Fix Oxygen Not Included Crashing on PC

If Oxygen Not Included is crashing on your PC, the fix usually involves updating your graphics drivers, verifying game files, and adjusting in-game settings. This article provides a step-by-step troubleshooting guide to resolve crashes and get your colony running smoothly again.

Why Does Oxygen Not Included Crash?

Oxygen Not Included is a complex simulation game that can crash for a variety of reasons. The most common causes include outdated or corrupted graphics drivers, insufficient system resources (especially RAM), mod conflicts, and corrupted game files. Less frequently, crashes can be triggered by overheating hardware, background applications interfering with the game, or issues with the game’s save files. Understanding the root cause is the first step to a permanent fix.

Before You Start: Quick Checks

Before diving into more technical fixes, try these quick checks. They resolve a surprising number of crash issues.

Restart your PC. This clears temporary memory leaks and stops background processes that might interfere.
Check system requirements. Ensure your PC meets the minimum specs. The game needs at least 4 GB of RAM and a graphics card that supports Shader Model 3.0.
Close background applications. Close browsers, Discord, and other resource-heavy apps before launching the game.
Check for Windows updates. Ensure your operating system is up to date, as missing system files can cause instability.

Step-by-Step Fixes for Crashing

If the quick checks don’t work, follow these steps in order. They move from most common to least common fixes.

Update your graphics drivers. Outdated or corrupted GPU drivers are the #1 cause of game crashes. Go to your GPU manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) and download the latest driver for your specific card model. Use the ‘Clean Install’ option if available.
Verify game files. Corrupted or missing game files can cause crashes. In Steam, right-click Oxygen Not Included in your library, select Properties, go to Local Files, and click ‘Verify Integrity of Game Files’. This will download any missing or broken files.
Disable mods. Mods, especially outdated ones, can cause crashes after a game update. Disable all mods in the game’s mod menu and try launching the game. If it works, re-enable mods one by one to find the culprit.
Adjust in-game settings. Lower your graphics settings, especially ‘Material Quality’ and ‘Lighting’. Also, try switching between ‘Fullscreen’ and ‘Windowed’ modes. Some players report crashes in fullscreen that don’t occur in windowed mode.
Run the game as administrator. Right-click the game’s .exe file (or the shortcut) and select ‘Run as administrator’. This can fix permission-related crashes.
Check for overheating. Use a tool like MSI Afterburner or HWMonitor to check your CPU and GPU temperatures. If they are above 90°C, your system may be overheating, causing crashes. Clean your PC’s fans and ensure proper ventilation.

Dealing with Save File Corruption

If crashes happen only when loading a specific save, the save file might be corrupted. This can happen due to a previous crash, a power outage, or a mod conflict. To fix this, you can try loading an earlier autosave. The game creates multiple autosaves in the ‘Save Files’ folder within your game directory. If you have a backup, restore it. If not, you may need to start a new colony, unfortunately. To prevent this in the future, regularly back up your save files.

Common Crash Scenarios and Specific Fixes

Some crashes occur at specific points in the game. Here are a few common scenarios and targeted solutions.

Crashes when opening the ‘Colony Report’ or ‘Skills’ panel: This is often a UI rendering issue. Update your graphics drivers and try lowering the ‘UI Scale’ setting in the game options.
Crashes after a few hours of play: This is usually a memory leak. The game can use a lot of RAM, especially with large colonies. Try reducing the ‘Simulation Speed’ and closing other programs. If it persists, consider adding more RAM to your PC.
Crashes when a specific building is placed or used: This could be a mod conflict or a corrupted asset. Try disabling mods and if that doesn’t help, verify game files.

Advanced Troubleshooting

If none of the above steps work, you may need to dig deeper. Here are some advanced options.

Clean boot. Perform a clean boot of Windows to eliminate any software conflicts. This involves disabling all non-Microsoft services and startup programs via ‘msconfig’ and Task Manager.
Check the game’s crash logs. The game generates crash logs in the ‘Klei’ folder in your Documents directory. The ‘Logs’ subfolder contains a ‘CrashReport’ file. This file can give you a clue about what caused the crash, such as a specific DLL file or error code. Search the error code online for more specific solutions.
Reinstall the game. As a last resort, uninstall and reinstall Oxygen Not Included. This will ensure you have a completely clean installation. Remember to back up your save files before doing this.

Preventing Future Crashes

Once you’ve fixed the crash, take these steps to prevent it from happening again. Keep your graphics drivers and Windows updated. Avoid using too many mods, especially ones that are not regularly updated. Regularly back up your save files. Also, monitor your system’s temperatures during long play sessions. Finally, try to avoid switching between fullscreen and windowed mode frequently, as this can sometimes trigger a crash.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my game crash on launch?

This is often caused by outdated graphics drivers or a corrupted installation. Try updating your GPU drivers first. If that doesn’t work, verify the game files. If the game still crashes on launch, try running it in compatibility mode for Windows 8.

Will adding more RAM fix my crashes?

Possibly. Oxygen Not Included is a memory-intensive game, especially with large, complex bases. If you see a ‘Out of Memory’ error or your system is using 90%+ RAM while playing, adding more RAM (or closing background apps) can help. However, if the crash is due to a driver issue, more RAM won’t help.

Can mods cause crashes?

Yes, absolutely. Mods, especially those that are outdated or conflict with each other, are a common cause of crashes. Always ensure your mods are up to date with the current game version. If you experience a crash, disable all mods to see if that’s the cause.

Is there a way to fix a corrupted save file?

There is no built-in tool to repair a corrupted save. Your best bet is to load an earlier autosave. The game keeps several autosaves. If you have a manual backup from before the corruption, you can restore that. Otherwise, you may have to start over.

My game crashes when I zoom in or out. What should I do?

This is likely a graphics driver issue. Update your drivers. If the problem persists, try lowering the ‘Material Quality’ setting. Also, try switching between DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 in the game’s launch options (you can set this in Steam’s launch options for the game).

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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