This guide is to help players who are having issues running the game.
Important notes:
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War requires a DirectX 12 compatible system to run.
- Windows 8 does not support DirectX 12.
- Windows 10 players need to be on version 1803 at a minimum (released in April 2018). Your Windows 10 version can be updated via regular updates. The latest service pack is still recommended.
Learn more about Windows 10 compatibility for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Troubleshooting tips
Battle.net
- Try doing a Scan and Repair: Repairing Blizzard Games
- Disable any services or applications that may interfere with the game: Closing Background Applications
Steam
For issues with antivirus software:
- If you are running antivirus software, we recommend adding the entire Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War game folder to your antivirus exception list.
- For Comodo users: Select Settings → Advanced Protection → Miscellaneous → Detect Shell Code Injections [Exclusion] and add the entire Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War game folder to the exclusion list.
- For BullGuard users: Select Settings → Main and uncheck Self protection.
If issues still persist:
- If you are using Razer Synapse, make sure to update to the latest driver.
- Perform a clean boot and only start up with the bare minimum programs: How to perform a clean boot in Windows
- If the game doesn't start and you have disabled ASLR on Windows, re-enable it.
- Disable NZXT CAM, MSI Afterburner, and Razer Cortex, as these can conflict with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Shader Preloading
Shader Preloading is an important part of the first boot process. You're warned in-game to let the Shader Preloading process complete before starting any game mode. Navigating out of the Main Menu will cause the preloading to stop and can lead to performance issues.
Known issues
- The Settings menu cannot be opened in-game until a match starts.
- The Mouse Wheel Input Delay defaults at 0, which is lower than intended.
- Workaround: You can adjust the value for the mouse wheel delay input in Settings. The recommended default value is 80.
- When many audio devices are available, it is not possible to view or select the last one from the dropdown list.
- Workaround: These audio devices can be selected using the keyboard.
- Some players on AMD GPUs may experience frequent packet burst lag spikes during gameplay.
- Workaround: Lowering the Graphics Settings can alleviate the severity of these spikes.
