Cities: Skylines is one of the 2015’s city-building video games that has been developed by Colossal Order and published by Paradox Interactive. It’s one kind of city-building simulation video game that players can get into all types of city work. Although the game has been rated really good on Steam, it seems that Cities: Skylines Crashing on Windows becomes one of the common issues.

If you’re also facing the same kind of issue, follow this troubleshooting guide completely. Apart from missing the game executable, black screen issues, lagging, frame drops, stutters, the executable has stopped working, etc problem, the startup crashing issue on Windows computer is really frustrating because there is no specific reason behind it.

Why Cities: Skylines Keeps Crashing?

According to multiple reports, your game may crash due to several possible reasons whatsoever. Meanwhile, the chances are also high that your PC configuration has compatibility issues with the game’s system requirements.

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Additionally, an outdated graphics driver, an outdated Windows OS build, DirectX compatibility issues, corrupted or missing game files, issues with the overclocked CPU/GPU, etc can be other possible reasons in most scenarios.

How to Fix Cities: Skylines Crashing issue

As we’ve already mentioned some of the possible reasons behind such an issue, you can jump into the guide below without wasting any more time.

1. Check System Requirements

One of the most common issues or mistakes that PC users can do is not checking the game’s system requirements. If the PC configuration isn’t compatible enough to run the game properly, you may start receiving multiple errors or crashes on your Windows computer whatsoever.

If you’re not able to understand whether the PC configuration is meeting the system requirements or not, you can always check out the minimum and recommended requirements below.

Minimum Requirements:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1 (64-bit)
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, 3.0GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+, 3.2GHz
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, 512 MB or ATI Radeon HD 5670, 512 MB (Does not support Intel Integrated Graphics Cards)
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Storage: 4 GB available space

Recommended Requirements:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Microsoft Windows 7/8 (64-bit)
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-3470, 3.20GHz or AMD FX-6300, 3.5Ghz
  • Memory: 6 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB (Does not support Intel Integrated Graphics Cards)
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Storage: 4 GB available space

2. Set Launch Options on Steam

If the system requirements are compatible with your PC configuration then you can follow this method. There may some of the mods and Steam workshop assets conflicting. So, you’ll need to delete those mods or turn them on individually to cross-check which mod or asset is actually troubling you. To do so:

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  • Open the Steam client on your PC.
  • Go to Library > Right-click on Cities: Skylines from the list of installed games.
  • Now, click on Properties > Select Set Launch Options.
  • Make sure to type or copy/paste –noWorkshop.
  • Finally, close the Steam client, and try running the Cities: Skylines game again.

3. Run As Administrator

It’s highly recommended to run your games and the client as an administrator to give proper access. Without the user account control access on your system, it’ll be hard enough to play games or open programs. To do this:

  • Right-click on the Cities: Skylines exe shortcut file on your PC.
  • Now, select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.
  • Enable the Run this program as an administrator checkbox.
  • Click on Apply and select OK to save changes.
  • Once done, you can try running Cities: Skylines to check whether it’s crashing on the PC or not.

4. Update Windows OS Build

An outdated Windows OS build can trigger performance-related issues on your PC whatsoever. By updating the build, you’ll ensure that your PC games can run properly. To do that:

  • Press Windows + I keys to open up the Windows Settings menu.
  • Next, click on Update & Security > Select Check for updates under the Windows Update section.
  • If there is a feature update available, select Download and install.
  • It may take a while to complete the update.
  • Once done, restart your computer to install the update.
  • Finally, you can check whether the Cities: Skylines Crashing issue has been fixed or not.

5. Update GPU Drivers

Try updating graphics card drivers on your PC if you’re still facing lags or crashes. Make sure to keep updated your graphics driver to experience stable and smoother gameplay.

  • Press Windows + X keys to open the Quick Start Menu.

  • Now, click on Device Manager from the list > Double-click on Display adapters.

  • Right-click on the dedicated graphics card that you’re using.

  • Next, select Update driver > Choose to Search automatically for drivers.

  • If there is an update available, it’ll automatically download & install the latest version.

  • Once done, the system will reboot automatically. Otherwise, you can manually restart the system to apply changes.

6. Close Background Tasks

It’s needless to say that a couple of unnecessary background running tasks or programs can easily consume a lot of system resources on your computer that may reduce the performance. It directly affects your game launching, gameplay, rendering, other programs running, etc. It’s required to close such programs or tasks completely.

  • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open up the Task Manager.
  • Now, click on the Processes tab > Click to select tasks that are unnecessarily running in the background and consuming enough system resources.
  • Click on End Task to close it one by one.
  • Once done, restart your system.

7. Verify Integrity of Game Files

It seems that there may be some corrupted or missing game files are causing such an issue. make sure to scan and repair the game files easily by using the game launcher.

  • Open the Steam client on your PC.

  • Click on Library > Right-click on Cities: Skylines from the installed games list.

  • Now, click on Properties > Go to Local Files.

  • Here you’ll have to click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.

  • Wait for the process to complete.

  • Once done, make sure to restart your Steam client and the game.

8. Disable Overclocking

As most PC gamers want to get ultra-high performance from their installed CPU and GPU, they manually overclock the hardware. However, sometimes overclocking can reduce the gaming performance or your game starts crashing unexpectedly due to compatibility issues or bottleneck issues.

Therefore, you can use the MSI Afterburner tool or Zotac firestorm application to reduce the overclocking frequency or disable it to the default.

9. Reinstall the Cities: Skylines game

If none of the methods worked for you, try uninstalling and reinstalling the Cities: Skylines game on your PC. Sometimes deleting and installing back the game can fix data or cache-related issues on the computer, leading the game to run smoothly without any stutters or crashes. To do so:

  • Launch the Steam client on your computer.
  • Now, go to Library > Right-click on the Cities: Skylines game.
  • Head over to Manage > Select Uninstall.
  • If prompted, click on Uninstall again and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstallation process.
  • Once you’re done, make sure to reboot your computer to apply changes.
  • Now, run Steam again > Search for Cities: Skylines game by using the existing Steam account.
  • Just download and install it on your computer via the Steam launcher again.
  • You’re good to go.

That’s it, guys. We hope this guide was helpful. For additional queries, let us know in the comment below.