Dead by Daylight Crashing on PC: How to Fix It

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Dead by Daylight crashing on PC is usually fixed by updating your GPU driver, verifying the game files and doing a Windows clean boot — the same order Behaviour’s official crash guide uses. If you play the Epic Games Store version, Behaviour has confirmed a known crash problem there (28 August 2026), so a fix may come from a patch rather than your PC. This guide follows Behaviour’s own support articles, adds the steps for each storefront, and shows where the crash log lives.

Dead by Daylight Crashing on PC: How to Fix It

Quick answer: match the crash to the fix

What happensMost likely causeFix
Crashes on launch or shows an Easy Anti-Cheat errorBroken Easy Anti-Cheat installRepair EAC
Crashes only on the Epic Games Store versionKnown Epic-version issue Behaviour is fixingCheck the Epic note, then verify files
EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION mid-matchGame bug (open reports on 10.1.2) or unstable overclockFix 6
Driver crash, inputs not registering, audio cutting outOutdated DirectX runtimeUpdate DirectX
Crashes when joining a matchNetwork / NAT problemNetwork check
Random crashes with no messageDamaged files, driver, or background softwareFixes 2, 4 and 5 in order

Fix 1 — Check for a known crash first

Before you change anything on your PC, check whether the crash is Behaviour’s problem. On 28 August 2026 Behaviour posted on its support site that it is “aware of the current frequent crashes for players using the Epic Game Store” and working on a fix. If you only crash on the Epic version, verify your files (Fix 2) and wait for the patch rather than reinstalling Windows components.

Behaviour also runs a public bug tracker at bugreport.deadbydaylight.com. Search it for your crash text — if many players report the same crash on the same build, it is a game bug.

Fix 2 — Verify the Dead by Daylight game files

Damaged or missing files are the most common cause of crashes that started after a patch. Verifying the files is step 6 in Behaviour’s official crash guide.

  • Steam: Library → right-click Dead by Daylight → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files.
  • Epic Games Store: Library → click the … under Dead by Daylight → Manage → Verify.
  • Xbox app / PC Game Pass: open Dead by Daylight in the Xbox app → … → Manage → Files → Verify and repair.

Restart the PC after the verify finishes, then launch the game.

Fix 3 — Repair Easy Anti-Cheat

Dead by Daylight uses Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) on PC. When EAC is broken the game closes at launch or shows an anti-cheat error instead of loading. Run the EAC setup from the game’s install folder, choose Dead by Daylight, and click Repair Service. The full walkthrough, including the “EAC is not installed” and launch-error messages, is in the Dead by Daylight Easy Anti-Cheat error fix.

Fix 4 — Update GPU drivers, DirectX and Windows

Behaviour’s crash guide lists three updates, and each one fixes a different crash.

  1. GPU and audio drivers. Install the latest driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel. If crashes started right after a driver update, do a clean install instead — see how to clean install GPU drivers with DDU.
  2. DirectX runtime. Behaviour says an outdated DirectX can cause driver crashes, keyboard and mouse inputs failing to register, and audio cutting out. Windows Update does not install the older optional DirectX files, so run Microsoft’s DirectX End-User Runtime installer — the steps are in missing d3dx9_43.dll and xinput1_3.dll.
  3. Windows. Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates, and install everything offered, including optional driver updates.

Fix 5 — Clean boot Windows

A clean boot starts Windows with only Microsoft services, so you can tell whether another program is crashing Dead by Daylight. It is step 7 in Behaviour’s guide.

  1. Press Windows + R, type msconfig and press Enter.
  2. On the Services tab, tick Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all.
  3. On the Startup tab, open Task Manager and disable every startup app.
  4. Restart and launch Dead by Daylight.

If the game stops crashing, turn services and apps back on in small groups until the crash returns. Overlays, RGB and monitoring tools and screen recorders are the usual suspects. Microsoft’s full steps are on its clean boot support page.

Fix 6 — EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION mid-match

EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION is the Windows 0xc0000005 error: the game tried to use memory it was not allowed to. Dead by Daylight’s official bug tracker has an open, player-reported bug (#7255, build 10.1.2, September 2026) for this crash mid-match on the Windows Store / Xbox app version. The reporter had already verified files, disabled overlays and updated drivers, and it still crashed.

So if you see it:

  1. Verify files (Fix 2) and update your GPU driver (Fix 4).
  2. Remove any CPU, RAM (XMP/EXPO) or GPU overclock and test at stock — unstable memory produces the same error.
  3. If it still happens, add your log (Fix 8) to the existing bug report instead of reinstalling Windows.

The general causes and fixes for this error in any game are in the 0xc0000005 access violation crash fix.

Fix 7 — Crashes when matchmaking

If Dead by Daylight crashes or drops you while it searches for or joins a match, the cause is often the network rather than your GPU. Behaviour’s NAT FAQ lists crashing upon matchmaking as a NAT problem, and its crash guide asks you to confirm your connection is strong enough before anything else. Behaviour says an Open NAT type gives the best connection, while Moderate and Strict limit which players you can connect to — Strict can only connect to Open. Restart your router, use a wired connection, and follow Behaviour’s NAT FAQ for the Steam or Epic steps to open your NAT.

Fix 8 — Find the crash log and contact Behaviour

If nothing above works, send Behaviour your log. Behaviour’s support article gives the path:

  1. Press Windows + R.
  2. Paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\DeadByDaylight\Saved\Logs and click OK.
  3. Attach the file named DeadByDaylight.log to your support ticket.

If the folder doesn’t open, Behaviour says you chose a different save location when installing, so look there.

The last step in Behaviour’s guide is a full reinstall of Dead by Daylight. Do it only after everything above, because it costs a large download and rarely fixes a driver or software conflict.

If it isn’t a crash: stutter and FPS drops

Freezes and hitches that don’t close the game are a performance problem, not a crash. Start with the Dead by Daylight stuttering fix and the best Dead by Daylight settings for FPS.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Dead by Daylight keep crashing on my PC?

Dead by Daylight crashes on PC usually come from an outdated GPU driver, damaged game files, an outdated DirectX runtime, or another program interfering with the game. Behaviour's official crash guide covers all four: update audio and video drivers, update DirectX and Windows, verify the game files, then do a Windows clean boot. Reinstalling is the last step, not the first.

Is Dead by Daylight crashing on Epic Games Store a known issue?

Yes. On 28 August 2026 Behaviour posted that it is aware of frequent crashes for players using the Epic Games Store and is working on a fix. If you only crash on the Epic version, the cause may be on Behaviour's side; verify your files and watch Behaviour's announcements for the fix.

Where is the Dead by Daylight crash log?

Press Windows + R, paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\DeadByDaylight\Saved\Logs and press OK. The file named DeadByDaylight.log is the log Behaviour support asks you to attach to a ticket. If the folder does not open, the game was installed with its files saved somewhere else.

Does Dead by Daylight crash because of Easy Anti-Cheat?

It can. Dead by Daylight uses Easy Anti-Cheat on PC, and a broken EAC install stops the game at launch or throws an anti-cheat error instead of a normal crash. If the crash message names Easy Anti-Cheat, repair or reinstall EAC from the game's EasyAntiCheat folder before trying anything else.

What does EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION mean in Dead by Daylight?

EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION is the Windows 0xc0000005 crash: the game tried to read or write memory it is not allowed to. Dead by Daylight's official bug tracker has open, player-reported cases of it mid-match on build 10.1.2, so after verifying files and updating the GPU driver it may be a game bug rather than your PC. Unstable RAM or GPU overclocks cause the same error and are worth ruling out.