Windows 11 24H2 is in danger of being hated by gamers
- Windows 11 24H2 is seriously bad news for action RPG Path of Exile 2
- Bugs cause the game to freeze and eventually require a PC reset
- Assassin’s Creed Origin buyers are also up in arms over 24H2’s issues, check out the game’s bombing on Steam
Windows 11 24H2 has encountered more issues in the gaming space, suggesting that 2025 may not be all that different from last year for PC gamers who have installed the latest update to Microsoft’s operating system.
At least in the early stages of this new year, as there are already reports of major problems with Windows 11 24H2 and a new game – problems that are being exacerbated by a separate development in the form of review bombing of Microsoft and Ubisoft that take place in Steam.
We’ll get back to the reviews later, because the biggest problem here is the new bug that has hit Path of Exile 2, and boy, is it a nasty bug, which according to some reports actually freezes the PC completely.
Windows Latest noted these and described several complaints on Microsoft’s Feedback Hub (and Valve’s Steam forums), noting that loading a new area in Path of Exile 2 essentially makes the game unresponsive in Windows 11 24H2 and requires a restart to solve things.
Others say the action RPG gets stuck on the loading screen and then needs to restart the PC to get the system working again.
There are also several complaints on Reddit, like this one An: “I’ve seen a few reports of performance issues, especially when the game crashes in a loading screen and the PC becomes unresponsive and a reset is required.
“I had no problems with the game until I updated Windows 11 from the 23H2 version to the 24H2 version. Apparently it’s a widespread problem with the latest build of W11 and is causing it in other games as well.
Or indeed this reportor there is another one here – it seems to be a fairly widespread problem, as noted in the comment above.
Microsoft is apparently investigating this bug, because as Windows Latest noted, one message on the Feedback Hub is marked with a “we’re investigating” panel.
Analysis: Path to doom for Windows 11’s gaming reputation?
What can you do if this bothers you? One option for Path of Exile 2 players is to revert to Windows 11 23H2 and exit 24H2, although that’s not exactly ideal (as reverting your system to a previous installation is a big step).
Rather than go that route, another possible solution, as advised in the Reddit threads above, is to disable ‘engine multithreading’ in the game options, which apparently solves the problem completely. However, it does create another problem, which is that ignoring multithreading will seriously slow down your processor’s performance, so you’ll find Path of Exile 2 to be a lot more jittery – but that said, it will (hopefully) be stable (hat tip to Jims-Garage on Reddit for this tip). And that may be preferable to rolling back your PC, as a temporary solution while Microsoft figures out a solution (again – hopefully).
The other possible fudge is achieved via Windows 11’s Task Manager, where you can right-click on Path of Exile 2 (while it’s running) and select ‘Set Affinity’, then disable CPU 4 (hat tip to Embinyu on Reddit for this one) . With any luck, one of these CPU-related fixes could do the trick without destroying the smoothness of the game so much that it becomes unplayable.
At this point, gamers are clearly losing confidence in Windows 11 24H2. There have been too many bugs popping up with specific games, or just general junk affecting PC gamers (including random crashes) and gremlins in the works with various pieces of hardware. It all leaves a bad taste in the mouth, especially for Assassin’s Creed players, as well as other Ubisoft games that have been hit hard by issues with 24H2.
This brings us back to the Steam review bombing we mentioned earlier, which is happening with Assassin’s Creed Origins (as Windows Latest noted). This is because Ubisoft gave it a huge discount (90% off) during the recent Steam sale, which attracted some new buyers – but failed to warn that 24H2 is not playing well with the game.
So if you have Origins installed, your PC will not be able to update to 24H2 due to the presence of the mentioned bugs. If the situation is reversed (you already have 24H2, but not Origins), you’re out of luck. You get to buy the game and install it, and only then will you discover that it’s a disaster on 24H2.
Unsurprisingly, Steam gamers in this boat feel they should have been warned before their purchase about the big gremlins in the works with Origins and 24H2, and that’s completely understandable. As one reviewer put it, “Steam says I played for 1.5 hours, but thanks to Windows the screen hangs for 1.5 hours when starting the game!”
Assassin’s Creed Origins has an all-time rating of ‘very positive’ on Steam, but recent reviews have dropped to ‘mixed’ thanks to the influx of negative feedback from 24H2 gamers.
Is there a risk that this bad feeling will spill over and destroy Windows 11’s reputation as a gaming platform? I believe we are at least close to reality at this point, and Microsoft should really consider stepping up efforts to fix the issues PC gamers are facing with the latest update.