Battlefield 6 and other anti-cheat games crash seconds after launch on Windows 11 KB5124010

This update is optional, so plenty of crashing PCs do not have it and need a different answer entirely.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2

1. Open Start, then Settings, then Windows Update, then Update history. Look for KB5124010 with an install date of 22 September 2026 or later.
2. Check your build: press Windows + R, type winver and press Enter. The reported builds are 26100.9550 on Windows 11 24H2 and 26200.9550 on 25H2.

   winver

3. Check the pattern. Reports describe a crash to desktop within roughly 20-30 seconds of launch, on every attempt, in a game that uses anti-cheat. A crash that happens minutes in, or only in one map, is unlikely to be this.
4. Confirm the scope: if games without anti-cheat run fine on the same machine, that fits. If everything crashes, look at drivers or hardware instead.
5. If KB5124010 is not in your update history, stop here - this page is not your problem.

Source: Microsoft, TechSpot, TweakTown

KB5124010 is optional, so skipping it costs nothing in security terms.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2

1. In Settings, then Windows Update, leave the optional preview update alone - it installs only if you choose "Download and install" under optional updates, or fetch it from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
2. Keep taking normal monthly security updates. September's security fixes were KB5124008 on 8 September and the out-of-band KB5129195 on 14 September, both separate from this preview.
3. Wait for October's monthly update, which will include the same changes once they have had another month of testing.

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft

A game-side or anti-cheat-side patch solves this without touching Windows, and costs nothing to check.

Applies to: Games using anti-cheat on Windows 11

1. Let the game update fully in its launcher, then relaunch. Anti-cheat components often update separately from the game build.
2. Check the game's own news or announcements for a post about the Windows update. Team17 acknowledged the WARDOGS crashes publicly, and other publishers may do the same.
3. Note that as of 23 September 2026 Team17's stated position was that there was no immediate remedy other than removing the update - so if nothing has changed since, expect to move on to the next step.

Source: TechSpot

This is the step players across two separate games report as restoring normal play.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.9550, Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.9550

1. Open Start, then Settings, then Windows Update. Under More options select Update history, then under Related settings select Uninstall updates. This is Microsoft's documented route.
2. Find the entry for KB5124010 and check the date reads 22 September 2026 before you touch it - you are removing that specific preview update, not September's security update.
3. Select it, choose Uninstall, and restart when prompted.
4. Relaunch the game and confirm it survives past the first minute.
5. Watch for it coming back. Microsoft delivers this one through optional updates and the Update Catalog, so on a normal PC it should not reinstall unless you pick it again. On a PC enrolled in the Windows Insider program it can keep reinstalling itself until you unenroll - if the crashes return after a clean removal, check your Insider status first.
6. Treat this as temporary either way. The changes in KB5124010 reach everyone in October's cumulative update, so if the conflict is still unresolved by then, expect it to come back with that update rather than staying away for good.

Reported to work by 4 users; not confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Steam Community, TechSpot, TweakTown, The FPS Review