How to Fix “Error Code: 0x00001338” in Call of Duty Vanguard?

Unexpected crashes with Error Code: 0x00001338 in Call of Duty Vanguard usually happen while playing or starting the game, causing it to close suddenly without warning. This error is linked to DirectX problems, which can occur when the game and your graphics drivers don’t work well together.

The most common reason is old or damaged graphics drivers, but other things like broken game files, overclocked hardware, or unstable shaders can also cause this problem.

Now that you understand some of the causes behind this error, let’s look at several methods you can try to fix the Call of Duty Vanguard 0x00001338 error for good:

1. Delete Some Activision Friends

The first thing you can try is to free up your Activision friend list by removing a few friends. While the technical reason isn’t fully explained, several players have stopped their game from crashing by following this tip.

Note: This seems to be a bug that Activision hasn’t addressed yet and is most likely to affect those with over 100 friends on their account.

You do not have to delete all your friends—just remove the inactive ones or those you no longer play with.

1. Go to the Social menu in your Call of Duty Vanguard account.
2. Select the friends you wish to remove.
3. Choose their profile and press Delete.
4. When prompted, click Confirm.

   

5. After making these changes, test the game to see if the error still occurs.

2. Disable Antivirus or Uninstall Firewall (if applicable)

This error can sometimes be caused by your antivirus or firewall blocking key game files. First, try disabling real-time protection from your antivirus—most allow you to do this via the icon in the system tray.

If you use a third-party firewall, simply disabling real-time protection may not be enough, as background rules can still interfere. In this case, uninstalling the firewall completely is the safest bet.

1. Press the Windows key + R to open a Run dialog, type appwiz.cpl, then press Enter to open Programs and Features.

   

2. Scroll through the list of applications and find your firewall or antivirus.
3. Right-click it, choose Uninstall, and follow the instructions to remove it.

   

4. Restart your PC and check if the error is gone.

3. Set VRAM Usage to 70%

Some users fixed the 0x00001338 error by adjusting their in-game VRAM usage. By default, the setting is at 90%, but lowering it to 70% often stabilizes performance.

Note: Call of Duty: Vanguard is demanding on VRAM, and reducing this setting allows your PC to handle resources more efficiently.

1. Open the Settings menu in the game. Go to the Graphics tab and select the Quality sub-tab.

   

2. Look for the VRAM Usage Target setting and lower it to 70%.

   

3. Save your changes and check if the error persists.

4. Delete the ‘players’ Folder

Deleting the ‘players’ folder in your Call of Duty Vanguard directory may resolve corrupted settings that cause crashes. Note that you will need to reconfigure your in-game settings afterward, as they will return to default.

Note: This method is especially effective if crashes started immediately after making changes to your graphics settings.

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to your Documents folder.

   

2. Open the Call of Duty Vanguard folder, then right-click on the ‘players’ folder and select Delete.

   

3. Launch the game, update your settings as desired, then see if the error is resolved.

5. Unequip Daniel’s Second Operator Skin

Some players have experienced crashes linked to Daniel’s second operator skin. Unequipping this particular skin, or switching to a different operator altogether, has fixed the error for many users.

6. Install the Latest Visual C++ x86 and x64 Packages

Having the latest Visual C++ redistributables installed is essential for running modern games. Download and install both x86 and x64 versions from the official Microsoft site if you haven’t already.

1. Go to the Microsoft official site and download both the Visual C++ x86 and x64 packages.

   

   Note: If you’re downloading the files with Chrome, you may need to confirm permission to download multiple files.

2. Run both installers and follow the instructions to complete the installation.

   

3. Restart your computer and launch Call of Duty Vanguard to check if the issue is gone.

7. Delete the Game Cache

Cache files are stored to help the game run smoother but they can become corrupted. Deleting the game’s cache files may fix your issue.

1. Open a Run dialog by pressing Windows key + R, type %programdata%, then press Enter.

   

2. Go to the Blizzard Entertainment folder, then the Battle.net folder, and then open the Cache folder.

   

3. Delete all files inside this folder, then close it and launch the game to see if the error is fixed.

8. Turn Off GeForce Experience Overlay

Having a screen overlay like Nvidia GeForce Experience active while running the game can cause crashes or errors.

1. Open the Nvidia GeForce Experience app (usually from your taskbar’s hidden icons).

   

2. Go to the General tab and find the In-Game Overlay option.
3. Switch the toggle off.

   

4. Close GeForce Experience and launch Vanguard to see if the issue is resolved.

9. Disable Xbox Game Bar

The Xbox Game Bar is enabled by default on Windows and can cause issues with some games. Turning it off may help.

1. Press Windows key + R, type ms-settings:, and hit Enter to open settings.

   

2. Go to the Gaming section.

   

3. Click the button under “Xbox Game Bar” to turn it off.

   

4. Close settings and try launching CoD Vanguard again.

10. Revert GPU Overclock (if applicable)

If you’ve used MSI Afterburner or another tool to overclock your graphics card, this could be causing instability. Try reverting your GPU back to default settings by deleting any custom profiles.

Note: Take a screenshot of your current settings or make a note, in case you want to use them again.

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the drive with MSI Afterburner installed, then open Program Files (x86) (or wherever the app is installed).

   

2. Open the MSI Afterburner folder, then the Profiles folder.

   

3. Select and delete all files in the Profiles folder.

   

4. Restart your computer and test the game.

11. Set COD Vanguard Priority to High in Task Manager

Setting Vanguard’s process priority to “High” in Task Manager can sometimes boost its performance and solve errors.

1. Launch Call of Duty Vanguard and open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc or Windows key + R and typing taskmgr, then press Enter.

   

2. Click on More details, then right-click the Call of Duty Vanguard process and select Go to details.

   

3. Right-click the process again, hover over Set priority, and select High.

   

If setting the priority doesn’t help, try the final fix.

12. Reinstall Battle.net

If none of the above methods work, try reinstalling the Battle.net launcher. This ensures any corrupted files get replaced and lets the game start fresh.

1. Open a Run dialog (Windows key + R) and type appwiz.cpl to access Programs and Features.

   

2. Find Battle.net, right-click it, and choose Uninstall. Complete the steps as prompted.

   

3. Go to the official Blizzard site and click Download for Windows.

   

4. Once downloaded, run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions. When done, launch the game to see if the error is gone.