{
  "id": 2119084,
  "title": "Microsoft probes reports of games taking exception to Windows 11's August update",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/microsoft-probes-reports-of-games-taking-exception-to-windows-11s",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-20T11:03:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register Science",
    "slug": "the-register-science",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/os-platforms/2026/08/20/microsoft-probes-reports-of-games-taking-exception-to-windows-11s-august-update/5290214"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Microsoft is currently investigating reports of certain games crashing after the August update for Windows 11. The company acknowledged the issue on its Release Health page, with affected titles including ARC Raiders, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals. Crashes may manifest as unresponsiveness, unexpected closures, EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION errors, or unexpected device restarts. Microsoft has not confirmed the cause, but some users theorize that tighter kernel handle validation may have exposed problems in third-party drivers, leading to the crashes. As Microsoft tightens its treatment of old and incompatible kernel drivers, the crashes remain under investigation, and the company has asked affected users for feedback.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "PC Gamer",
        "title": "The latest Windows 11 update is borking some multiplayer games, but Arc Raiders' developer has a quick workaround",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/the-latest-windows-11-update-is-borking-some-multiplayer-games-but",
        "published": "2026-08-20T11:00:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Register",
        "title": "Microsoft probes reports of games taking exception to Windows 11's August update",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/microsoft-probes-reports-of-games-taking-exception-to-windows-11s-2123764",
        "published": "2026-08-20T11:03:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}