Windows 11's August update is breaking games, and Microsoft is investigating after a studio blamed the update

Key Points:

• The Windows 11 August 2026 update (KB5121003) has been linked to game crashes, unexpected PC reboots, and performance issues such as lower frame rates, affecting titles like ARC Raiders, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals.
• Embark Studios identified the cause as a compatibility problem with the third-party kernel driver inpoutx64.sys, commonly installed by software like Razer utilities, which changed behavior after the update.
• Microsoft has acknowledged the reports and is investigating the issue, urging users to submit feedback via the Feedback Hub, but has not yet confirmed the update as the definitive cause.
• A temporary workaround provided by Embark Studios involves stopping and removing the inpoutx64 driver to prevent crashes, though the exact changes in KB5121003 causing the incompatibility remain unclear.
• Despite the issues, users are advised not to uninstall KB5121003 as it contains critical security patches addressing over 400 vulnerabilities, and removing it may expose PCs to increasing threats, especially amid rising AI-driven attacks.