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The game Assassin's Creed Unity crashes to desktop after showing a splash logo for a short time. Access Violation in Event Viewer.

Anonymous
2023-03-01T10:31:16+00:00

After starting the game through Ubisoft Connect, a splash logo appears for a short time and then disappears; the game does not launch. A trace of this issue can be found in the Event Viewer; the given description of the problem is "Exception Access Violation" (a generic error that does not mean anything useful). The game cannot be debugged with a debugger because of its DRM system. After trying various troubleshooting and generic solutions provided to me by Ubisoft Support, I have managed to circumvent the issue by creating a new Windows profile, and launching the game using runas.exe and that profile. That solution has since stopped working. I tried to create another Windows profile and repeating the solution, but it didn't work either. I, and Ubisoft Support believe that this issue is related to Windows and not the game itself, hence this post.

Here's what I tried (omitted steps not related to Windows):

  • Check system and filesystem integrity via sfc and dism
  • Check driver compatiblity and versions
  • Update all drivers
  • Clean boot
  • Use a different Windows (I have a dual-boot of windows 10 and 11, but they share certain things like the Documents folder, so it is not truly a separate system), also Assassin's Creed Unity was installed previously (and worked) on that Windows 10. It has never worked correctly (except the new profile) on Windows 11. The other W11 profiles do not share Documents with Windows 10 or my primary Windows 11 profile.
  • Check registry entries related to the game (delete and let be recreated)
  • Check Documents' files of the game (delete and let be recreated, use known-working versions acquired via the internet)
  • Use a different Windows profile (issue temporarily circumvented, root cause not estabilshed, solution ceased working)
  • Reinstall the game
  • Reinstall the game's supporting software (DirectX, Visual C++ Redistributables)

My hardware:

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X

GPU: Zotac RTX 3080 LHR

MBO: ASRock X470 Master SLI

MEM: Wilk Elektronik IRDX3000D464L 16+8+8GB (Brand known as IRDM X)

My software:

OS: Windows 11 Pro x64 Build 22623.1325 (Dual boot with Windows 10 20H2 - purposefully not updated)

Graphics Drivers: GeForce Game Ready Driver 531.18

Attaching DXDiag and MSInfo output files for your convenience. https://1drv.ms/f/s!AoH3gXsMs2_QrgdxYRm1Aq9m7sGn?e=qh7nin

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Gaming

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-03-01T12:11:56+00:00

    Just found this video, check if helps.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNiEvI27AzU

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2023-03-01T16:04:03+00:00

    In that case, it's possible that the issue is related to a system-level component that both Windows 10 and 11 share. One thing you could try is to run the game in compatibility mode for an earlier version of Windows, such as Windows 7 or 8. To do this, right-click on the game's shortcut or executable file, select Properties, go to the Compatibility tab, and choose a previous version of Windows from the dropdown menu.

    Another thing you could try is to run the game as an administrator. Right-click on the game's shortcut or executable file, select Properties, go to the Compatibility tab, and check the box that says "Run this program as an administrator."

    If neither of those options work, you could try updating or reinstalling any system-level components that the game may be dependent on, such as DirectX, Visual C++ Redistributables, or the .NET Framework. You can download the latest versions of these components from the Microsoft website.

    If the issue still persists, it may be helpful to contact Ubisoft Support again and provide them with the information you have gathered so far. They may be able to offer additional troubleshooting steps or escalate the issue to their development team for further investigation.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-03-01T12:59:35+00:00

    Thank you for taking the time to find this. Unfortunately this did not help.

    Perhaps the fact that Windows 10 and 11 both can't launch the game has something to do with this? Maybe it can help find the cause? The other and new profiles cant launch it either.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-03-01T12:10:32+00:00

    Hello, Felipe. I've tried the troubleshooting steps you've provided. Unfortunately, these did not yield expected results. I'm running the most recent BIOS my manufacturer has available. The graphics driver rollback also didn't fix it. The settings set up for the game seem correct. Other than the Access Violation error, my Event Viewer also shows an APPCRASH entry pertaining to the Unity game as well. No other related events are available. I've scanned my system and it is clean. Also without the antivirus (I use Microsoft's built in security feature - Microsoft Defender) the game still fails to launch properly.

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-03-01T11:05:41+00:00

    Hello, I'm Felipe and I'm an independent Community Advisor, and I'll do my best to help you.

    It sounds like you've already tried a lot of troubleshooting steps, but here are a few additional things you can try:

    Disable your antivirus: Sometimes, antivirus software can interfere with game launching. Try disabling your antivirus temporarily and see if that helps.

    Check your system for malware: Malware can also cause issues with game launching. Run a full system scan with your antivirus and an antimalware software like Malwarebytes.

    Check your Windows Event Viewer: In addition to the Exception Access Violation error, check if there are any other errors or warnings related to the game or your graphics card in the Event Viewer.

    Update your BIOS: Make sure your motherboard's BIOS is up to date. Check the manufacturer's website for the latest version and follow their instructions to update it.

    Run the game as administrator: Right-click on the game's executable file and select "Run as administrator". This can help with any permissions-related issues.

    Check your graphics card settings: Make sure your graphics card is set up correctly for the game. Check if there are any recommended settings for the game in your graphics card's control panel.

    Roll back your graphics driver: Try rolling back your graphics driver to an earlier version that worked with the game. You can do this through the Device Manager.

    Hopefully, one of these steps will help resolve the issue with Assassin's Creed Unity crashing on launch.

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