14 DAY TRIAL // A bug potentially causing Windows 10 to crash with a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) when running certain games with anti-cheat software might remain unresolved for some titles when the public rollout begins.
Microsoft first acknowledged the issue in Windows 10 preview builds earlier this year, revealing that some devices could get a GSOD (Green Screen of Death and the sibling of Blue Screen of Death in the Windows Insider program) when running certain games with anti-cheat software.
The bigger problem, however, was that Microsoft never disclosed the games that might be impacted by the bug, and while users discovered the hard way that the BattlEye anti-cheat software used in Fortnite was affected, others caused fatal crashes too.
Earlier this week, this anti-cheat software bug was finally resolved, and Microsoft lifted an upgrade block for devices that might have been impacted.
More concerning is that because the bug is related to third-party software, only the companies that Microsoft worked with released fixes, while others are yet to do so. In other words, while crashes no longer occur when running some games, they still happen when launching others.
“The block is being removed because the majority of games impacted by the issue have released updates for their games. So most gamers will no longer be impacted,” Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager on the Windows Insider Program Team, said.
Risky approach
When asked about what happens with other games that didn’t receive the fix, LeBlanc explained that a crash is indeed possible.
“If they haven't been fixed. A lot of this deals with third parties and I cannot speak on their behalf. The team on our side has told me a.) the majority of games that would hit this issue have issued a fix and b.) the block has been removed,” he explained.
Without a doubt, this is a very risky approach, as most users would just believe that the crash is caused by Windows itself and not by third-party software. And after the October 2018 Update fiasco, Microsoft certainly does not afford such a fiasco.
One approach that Microsoft could embrace in order to avoid shipping a Windows 10 feature update that could crash when launching certain games is to block the update from being offered to devices running unsupported titles. But then again, this involves Microsoft flagging all affected games and alerting users of what exactly is happening, an approach that the company seems to be avoiding right now.