cease and take away the inpoutx64 driver. Open Command Prompt as administrator and kind ‘sc stop inpoutx64’. Then sort ‘sc delete inpoutx64’ and manually delete the inpoutx64.sys file from C:WindowsSystem32drivers.

It’s nonetheless unclear precisely what Microsoft modified in Windows 11 KB5121003 that broke compatibility with inpoutx64.sys, however we now know the motive force is concerned in not less than a few of these crashes.

Microsoft is now investigating Windows 11 KB5121003 points

Given the rising variety of reviews, Microsoft has now confirmed that it’s conscious of the gaming points and is investigating them. It’s additionally urging avid gamers to submit suggestions utilizing Feedback Hub so it could possibly establish what really modified.

Microsoft has not but confirmed that the issue is attributable to Windows itself, which is why its support document says the corporate continues to be investigating “to determine if this is an issue caused by Microsoft.”

In addition to recreation crashes, Windows Latest has additionally noticed points with Windows Hello on some PCs, with one consumer noting in an e-mail to Windows Latest:

“After installing KB5121003 (build 26100.9168/26200.9168), Windows Hello PIN sign-in fails on every single reboot, forcing me to reconnect to my Microsoft account to re-enroll the PIN each time.”

“Windows deletes and recreates the key each reboot (different key GUID every time), but the new key becomes corrupted again by the next boot, an infinite loop,” the affected consumer added.

Microsoft has not confirmed these reviews but.

Should you take away Windows 11 KB5121003?

Regardless of whether or not you’re affected by gaming points or different issues, I strongly suggest towards eradicating Windows 11 KB5121003 or any cumulative replace except the issues make your PC unusable.

The August 2026 Update addresses greater than 400 safety vulnerabilities, and Microsoft has warned customers towards delaying updates previous three days.

Windows safety threats are solely getting worse because of the rise of AI-powered assaults, so you shouldn’t take away a safety replace merely since you’ve heard that others are having points. If your PC is working usually, your finest wager is to maintain KB5121003 put in and look ahead to Microsoft to finish its investigation.