trying to play a game

kan k 0 Reputation points
2026-09-20T00:50:21.8066667+00:00

I installed Sea of Thieves on my Windows Surface Pro, and after installing and running the game, it tries to load but keeps crashing and says that the video driver has failed. When I go to the troubleshooting page, I get nowhere because it won't load the help page. I looked at my updates and didn't see any failed ones on my drivers page. I made sure I had Windows 11, and everything was up to date. I recently also got Drift Legends 2, and that game works just fine. Thank you.

Surface | Surface Pro | Install and update
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  1. Hendrix-V 19,035 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-20T07:24:27.1966667+00:00

    Hi kan k,

    Since the error specifically mentions "video driver has failed" and other games are working normally, this may be related to how Sea of Thieves is interacting with the graphics driver rather than a general Windows issue.

    You may want to try the following checks:

    1, Check your Surface model and graphics hardware

    • Press Windows + X > Device Manager
    • Expand Display adapters
    • Note the GPU model and compare it with the game's current requirements.

    2, Perform a clean graphics driver reinstall

    • In Device Manager, right-click your display adapter and select Uninstall device.
    • Restart the device.
    • Install the latest graphics driver available for your specific Surface model from Microsoft's Surface support resources.

    3, Review crash details

    • Open Reliability Monitor by searching for it from the Start menu.
    • Look for any red X entries that correspond to the Sea of Thieves crash and check whether the graphics driver is listed as the faulting component.

    4, Reduce in-game graphics settings

    • If the game launches far enough to access settings, lower graphics quality and disable any advanced visual features before testing again.

    If the issue continues, it would be helpful to share:

    • Your exact Surface model
    • The graphics adapter shown in Device Manager
    • Any error details shown in Reliability Monitor or Event Viewer

    That information can help determine whether this is a driver compatibility issue, a game-specific graphics problem, or a hardware requirement limitation.

    Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-20T00:50:34.08+00:00

    Since Windows 11 is already up to date and another game runs normally, start with the app-specific fixes for the game and Microsoft Store components:

    1. Close and reopen the game.
    2. Update Microsoft Store:
      • Open Start > Microsoft Store.
      • Select Library > Get updates.
      • Let any Store updates install automatically.
    3. Reinstall the game from Microsoft Store:
      • Open Microsoft Store.
      • Select Library.
      • Find Sea of Thieves and reinstall it.
    4. Repair or reset the app if that option is available in Windows.
    5. On Surface, also check Surface-specific updates:
      • Open the Surface app.
      • Expand Help & support.
      • Select Check for updates to open Windows Update and install available updates.
    6. If Windows stops responding only when using this game, update or reinstall the app, then contact the app publisher from Microsoft Store:
      • Open Microsoft Store.
      • Search for the app and open its page.
      • Scroll to Additional information.
      • Under Learn more, select the support link for the app.

    If the issue is limited to Sea of Thieves while other games such as Drift Legends 2 work, that points more to a problem with that specific app or its Store installation than to a general Windows failure.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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