Microsoft has released a temporary workaround for a known issue where certain games crash, freeze, or fail to launch on Windows 11 systems after the August 2026 Patch Tuesday updates. The company confirmed the problem on Wednesday, saying it affects titles such as ARC Raiders, MARVEL T kon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. Users have also reported "EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION" errors and unexpected system restarts.
In a Thursday update, Microsoft said its investigation points to drivers or code components installed by devices with RGB lighting features. The company identified files with names similar to inpoutx64 as the trigger, which are installed alongside the lighting software. Microsoft stated that the issue occurs when certain games launch on systems where these drivers are present, and it is still working to understand the connection between the RGB components and the affected games.
Embark Studios, the Swedish developer behind The Finals and ARC Raiders, confirmed Microsoft's findings about the inpoutx64.sys driver. The studio added that the root cause stems from changes Microsoft made to the Windows kernel driver. Microsoft has not yet provided a permanent fix, but it has shared a temporary solution that requires gamers to disable the driver through the Windows Registry.
The temporary fix involves navigating to a specific registry key and changing a value to disable the inpoutx64 driver. Microsoft warned that this action could lead to unintended behavior, such as problems with RGB lighting features on peripherals or components, or issues with the software used to control them. The company advised users who experience such problems to re-enable the driver by restoring the registry key to its previous value, and it also recommended backing up the registry before making any changes.
Microsoft asked gamers facing these problems to report them through the Feedback Hub app. The company said it will provide another update once more information is available about the relationship between the RGB components and the games that trigger the issue. This is not the first time Microsoft has dealt with gaming problems tied to Windows updates.
Previously, Microsoft removed upgrade blocks that had prevented players of Asphalt 8: Airborne, Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin's Creed, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora from updating their Windows devices. More recently, the company lifted a compatibility hold after fixing a bug in the Auto HDR feature that was breaking some games on Windows 11 24H2 systems. The current issue affects users in the United States and elsewhere running the latest Windows 11 versions.
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