How to fix CS2 crashing and freezing problems

There’s nothing more frustrating than having CS2 crashing and freezing problems. Unfortunately, after the release of the game, many in the community have reported a ton of instability, with plenty of crashing both in menus and in-game.

We’re going to help. Having looked into it, here are many of the most common fixes that help players fix their CS2 freezing and crashing problems.

Does your computer meet the CS2 minimum system requirements?

We’re starting off simple here, but it’s worth checking if your PC actually meets the CS2 minimum system requirements. The move from CS:GO to CS2 was brutal for many, as it was a game that many with less powerful systems frequently played. If your CS2 is crashing on launch, this might be the source of your problems. Check your PC against the official CS2 minimum system requirements below:

OS: Windows® 10
Processor: 4 hardware CPU threads – Intel® Core™ i5 750 or higher
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Video card must be 1 GB or more and should be a DirectX 11-compatible with support for Shader Model 5.0
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 85 GB available space

This could also be the cause of CS2 crashing when loading a map, so be wary of this one. If you’re wondering why CS2 is freezing and you find that you don’t meet the requirements, then that’s the problem solved right away.

Verify the integrity of your game files to stop CS2 crashing

It’s a classic way to fix CS2 freezing and crashing, but it works for a reason. If your CS2 keeps crashing, your next step should be to verify the integrity of your game files on Steam. To check if this is why CS2 is freezing and crashing, follow these steps:

Open Steam and right-click on CS2 in your Library.
Click “Properties” and go down to the “Installed Files” tab.
Press “Verify integrity of game files”.

A short process will begin, after which any corrupted files will be redownloaded automatically. This could help if CS2 is crashing all the time.

Update your graphics card drivers

Thanks to the constant updates to CS2, it’s imperative that you keep your graphics card drivers up to date in order to get a smooth experience in-game. If your CS2 is crashing mid-game, you might find that this is the cause of this problem. The process to update your drivers will be different, depending on whether you’re using a NVIDIA or AMD graphics card.

If you’re using an NVIDIA graphics card, you can use the Geforce Experience software on your PC to update your drivers. This process is pretty simple, and may help if you’re wondering, “Why does CS2 keep crashing?” For AMD, it’s a similar process, instead using the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition to update.

Change CS2 launch options

If you want to know how to fix CS2 crashing mid-game, there’s one thing you can alter: your CS2 launch options. There’s one option you can add that many online have found to be a pretty consistent CS2 crashing mid-game fix.

Right-click CS2 in your Steam Library, and press “Properties”.
Under the “General” tab, find the “Launch Options” box.
In this box, enter “-vulkan”.

Again, there’s no guarantee this will fix your CS2 freezing issues, but it’s another option to check off.

Disable Fullscreen mode to stop CS2 crashing

Working our way further down the list of CS2 crashing fixes, you should also try simply disabling Fullscreen mode in the in-game settings. Instead, use Fullscreen Windowed, which many have reported as fixing their CS2 crashing on startup issues.

Update Windows

Another possible solution to CS2 crashing is to simply update Windows. This isn’t necessarily a CS2-specific solution, but if the game is constantly freezing, it may be related to your device not being up to date. Again, unlikely, given CS2’s myriad of crashing issues, but it’s worth trying.

Reinstall CS2

This is kind of a last resort, but if you’re constantly asking yourself, “Why is CS2 crashing?” then a full reinstall might be your best option. If you’re at your wit’s end and need to know how to fix CS2 crashing, this could be the right solution for you.