How do I know if my game has a crash loop?

Look for crashes that repeat consistently and lock players out. The defining sign is the game crashing consistently, every launch, or every time the player reaches a certain point, rather than intermittently, since a crash loop repeats because its cause (a persistent bad state) doesn't change. A sign is players reporting they're locked out, can't get into the game or past a point, crashes every time so they can't play at all (often 'won't start' for a startup loop). And a sign is crashes repeating consistently right after install (a startup loop) or after an update (an update introducing a loop, e.g. a save-format change crashing on load). To find it, capture crashes with context (to see the consistently-recurring crash and the persistent bad state it hits) and track per version (to see whether an update introduced the loop). If the game crashes every launch or at a point, players report being locked out, or crashes repeat consistently after install or an update, you have a crash loop. The key signature is consistency: a crash loop recurs every attempt (not intermittently), because the cause, a persistent bad state (a corrupted save, a bad config, an invalid stored state), doesn't change between attempts, so each launch (or each attempt to reach the point) reliably hits the same crash, locking the player out. This distinguishes a crash loop from an intermittent crash (which doesn't recur every time). Capturing the crash (with context revealing the persistent bad state) and per-version tracking (revealing an update-introduced loop) are how you find the loop's cause, so you can break it. Crash loops are high-severity (they lock players out entirely, can't play at all), so they're urgent to find and fix once the signs (consistent crashes, players locked out) appear.

What causes a crash loop?

A persistent bad state combined with the game re-entering it every launch or every attempt. The pattern: the game loads or reaches some state that triggers a crash, but because that state is persistent (it doesn't change between attempts), the game loads the same bad state again on the next launch (or the next attempt to reach the point) and crashes again, repeating indefinitely. What makes it a loop rather than a one-time crash is the persistence: the thing causing the crash doesn't change, so each attempt reliably hits it. Startup crash loops are especially common because startup loads persistent data (saves, configs, settings), and if that data is corrupted or invalid, every launch crashes on it, locking the player out from the start. For example: a corrupted save that crashes the loading code, so every launch (which loads the save) crashes; a bad config the game can't handle, crashing on every startup; an invalid stored state the game reaches and crashes on each time. Crash loops can also be introduced by updates: an update that changes the save format can cause the new code to crash loading old saves (a loop for players with existing saves), or an update with a startup bug can loop on launch. So a crash loop is caused by a persistent bad state that the game keeps re-entering and crashing on: a corrupted save, a bad config, an invalid stored state, that triggers a crash every time the game loads or reaches it, and because the state is persistent (unchanging), the crash recurs every attempt, locking the player out. The persistence is the key, an intermittent bad state would cause occasional crashes, but a persistent one causes a loop (consistent crashes every attempt). To find the cause, capture the crash with context (revealing the persistent bad state it hits, e.g. a corrupted save at startup) and track per version (revealing if an update introduced the loop, e.g. a save-format regression). The fix is to break the loop by handling the persistent bad state: validate the data on load and recover from or reset it (rather than crashing on it every time), and harden the startup/loading path so a bad state is handled gracefully rather than looping. So crash loops come from a persistent bad state the game keeps crashing on, and breaking the loop means handling that bad state (validation, recovery, reset) so the game doesn't keep re-entering and crashing on it.

How do I fix a crash loop?

Break the cycle by handling the persistent bad state the game keeps crashing on, so it doesn't keep re-entering and crashing. First, identify the persistent bad state causing the loop: capture the crash with context (the stack trace and breadcrumbs show where it crashes, e.g. loading a save at startup) and determine what persistent state triggers it (a corrupted save, a bad config, an invalid stored value), per-version tracking reveals if an update introduced the loop (e.g. a save-format change crashing on old saves). Then break the loop by handling the bad state: validate the persistent data on load (check it's well-formed before using it), and when you detect a bad state, recover from or reset it (fall back to a default, repair it, or reset to a safe state) rather than crashing on it, so the game can get past the bad state instead of looping on it. Harden the startup/loading path so a bad state is handled gracefully: for a startup loop, ensure the boot path can handle missing, corrupted, or invalid data (saves, configs) without crashing, so a bad state doesn't crash every launch. For an update-introduced loop (e.g. a save-format change), fix the loading code to handle old saves (migration) or roll back the update, and ensure existing players' saves don't loop. Critically, also free already-looped players: a crash loop locks out players whose persistent state is bad (e.g. a corrupted save), so your fix must handle their bad state (so they can get in), not just prevent new loops, since looped players are locked out until the bad state is handled. This means the fix should, on the next launch, detect and recover from the bad state (so the previously-looping player gets past it) rather than just preventing the state from occurring for new players. Get the fix out fast (a hotfix), since a crash loop locks players out entirely, so every looped player can't play until fixed. After shipping, verify the loop is broken (per-version tracking confirms the crash stops, and locked-out players can get in). So you fix a crash loop by identifying the persistent bad state causing it (crash context, per-version), breaking the loop by handling that state (validate, recover, reset, so the game doesn't keep crashing on it), hardening the path (startup/loading handles bad states gracefully), freeing already-looped players (handle their bad state so they can get in), and shipping fast (since the loop locks players out). The key is that a crash loop recurs because of a persistent bad state, so the fix is to handle that state, validate and recover from it rather than crashing on it, which breaks the cycle and lets the game (and looped players) get past it. Because crash loops lock players out entirely (high-severity), they're urgent, and because they often involve persistent data (saves, configs), the fix must free already-affected players by handling their bad state, not just prevent new loops.

Signs Your Game Has a Crash Loop

Quick answer: Watch for the game crashing every launch or at a point, players locked out and unable to get in, crashes repeating consistently, and complaints right after install or an update. A crash loop locks players out entirely.

A crash loop, the game crashing every time the player tries to launch or reach a point, locks the player out completely. Here are the signs your game has a crash loop.

The Game Crashing Every Launch or at a Point

The defining sign is the game crashing consistently, every launch, or every time the player reaches a certain point, rather than intermittently. A crash loop repeats because its cause (a persistent bad state) doesn't change, so the same crash recurs every attempt, locking the player out.

Bugnet captures crashes with context, so the consistently-recurring crash is identifiable. The game crashing every launch or at a point is the defining sign of a crash loop, and capturing the crash (with context showing the persistent bad state it hits, e.g. a corrupted save at startup) is how you find the loop's cause, since the loop recurs because the persistent state triggering it doesn't change.

Players Locked Out and Unable to Get In

A sign is players reporting they're locked out, can't get into the game, can't get past a point, crashes every time so they can't play at all. A crash loop locks players out (they can't get past the recurring crash), so it generates urgent 'can't play at all' complaints, often 'won't start' for a startup loop.

Bugnet captures crashes including startup crashes, so lock-out loops are identifiable. Players locked out and unable to get in is a sign of a crash loop, and capturing the crash (especially startup crashes, since startup loops lock players out from the start) is how you find and fix the loop, locking players out entirely is what makes crash loops so damaging and urgent.

Crashes Repeating Consistently After Install or an Update

A sign is crashes repeating consistently right after install (a startup loop on first launch) or after an update (an update introducing a loop, e.g. a save-format change crashing on load). A wave of 'can't get in' crashes after release points at a crash loop the install or update triggered.

Bugnet tracks crashes per version, so a crash loop after an update is identifiable. Crashes repeating consistently after install or an update are a sign of a crash loop, and per-version tracking reveals whether an update introduced it (a loop after an update, e.g. a save-format regression crashing on load, locks out players who were fine before), so you can fix or roll back the update causing the loop.

Watch for the game crashing every launch or at a point, players locked out and unable to get in, crashes repeating consistently, and complaints right after install or an update. A crash loop locks players out entirely.