If Death Stranding: Director’s Cut is crashing to desktop with "An Access Violation (C0000005h)" error, you aren't alone and it happens to Nvidia, AMD, and Intel cards. This is a Windows error that essentially means the game tried to access memory it shouldn't have. On PC, it is usually triggered by unstable graphics drivers, background overlays, Windows exploit protection conflicts, or corrupted game files.

You don't have to apply all fixes, just try them one by one until you get the game running.

Fix 1: Turn Off Dynamic Resolution Scaling (Most Common Trigger)

If you can actually get into the game menu before it crashes, the in-game Dynamic Resolution Scaling setting is notorious for triggering memory access violations during demanding cutscenes or fast movement.

1. Go to Options > Graphics Settings.
2. Find Dynamic Resolution Scaling and turn it Off.
3. Set your Maximum Frame Rate to match your monitor's refresh rate (e.g., 60, 120, or 144 FPS) rather than leaving it uncapped. Uncapped frame rates can spike GPU memory usage and trigger the crash.

Fix 2: Disable Windows Exploit Protection for the Game

Windows 10 and 11 have a security feature called Control Flow Guard (CFG) that sometimes misinterprets how the game handles memory, resulting in a swift C0000005h crash.

1. Press the Windows Key, type Exploit Protection, and open it.
2. Click on the Program settings tab.
3. Click + Add program to customize > Add by program name.
4. Type ds.exe (or the exact name of your Death Stranding executable file) and click Add.
5. Scroll down to Control Flow Guard (CFG). Check the box to Override system settings and toggle the switch to Off.
6. Click Apply and restart your PC.

Fix 3: Disable All In-Game Overlays

Overlay software aggressively hooks into a game's active memory allocations, which directly causes access violations.

• Steam/Epic Games: Disable the in-game overlay in your launcher settings.
• Discord: Go to User Settings > Game Overlay > Turn off "Enable in-game overlay."
• GeForce Experience / AMD Software: Turn off the "In-Game Overlay" or "Radeon Overlay" features.
• MSI Afterburner / RivaTuner Statistics Server: Close these completely before launching the game, as they frequently clash with the Director's Cut engine.

Fix 4: Force a Clean Graphics Driver Install

If your drivers updated recently, the game might be tripping over a corrupt cache or broken configuration files.

1. Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) and the latest drivers for your graphics card (NVIDIA or AMD).
2. Run DDU in Windows Safe Mode to completely wipe your old graphics drivers.
3. Boot back into normal Windows and install the clean drivers.
4. Important: Delete your DirectX Shader Cache. (Type Disk Cleanup in Windows search, select your C: drive, check DirectX Shader Cache, and click OK). This forces the game to build fresh, stable shaders upon launch.

Fix 5: Verify Game Files & Repair Corrupted System Files

A single corrupted texture file can cause a memory crash when the game attempts to load a specific area.

• On Steam: Right-click Death Stranding > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files.
• On Epic Games: Click the three dots under the game tile > Manage > Verify.

Additionally, check if Windows itself is corrupt by opening Command Prompt as Administrator and running:

sfc /scannow

TLDR - Quick Summary Checklist

If you just want to run down the line:

• 1 - Turn off Dynamic Resolution & cap your FPS.
• 2 - Disable Exploit Protection (CFG) for ds.exe.
• 3 - Turn off Steam, Discord, and GeForce overlays.
• 4 - DDU uninstall GPU Drivers and re-install. (Try Clearing your DirectX shader cache 1st)
• 5 - Verify Game Files (I tried this first and it didn't do "jack shit").

Hello Porters,

So I’ve beaten Death Stranding 2, working on getting all achievements, and I just wanted to share this because the difference was grossly noticable.

I literally bought a PS5 DualSense controller just to play this game. I've had a great experience the entire time and used no other peripheral to play the game. Well that changed the other day, I decided to try using my Xbox Series controller wirelessly just so I could kick back and do some couch play, and I didn't want to get up and plug in the 10 ft usb-c cable. Big let down. The downgrade was so massive that I immediately got my fatass up and plugged in the DualSense. The Xbox controller just cannot compare at all.

The fancy haptic vibration on the DualSense was doing so much, that I didn't notice until it was gone. Like, you can actually feel the difference in the ground when you're walking on different terrain, and the adaptive triggers get stiff and give you actual resistance when you’re carrying a heavy load. It makes the game feel so much more immersive.

Just a major heads up though: you have to keep it wired. If you use Bluetooth on PC, the advanced haptics and the triggers don't work, so you just get normal boring rumble.

I'm gonna try the Director's Cut of the first game pretty soon here to experience the game through the controller.

Anyway, if you have a DualSense, definitely plug it in for DS2. It makes the whole world feel so alive, if that makes "sense".

Keep on keeping on!

(P.s. I still love the Xbox controller, and use it for most other games since it is wireless with the dongle).

Hello Porters,

So I’ve beaten Death Stranding 2, working on getting all achievements, and I just wanted to share this because the difference was grossly noticable.

I literally bought a PS5 DualSense controller just to play this game. I've had a great experience the entire time and used no other peripheral to play the game. Well that changed the other day, I decided to try using my Xbox Series controller wirelessly just so I could kick back and do some couch play, and I didn't want to get up and plug in the 10 ft usb-c cable. Big let down. The downgrade was so massive that I immediately got my fatass up and plugged in the DualSense. The Xbox controller just cannot compare at all.

The fancy haptic vibration on the DualSense was doing so much, that I didn't notice until it was gone. Like, you can actually feel the difference in the ground when you're walking on different terrain, and the adaptive triggers get stiff and give you actual resistance when you’re carrying a heavy load. It makes the game feel so much more immersive.

Just a major heads up though: you have to keep it wired. If you use Bluetooth on PC, the advanced haptics and the triggers don't work, so you just get normal boring rumble.

I'm gonna try the Director's Cut of the first game pretty soon here to experience the game through the controller.

Anyway, if you have a DualSense, definitely plug it in for DS2. It makes the whole world feel so alive, if that makes "sense".

Keep on keeping on!

(P.s. I still love the Xbox controller, and use it for most other games since it is wireless with the dongle).