Dungeons II Crashing or Won't Launch: Fixes

If Minecraft Dungeons II (Minecraft Dungeons 2) closes right after you press Play, shows no window, or crashes on the title screen, start with a full PC restart, then repair Gaming Services in Windows. Those two steps are what most players in the launch-day Steam threads say worked. If they don’t, work through the rest of the list below in order.

Symptoms this page covers

• The game launches, asks to install Gaming Services (or a “launch script”), then nothing appears on screen.
• Steam says the game is “Running” but no window opens.
• The game crashes to desktop during the logo screens or the first load.
• Crashes on the black title screen or right after the main menu (often an overlay such as RivaTuner; see step 6).
• A black screen at startup or after the main menu. Three separate reports tie this to overlay software (RivaTuner, MSI Afterburner); see step 6. A separate poster saw random black flashes during play, cause unknown.
• A crash the moment your hero jumps or falls into water. Two Steam threads (four posters) describe it, and a launch-day review mentioned the same; no fix has been posted. One of them said adding -force -d3d11 to the shortcut did not stop it, which is another reason not to rely on -d3d11.
• Performance that gets worse after about 30 minutes with the CPU maxed and the GPU barely used (one thread, no fix).
• A random crash mid-session that does not match the above; send feedback.

What we know about the cause

Known: The Steam page lists Windows 10/11 64-bit, DirectX 11 and a GTX 1050-class GPU as the minimum, and the PC build needs Microsoft’s Gaming Services. Many launch-day posts describe the game requesting Gaming Services and then failing to start.

Not confirmed: Whether crashes on specific GPUs or CPUs share one cause. Players have reported crashes on both AMD and Nvidia hardware, and one review mentions repeated Unreal Engine crashes at launch. Mojang has not published a known-issues list that we could find as of Sep 29, 2026.

Fixes, in order

1. Restart your PC

The simplest step was also the most repeated in the Steam thread: one player wrote that a restart made the game start. Do a full restart, not sleep or a Steam restart, then launch the game once and wait a couple of minutes on first launch.

2. Repair Gaming Services

Another player in that thread said the Gaming Services repair tool fixed it. In Windows 11, go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Gaming Services, open the three-dot menu, choose Advanced options, then select Repair. If the game still fails, come back and select Reset. On Windows 10 the same option sits under Settings > Apps > Apps & features.

If the game seems stuck downloading a “launch script,” a player reported waiting a minute or two, opening Task Manager, and ending the gaming repair process, which let the launch continue. This is a player report, not an official step.

3. Sign in to the Xbox app first

Open the Xbox app (or the Microsoft Store) and sign in with the same Microsoft account you plan to use in the game. Then launch Dungeons II. Several launch-day complaints involve the ownership check, so having a working sign-in ahead of time removes one variable. See our Microsoft account link failed page if you get an ownership or account error.

4. Update Windows and Microsoft Store apps

Open Microsoft Store > Library > Get updates and let Gaming Services and the Xbox app update. Then run Windows Update and restart again. One Windows 10 player reported the game asked for Gaming Services but could not download it because the Store believed there was no internet connection; updating and restarting is the first thing to try there.

5. Verify game files on Steam

Right-click the game in your Steam library, choose Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files. This re-downloads anything damaged.

6. Close overlays (RivaTuner, Afterburner), then update your graphics driver

Overlays are the most repeated fix in newer threads. Three separate Steam posters said the game crashed at launch until they closed RivaTuner Statistics Server (installed with MSI Afterburner), and one reviewer said disabling all overlays, including MSI Afterburner, plus a GPU driver update got the game running. Close RivaTuner completely, not just minimise it. A fourth poster with a game stuck on “Running” got the same advice and said it fixed it for them; a fifth saw the same symptom without those tools installed, so it is not the only cause. One poster said you can keep it running by adding the game’s executable in RivaTuner and setting detection level to Low, Stealth mode on and Custom 3D support on; that is a player report, not tested by us. Then install the latest driver from Nvidia, AMD or Intel, and close other overlays and capture tools (Discord, GPU overlays, recording software) and try again. One reviewer also reported controller-mapping tools such as DSX, Steam Input and HidHide causing duplicate controllers and menu trouble, so disable those while testing.

7. Try windowed mode with a launch option

In Steam, right-click the game, open Properties > General > Launch Options and enter -windowed. Two players in a Steam fix thread said windowed mode helped them get in (one alongside other fixes, one said they might have “got lucky”). This is a player report, not an official step. A poster also said other launch arguments did nothing for a blank account-link window. For the -d3d11 launch option see step 8.

8. Compatibility tweaks players tried

Single reports, none confirmed by anyone else, so try them one at a time and undo any that do not help:

• Disable fullscreen optimizations. A poster stuck on the loading screen (and later a poster whose PC crashed at launch) said this fixed it: right-click Dungeons.exe > Properties > Compatibility > Disable fullscreen optimizations.
• Windows 8 compatibility mode. A parent said this ended their son’s black screen; they then ran as administrator, lost the Steam connection, and fixed that by launching from the Steam client. Note that another thread links running as administrator to error 0029, see error codes.
• -d3d11 launch option. One poster said adding -d3d11 in Steam launch options stopped their launch crashes. It is one post, so we do not recommend it yet.

9. Clear the NVIDIA shader cache (silent crashes, NVIDIA only)

A poster whose game crashed silently in menus or cutscenes with no log found an nvml.dll memory access error (0xc0000005) in Windows Event Viewer, and said wiping the %localappdata%\NVIDIA\DXCache folder fixed it immediately. Another player said it did not help them because their game would not open at all. It is a single working report and only applies if you see that Event Viewer error.

10. Check your system meets the minimum

Minimum, per Steam: Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 2200G, 8 GB RAM, GTX 1050 or RX 560 with at least 2 GB VRAM, DirectX 11, Windows 10 64-bit (1703+). See the system requirements page for the recommended spec.

Platform notes

• Windows LTSC and ARM: One reviewer said the game won’t run on a Windows LTSC edition; another reported freezing and stuttering on a Surface Pro ARM device. Both are single reports.
• Xbox app / Game Pass PC: The steps above apply, but launch from the Xbox app rather than Steam.
• Steam Deck / Linux: The game currently does not start under Proton. See Steam Deck and Linux status.

If nothing works

1. Note the exact error text or code and see error codes 0059 and 0064 and any Unreal Engine crash window.
2. Report it via the Minecraft help center or the Steam discussion for the game.
3. Steam allows a refund if you have played under two hours and bought within 14 days; see Steam refunds.
4. Wait for a patch. Launch-week crashes are often fixed by updates, but we can’t promise a timeline.

None of these steps is guaranteed; they are the fixes players reported most often on launch day.