Why does my game crash on startup only for some players?

Because startup crashes are often device or config-specific: a missing GPU feature, an OS version quirk, a corrupt config or save on the player's machine, or an init-order issue that only triggers on certain hardware. Your machine launches fine, but a segment of players hit a configuration that fails. Capturing crashes tagged by device reveals which configurations crash on startup, which is invisible from your own successful launches.

How do I find what's crashing my game on startup?

Capture crashes from the field, startup crashes especially go unreported since the player never gets in to describe anything, then read the stack trace (which points to where in the launch sequence it fails, like config loading or system init) and the device/version context (which reveals which configurations are affected). Grouping occurrences shows the shared pattern, which usually points straight at the cause, often a config, save, or device-specific problem.

What Causes Crashes on Startup?

Quick answer: Startup crashes usually come from problems in the launch sequence, failed initialization, missing or corrupt config and save files, missing assets, or device-specific issues, hit before the player even gets in.

A crash on startup is among the worst kinds, the player can't even get into your game, and they're especially likely to leave a bad review without reporting. They almost always trace to problems early in the launch sequence. Here's what causes startup crashes.

Common Causes in the Launch Sequence

Startup crashes happen during initialization, the phase where your game loads config, sets up systems, and prepares the first scene, so their causes cluster there.

Failed initialization, a system that fails to set up (graphics, audio, save system) and crashes the boot
Missing or corrupt config files, the game can't read a setting it expects and crashes
Corrupt or incompatible save files, loading a save that's damaged or from an old version
Missing or failed asset loads, an asset the startup needs isn't found or fails to load
Init-order bugs, code that runs before something it depends on is ready
Device or OS-specific issues, a feature or capability missing on certain hardware

Because these all happen before the player reaches the game, a startup crash means the player gets nothing, which is why they're so damaging and worth finding fast.

Why Startup Crashes Often Go Unreported

A player who can't launch your game has the worst possible first experience, and they're the least likely to report it, they have nothing to describe and may assume the game is simply broken. So startup crashes can be widespread while you remain completely unaware.

Bugnet captures crashes from the field automatically, including ones during startup, so you see them whether or not the player reports. Since your own launches succeeding tells you nothing about players' failing, capturing field crashes is the only way to know a startup crash exists.

Finding the Cause

Startup crashes are often device or config-specific, a missing feature on certain hardware, a corrupt config, an init-order issue on some OS versions. The stack trace pointing to early initialization, plus the device and version context, reveals which configurations fail and why.

Bugnet captures stack traces and tags crashes by device, OS, and version, so a startup crash that only hits certain hardware stands out as a cluster. Finding the cause means reading where in the launch sequence the trace points and which devices are affected, which usually points straight at the problem.

Startup crashes come from launch-sequence problems, failed init, corrupt config or saves, missing assets, init-order bugs, device-specific issues. They go unreported, so capture them and read where the trace points.