How to Prevent ‘7 Days to Die’ from Crashing on Your PC

7 Days to Die crashes are often related to graphics issues. For instance, the game may crash if you’re utilizing an incompatible version of DirectX that isn’t recommended for your system. Similarly, a graphics setting known as Motion Blur can lead to crashes on some systems, regardless of their ability to run the game smoothly.

Basic troubleshooting might not be sufficient, so you should definitely review our list of potential causes outlined below:

What Causes 7 Days to Die to Crash?

1. Force the Use of DirectX 10

Many users have found that using any version of DirectX other than DirectX 10 results in suboptimal game performance. Thankfully, changing this setting via the Steam client is straightforward.

1. Open the Steam client by double-clicking its icon on your Desktop, or you can search for it via the Start menu.
2. Press the Windows key or click the Start menu button, type “Steam,” and select the first result that appears.

   

3. In the Steam client, click the Library button and locate 7 Days to Die in your Steam library. Right-click the game’s icon and choose Properties from the context menu.
4. Stay in the General tab, click on Set Launch Options. Type the following option. If there are other options present, separate them with a space.

   -force-feature-level-10-0

   

5. Click OK to apply your changes. Relaunch the game and check if the crashes continue to occur.

2. Disable Motion Blur

Disabling Motion Blur can fix the crashes that many users have reported. It’s worth trying this adjustment to see if the game’s stability improves.

1. Launch the game from your Desktop or through the Start menu. If Steam is open, navigate to the Library tab, right-click the game, and select Play Game.
2. Once the game reaches the home screen, click Options followed by Video to access the graphics settings.

   

3. Find the Motion Blur setting, select Off from the dropdown menu, and apply the changes. Now, verify if the crashes still occur.

3. Verify the Integrity of Game Files

Verifying the integrity of game files can fix numerous issues, including frequent crashes, by checking for and replacing missing or corrupted files.

1. Press the Windows key or click the Start menu button, type “Steam,” and click the first result that shows up.

   

3. In the Steam client, select the Library button, find 7 Days to Die in your library, right-click the game, and select Properties.
4. Go to the Local Files section and click on Verify the Integrity of Game Files. Wait while Steam scans and repairs the installation folder.

   

5. Allow Steam to download any necessary files. Once complete, reopen 7 Days to Die and check for crash issues.

4. Install the 32-bit Version of the Game Using SteamCMD

SteamCMD can be employed to manually install the 32-bit version of certain games. It is reminiscent of using Command Prompt, and the necessary commands you’ll need are provided below:

1. Visit this link to download the SteamCMD ZIP file. Extract its contents into a new folder for SteamCMD.
2. Run SteamCMD for the first time to auto-update, then it will prompt for new commands. Alternatively, launch a Command Prompt window with the Windows Key + R sequence.

   

3. Open the Run dialog box by typing “cmd” and clicking OK. You can also locate Command Prompt via the Start menu.
4. In Command Prompt, enter the command below to start SteamCMD, tapping the Enter key afterward:

   cd <Path to the SteamCMD folder>
   steamcmd

5. Replace <Path to the SteamCMD folder> with the actual folder path where SteamCMD resides, such as C:/SteamCMD.
6. Then, use the following commands to log into your Steam account, switch to the 32-bit client, and download the 32-bit version of the game:

   login <username> <password>
   @sSteamCmdForcePlatformBitness 32
   force_install_dir ./7dtd/
   app_update 251570

7. Replace <username> and <password> with your actual Steam credentials. Wait for the game to download, then run it from the 7dtd folder in the SteamCMD directory. Check to see if the crashes have been resolved.