Windows has been the operating system of choice for PC gaming for the past several years, but unfortunately Windows 11 has not been as well received by gamers. While Windows 10 has had years to reach a stable state, Windows 11 is just beginning.
As such, the operating system launched with a long list of bugs and errors, most of which have been fixed. And now the latest update KB5014668 contains numerous fixes for some recent instability issues. Here’s an overview of the update and how it will affect PC players.
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What will happen to Windows 11 KB5014668 update?
Windows 11 recently received an update set to fix many issues that players were experiencing with game crashes. Unfortunately, opening the DirectX diagnostic tool wasn’t enough to fix these problems, but this new update brings a solution.
These issues come from the DirectX 12 repository and the KB5014668 update focuses on fixing the issues with it. Below is a detailed overview of these issues and how they affect Windows 11 gamers when trying to play the latest and greatest games.
1. The DirectX 12 problem
DirectX 12 is a repository for multimedia-related helpful software and code used on the Microsoft platform. This is especially true for game programming and videos on Windows.
Most modern titles use a collection of functions from the DirectX library. As such, most games require users to download, install and keep DirectX up to date. Unfortunately, the DirectX library is large, and some of its features can occasionally cause glitches.
An issue recently surfaced that caused in-game video clips to fail to play back-to-back when using DirectX 12. Most modern titles run on DirectX 12 as its extensive library allows for better graphics and ray tracing.
Unfortunately, since this was a core problem of the DirectX library, users could not find a solution online. Fortunately, Microsoft was aware of the issue, which has since been fixed with the launch of KB5014668.
2. The XAudio2 problem
XAudio2 is a low-level API that comes pre-installed with DirectX. It works through the low-level mixer of a Windows system and interacts with applications based on or running on DirectX. As such, XAudio2 is a core feature within DirectX.
Unfortunately, an issue emerged where games using XAudio2 would crash. Although this is a low-level API, it has still caused many problems with titles that rely on it. As you can imagine, there were no effective fixes for this error. Fortunately, this update fixed the problem.
Why gamers should install this update
Bugs and crashes are no stranger to the gaming scene. This is especially true for those running on Windows 11. Although the new OS has had issues, it’s encouraging to see Microsoft acting accordingly.
This new update fixes the problems that DirectX 12 had with the associated titles. Now that it’s live, the fears and worries that come with launching your games are eased to a small degree.
Once you install this update, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the issues that once afflicted your favorite titles have been fixed.
The future of gaming on Windows 11
The release of the operating system was initially met with stigma in the gaming community. It started with so many bugs that negatively interacted with popular game titles. However, many of these issues have now been resolved and Windows 11 is slowly but surely becoming stable.
Windows 10 is still the preferred option for most gamers. However, this update shows that it won’t be long before Windows 11 becomes a viable option for gamers worldwide.
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