If Cronos: The New Dawn is crashing, failing to launch, or showing unexpected errors on your PC, this guide will help you get it running smoothly again with the most effective fixes and troubleshooting steps to solve performance issues, launch problems, and other common errors players face on Windows systems.
Table of Contents
Cronos: The New Dawn is a third-person survival-horror adventure set in an alternate post-apocalyptic 1980s Poland. Developed by Bloober Team, it follows a Traveller battling flesh-mutated creatures and shifting through time to prevent a devastating outbreak.
How to Fix All Cronos: The New Dawn Errors on PC
Here are the steps to fix issues like crashes, launch errors, or the game not working in Cronos: The New Dawn for PC users:
1. Check System Requirements & Update Drivers
- Ensure your system meets the minimum or preferably recommended specs — since the game is demanding, especially with Ray Tracing enabled.
- Update your graphics drivers (NVIDIA, AMD) to the latest stable version. Some players found older/unstable drivers caused crashes.
- If using AMD’s Adrenalin software, try doing a clean installation (uninstall then fresh install “drivers only” option) as one user notes: “Uninstall Adrenalin, then when you go to reinstall it… most likely causing the … crash”.
Related Posts:
Cronos: The New Dawn System Requirements
How to Update NVIDIA Graphic Card Drivers
How to Update AMD Graphics Card Drivers
2. Verify Game Files & Ensure Latest Patch Applied
- On Steam (or whichever launcher), right-click the game → Properties → Local Files → Verify Integrity of Game Files. This helps if there are corrupt or missing files causing startup failures.
- Make sure you have applied the latest updates: Patch 1.005 and Hotfix 1 (ver. 323631) address critical save, crash and progress-blocker bugs.
- If you got the game from internet, try reinstalling it and make sure your game is in defenders exclusions, you can also experiment with the fix file shared in the download section of this post.
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3. Adjust Graphics Settings for Stability
- The PC version is reported as very demanding, especially with Ray Tracing or Hardware Lumen enabled. Many players report drops in FPS or stutters.
- Recommended settings for more stable performance:
- Disable or turn off Ray Tracing, at least initially. Many forum users found this fixes crashes or stutters.
- Use the “Very Low” or “Low” preset if your hardware is mid-range. One benchmark showed huge drops at higher settings.
- Specific suggestions: set Anti-Aliasing to None, Shadows to Medium, Effects to Medium, Motion Blur off (or on cut-scenes only) etc.
- If you’re using DLSS (for NVIDIA) or XeSS (for AMD), select “Quality” or “Performance” mode depending on hardware. But note: some users found weird behaviour where DLSS did not improve performance in this title.
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4. Force the Game to Use the Correct GPU
- On laptops or systems with both integrated and discrete graphics, ensure that the game is using your dedicated GPU (e.g., NVIDIA or AMD), not the integrated one. A Steam forum user: “Consider checking which graphic card is set in PC settings when launching Cronos. If the integrated card is activated, it might not launch.”
- You can configure this via Windows Graphics Settings (Settings → System → Display → Graphics) or your GPU control panel.
5. Address Specific Crash / Stutter / Freezing Issues
- If the game won’t launch:
- Try launching with command line options (in Steam: Properties → Set Launch Options) such as
-dx11or-dx12. Some users reported fixes via switching DirectX version. - Turn off overlays (Steam overlay, Discord overlay, Nvidia ShadowPlay overlay etc).
- Temporarily disable background programs (especially recording/monitoring software) which might interfere.
- Try launching with command line options (in Steam: Properties → Set Launch Options) such as
- If the game crashes during cut-scenes:
- Many users report a crash during the first “Ascendance” cut-scene with error
LowLevelFatalError … D3D12Util.cpp … E_INVALIDARG. - Workaround: skip the cut-scene if allowed, or lower graphics settings (disable RT etc) before the cut-scene.
- Many users report a crash during the first “Ascendance” cut-scene with error
- If you experience stuttering or frame-drops during play:
- Some reports indicate a memory leak or performance bug when Ray Tracing / Hardware Lumen is on.
- Solution: disable Ray Tracing, reduce lighting/texture settings, ensure your GPU isn’t thermal-throttling.
- If save‐game or progression is blocked:
- The Hotfix addressed several save issues (e.g., autosave not triggering, puzzles blocking progress). If you have a save from before the patch, you may need to load a previous save or start fresh.
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6. Check Hardware & System Health
- Ensure your GPU and CPU temps are within safe limits (often under ~85 °C for GPU under load). Overheating can cause crashes or performance dips.
- Ensure you have enough RAM available (game is large and demanding).
- Ensure your storage drive (SSD/HDD) is healthy and has enough free space — if the game is loading from a slow drive, you may encounter stutters.
7. Contact Support / Provide Details
- If you still face unresolved issues after trying the above, you should prepare a detailed report for Bloober Team support:
- Press Win + R → type
dxdiag→ save information. - Take screenshot of your visual graphics settings.
- Describe the issue, hardware specs, where it happens, what you’ve tried.
- Email or use the support channel with these details so the developer can assist.
- Press Win + R → type
FAQs & Answers
Here are frequently asked questions:
Why is Cronos: The New Dawn constantly crashing on my PC?
Crashes can stem from various causes: unstable/old graphics drivers, enabling Ray Tracing or Hardware Lumen on hardware that struggles, overlay software conflicts, or corrupted game files. First update your drivers, disable RT, verify game files and try launching with DirectX 11/12 options.
Cronos: The New Dawn appears but I see a black screen or “Preparing shaders” loop — what can I do?
This could be due to shader compilation issues or a memory leak. Lower graphics settings (especially shadows, effects), turn off RT, and allow the game to finish “Preparing shaders” step fully before continuing. Some users recommended not switching graphics settings mid-scene.
Cronos: The New Dawn FPS are very low even though I have a high-end PC.
The game is demanding — even top-end cards with Ray Tracing enabled struggled in benchmarks. Try disabling RT, drop settings to Low/Medium, use DLSS/XeSS “Quality/Performance” mode, and ensure monitors and GPU settings are not limiting performance (V-sync, capped FPS).
I’m stuck in a puzzle or cannot progress after loading a save in Cronos: The New Dawn.
Some save compatibility issues were fixed in the Hotfix (e.g., church barricade not opening, autosave not triggering). If you encounter this, load the latest autosave before the problematic area or restart from earlier save if possible. Always keep backups of your saves.
Will enabling Ray Tracing make Cronos: The New Dawn look significantly better?
Visually, Ray Tracing (Hardware Lumen) improves ambient occlusion, reflections and lighting quality. However, it comes at a heavy performance cost. Unless your GPU is very high-end and you’re comfortable with potential dips, it may be better to play without RT for a smoother experience.
After installing the patch, do I still need to tweak settings of Cronos: The New Dawn?
Yes — the patches addressed many stability and progression bugs, but performance issues and hardware-demanding features remain. Patches improve the baseline, but for best experience you may still need to adjust settings.
Cronos: The New Dawn still crashes despite all fixes. What then?
At this point do the following:
1. Uninstall and reinstall the game.
2. Clean install your GPU drivers (use safe mode tools like DDU for Windows).
3. Try disable overlays and unnecessary background apps.
4. Contact Bloober Team support with dxdiag report, screenshot of settings, description of hardware and when the crash occurs.
5. If it’s a known bug not yet fixed, they might provide a workaround or update.
Does turning off ray tracing fix performance problems in Cronos: The New Dawn?
It greatly improves performance on most PCs but will not solve every issue. Other factors such as CPU load and driver stability also affect performance.
Cronos: The New Dawn crashes at the same cut-scene every time. What can I do?
Make sure you have installed the hotfix patch. If it still crashes, try lowering settings, skipping the cut-scene if possible, or reloading from an earlier save.
Are all the major bugs fixed now in Cronos: The New Dawn?
Most major crashes and save errors were addressed in patch 1.005 and Hotfix 1. However, performance issues may persist on some systems.
How do I verify my Cronos: The New Dawn files on Steam?
Right-click the game → Properties → Installed Files → “Verify integrity of game files.” Steam will repair any corrupted data automatically.
My HDR display shows strange colours or banding. How do I fix it?
Install the patch that corrected HDR artefacts. Recalibrate HDR in Windows settings, and if the issue continues, turn off HDR temporarily, then run Cronos: The New Dawn as see if that helped.
Final Thoughts
By following the steps above — verifying files, updating drivers, adjusting graphics settings, disabling RT when needed, and contacting support if required — you should be able to achieve a stable and enjoyable run.
While Cronos: The New Dawn offers a rich atmospheric survival horror experience, its PC version launched with several technical hurdles. The good news: many of the major issues (crashes, progress blocks) have already been addressed via patches.
The remaining challenges are mostly performance-related, especially for players using mid-range hardware or enabling high-end features like Ray Tracing.
Download Section
If you got the game from internet, you can also try apply the fix file which just contains few game files and you can repalce them to see if the game runs up.
| v1.0.0.0 | Download |
If the above link is not working, donwload v1.0.0.0 here.
Watch the installation video:
