Windows 11 Gaming Issues Spark Temporary Fix from Microsoft
A growing number of gamers have been plagued by frustrating and unexplained issues with their favorite titles on Windows 11, causing games to crash or fail to launch. Microsoft has finally stepped in to provide a temporary fix for these problems, which have affected users who installed recent updates as part of the August Patch Tuesday.
For weeks, players have reported game crashes, freezes, and other anomalies, including “EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION” errors and even unexpected system restarts. Games like ARC Raiders, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals have been particularly affected, with users on Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 experiencing these issues.
After confirming the problem was under investigation, Microsoft revealed that the root cause of these gaming woes lies in drivers or components installed by devices with RGB lighting features. These peripherals may install drivers or code components with similar file names to inpoutx64, which trigger the issue when certain games are launched.
Microsoft is working to understand the relationship between RGB components and the affected games, but a temporary fix has already been made available. Gamers can disable the inpoutx64 driver using the Windows Registry by following a series of steps that involve editing specific registry values. It’s essential to back up the registry before making these changes, as they may need to be undone after Microsoft resolves the issue in an upcoming update.
While this workaround may resolve the gaming issues for now, it comes with a warning from Microsoft: disabling the inpoutx64 driver could lead to unintended behavior with RGB features on peripherals or components. Users who experience such issues can re-enable the driver by restoring the registry key to its previous value.
This isn’t an isolated incident – Microsoft has previously addressed gaming stability and performance issues caused by Windows updates. In fact, it recently removed upgrade blocks that prevented players from upgrading their devices to the latest version of Windows 11.
To minimize the impact of such issues in the future, gamers are advised to keep their systems up-to-date with the latest security patches and drivers. Regularly backing up important files and registry settings can also help prevent data loss in case something goes wrong.
Source: Bleeping Computer — 2026-08-24