How to Fix the Riven Remake Crash at Launch on PC

Riven, the classic PC title from Cyan Worlds has been now fully remade by the developer for modern systems, and VR. This is easily one of the most immersive VR experiences so far and takes players new and old on a puzzle adventure unlike any other. While the Unreal Engine 5 release looks fantastic, there are a few technical issues players have reported. If you’re running into a crash while trying to launch the Riven Remake, here are a few suggestions to address those.

Fixing the Riven Remake Crash at launch

There can be a number of reasons for why the Riven Remake is crashing, and we have compiled a variety of solutions, and potential workarounds to address this for both VR and non-VR versions.

Disable the Motion Compensation Layer

If you have an older or customized VR headset with independent settings, make sure you disable the “motion compensation layer” in your OpenXR backend settings. This happens regardless of playing in VR or non-VR mode and is an engine bug prevalent in the version of the developer’s Unreal.

Enable the “ViveVR OpenXR SRWorks” for Vive Headsets

If you are using a Vive VR headset, then you need to make sure that the “ViveVR OpenXR SRWorks” option is enabled in Steam VR settings under Install OpenXR API Layers.

Update Your BIOS: Intel 13900K and 14900K Users

If you have an Intel 13900K and 14900K CPU, then you’ve probably run into a few crashes with other Unreal Engine 5 titles as well. This is a known issue that is specific to these processors and has nothing to do with the game itself. There are multiple suggestions outlined by RAD Game Tools for a variety of motherboard manufacturers. For starters, you can try updating your BIOS to the latest version as that has helped a few users get into the game without crashing.

Mac Users: Update to MacOS 14.5

If you are playing on a Mac system, then you need version MacOS version 14.5, and anything below that isn’t supported.

Update Windows

Like other Unreal Engine 5 titles, please ensure that your Windows is updated, especially if you haven’t updated in a while to make sure the OS has the necessary SDKs to run these modern releases.

• Type “Update” in Windows Search and click on Check for Updates
• Here, make sure you are on the latest version, and there aren’t any pending updates or installations

Verify Game Files

It’s possible that some of the game files aren’t in order, which is why it’s a good idea to scan those and download anything corrupted or missing.

• Open Steam, and navigate to your library
• Here, right-click on Riven and select Properties
• In the Installed Files tab, click on Verify integrity of game file

Apart from that, you can try the following generic solutions that could potentially work:

• Make sure you have the latest GPU drivers: NVIDIA, AMD, Intel
• Update DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables
• Switch to your dedicated GPU if you’re playing on a laptop

We hope these suggestions were helpful, and you were able to get around the crashes while playing the Riven Remake. The developers have already multiple patches since launch and are keeping an eye on any potential technical issues and how to address those.