How To Fix Counter Strike 2 Keeps Crashing Mid Game

There’s nothing more frustrating than having your Counter-Strike 2 client suddenly crash while you’re in the middle of a game-winning clutch situation. It is apparent that the CS2 client is much heavier than CSGO, which is why many players face crashing in the middle of their games.

In this article, we’ll dive into why CS2 keeps crashing, and go through some of the best methods to prevent that. 

Verify Integrity of Game Files

The first and most effective way to fix most Counter-Strike related problems is to verify the integrity of your game files. Sometimes, CS2 might experience crashing issues because of corrupted files that prevent the game from working properly, which is why we’re going to do a quick clean.

Here is how you can verify the integrity of your game files:

1. Exit and close Counter-Strike 2 completely.
2. Open your Steam client and go to your Game Library.
3. Look for CS2 on your list of games and right-click it.
4. When a drop-down menu appears, click Properties.
5. Next, go to the Installed Files section.
6. Finally, hit Verify integrity of game files.

You’ll have to wait a few minutes for the process to be completed, and you won’t be able to run the game until it’s done.

Use Launch Options To Optimize CS2

Another thing you can do through the Steam client to figure out why CS2 keeps crashing is to use a handful of useful launch options that will improve the overall performance of your game and prevent crashing.

First, let’s guide you to the launch options section:

1. Exit and close Counter-Strike 2 completely.
2. Open your Steam client and go to your Game Library.
3. Look for CS2 on your list of games and right-click it.
4. When a drop-down menu appears, click Properties.
5. In the General section, look for Launch Options.
6. There should be a text box provided, where you will input the launch options. 

Now, here are some of the most effective launch options to help your game run better:

• -novid: This launch option will remove the intro video every time you launch the game.
• -high: This launch option will set Counter-Strike to high priority mode on Steam.
• +cl_forcepreload 1: This launch option will force the game to load all aspects before joining the game.
• -nojoy:  This launch option will disable joystick support for Counter-Strike, making it run smoother.

Here is how you should input the launch options. Feel free to copy and paste, and remove any ones you don’t like:

These launch options should be separated by a space, nothing else. 

Update Your Graphics Card Drivers

The performance of your graphics card will have direct correlation with reasons for why CS2 keeps crashing. So, instead of asking you to simply upgrade your graphics card, let’s at least improve its capabilities by ensuring they are up to date.

Here is how you can check for graphics card updates:

1. Go to your Windows Control Panel.
2. Next, go to the Hardware and Sound section. 
3. Then, go to Devices and Printers and then Device Manager.
4. Click on the dropdown arrow next to Display adapters.
5. Look for the name of your graphics card, right-click it, and click Update driver.
6. Hit Search automatically for drivers.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions if an update is available. 

If you still think your graphics card drivers might have an update that was not detected by Windows, you can always head over to your manufacturer’s official website and manually search for your graphics card drivers there. 

Lower Down Your Video Settings

Another common issue as to why CS2 keeps crashing is because your graphics might be set too high, which could possibly exceed the capabilities of your computer. Having high video settings on CS2 can take a massive toll on your computer’s performance, and can sometimes lead to crashing. 

We can’t give you a one-stop procedure to tone down your video settings, but we can lead you to where you should be headed:

1. Launch Counter-Strike 2 and go to your Settings page.
2. Next, go to the Video section of your Settings page.
3. Look for the Advanced Video settings, and then turn down the options to lower values. 

We also recommend playing in fullscreen mode and try using a stretched scaling mode. These two changes have done wonders for most players with low-performing setups. This can also be done through your video settings. 

Close Background Applications

The final method is just a general tip to remember. Background applications can cause your computer to slow down, as it consumes RAM. So, we highly recommend you close all your unnecessary background applications.

This includes your browser and other non-related programs such as Photoshop or messaging applications. Of course, you can still have your communication programs such as Discord or TeamSpeak open, but try closing anything else you won’t need.