Doom: The Dark Ages Dev Details Workaround To Game Crashes On NVIDIA GPUs
As NVIDIA is prone to do whenever there's a major game release, the GPU maker released a new 'Game Ready' driver package, version 576.40 WHQL, to get PCs ready for Doom: The Dark Ages. You'll want to grab that if you're planning to play the latest Doom installment. At the same time, developer id Software acknowledged that some users with NVIDIA GPUs are experiencing "persistent crashing when playing the game" with the latest driver release.
That's the bad news. The good news is, it's probably not a widespread issue given that (A) the game is in early access and not widely released until Thursday, May 15, and (B) NVIDIA's latest driver release is intended to deliver the best gaming experience in Doom: The Dark Ages, rather than break it.
None of that will come as any consolation to users are experiencing game crashes with the 576.40 driver package installed, and if you're among them, the even better news is id Software has identified a couple of potential mitigations.
"If encountered,
rebooting your system, then reinstalling the driver and relaunching the game should resolve this. If the issue still persists, make sure any integrated GPUs are disabled through Windows Device Manager before running the game," id Software wrote in a post on Steam.
Even if you're not seeing game crashes or are running a different brand of GPU, it's worth checking out the post anyway. It's filled with key details about the game, including system requirements (minimum, recommended, and ultra 4K as shown above -- click to expand for a full view), and also contains extensive lists of known issues. Yes, lists as in plural.
The developer has identified 11 issues specific to the PC platform, as well as 11 more general gameplay bugs and single quirk affecting ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go gaming handhelds that can negatively affect performance and stability. That's nearly two dozen known issues in all, all of which have stated resolutions.
As for NVIDIA's latest GPU release, it also brings performance optimizations and DLSS 4 support to New World Aeternum, and fixes a handful of bugs, including stability issues in Monster Hunter Wilds and shadow flickers on GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs when playing Dead Space Remake.
You can grab the 576.40 WHQL driver through the NVIDIA App or head to NVIDIA's driver page to download and install it manually.
