How do I fix a crash loop?

Capture what's triggering the repeated crash (usually a persistent bad state, corrupt save, or startup condition), fix the cause, add recovery so already-affected players can escape the bad state, and verify, the recurring trigger is the key. A crash loop, the game crashing repeatedly so the player can't get past it, happens because something persistent triggers the crash every time, so it recurs on each launch or attempt. Fixing it means finding and addressing that persistent trigger. First, capture the trigger: capture the crash with full context (stack trace, breadcrumbs, state, version), which reveals what's causing the repeated crash, commonly a bad saved state (corrupt or invalid save data that crashes on load every time), a startup condition (something at launch that crashes before the player can do anything), or a stored bad value (a setting or cached state that triggers the crash repeatedly). The recurrence points to something persistent, not a transient condition. Second, fix the cause: address the trigger so it stops crashing (fix the code that crashes on the bad state, handle the condition gracefully). Third, crucially, add state recovery: if a bad state (corrupt save, stored value) drives the loop, fixing the code may not free already-affected players whose state is still bad, so add a way to detect and repair or reset the bad state (so affected players escape the loop), otherwise they stay stuck even after the code fix. Fourth, verify per version that the loop is broken (affected players getting past it). So you fix a crash loop by capturing the recurring trigger, fixing the cause, adding state recovery for affected players, and verifying. Bugnet captures the crash with the context revealing the persistent trigger (bad state, startup condition), so you can find what's looping, fix it, recover affected players, and confirm per version the loop is broken, freeing players from a crash loop that otherwise locks them out entirely.

Why does my game keep crashing on startup?

Because something at startup crashes every time, often a corrupt save or stored state loaded at launch, a device/OS-specific startup issue, or an initialization bug, the recurrence means the trigger is persistent. A game that keeps crashing on startup is in a crash loop at launch: each time the player opens it, the same startup crash occurs, so they can't get into the game. The recurrence tells you the trigger is persistent (present every launch), and the common causes are: a corrupt or invalid save/state loaded at startup (the game reads saved data or state on launch, and if it's corrupt or in an unexpected form, it crashes, every time, since the bad data persists), a device or OS-specific startup issue (the game crashes at launch on particular hardware or OS versions, consistently for those players), an initialization bug (something in the startup sequence, loading a resource, setting up a system, fails consistently under some condition), or a bad configuration/cached value (a stored setting that triggers a crash on load). The persistence is the clue: a transient issue wouldn't recur every launch, so a consistent startup crash points to a persistent cause (bad stored data, a device condition, an init bug). To find which, capture the startup crash with full context (stack trace showing where in startup it crashes, device/OS, version, and what state it's loading). So your game keeps crashing on startup because a persistent trigger, often corrupt saved state, a device/OS issue, or an init bug, crashes the launch sequence every time. Bugnet captures startup crashes with stack trace, device, OS, version, and context, so you can see where in startup it crashes and what triggers it (the bad state, the device, the init step), revealing the persistent cause of the startup crash loop, so you can fix it, add recovery for affected players (e.g., handling the corrupt save), and verify players can launch again.

How do I recover players stuck in a crash loop?

Add code that detects and repairs or safely resets the bad state causing the loop, so affected players escape it, since fixing the crash code alone may leave players whose persistent bad state still triggers the crash. A crash loop is often driven by a persistent bad state (corrupt save, bad stored value, invalid cached data), and the problem is that fixing the code that crashes on that state doesn't necessarily free players already in the bad state, their data is still bad, and if your fix doesn't handle it, they may still crash (or be unable to recover their progress). So recovering stuck players requires actively handling the bad state. Options: detect and repair (add code that recognizes the bad state on load and repairs it to a valid form, so affected players load successfully, ideal when the data can be salvaged), safe reset (if repair isn't possible, detect the bad state and reset it to a safe default, e.g., a fresh state or a backup, so the player can use the game again, though they may lose some progress, better than being stuck), fall back to backup (if you keep save backups, load a recent good backup when the current state is bad), or graceful handling (catch the error from the bad state and handle it without crashing, so the player gets past it). The key is that your fix must account for players already in the bad state, not just prevent new players from entering it, detecting and handling the existing bad state on load is what frees the stuck players. So you recover players stuck in a crash loop by adding code that detects and repairs, resets, or falls back from the bad state causing the loop, freeing already-affected players, not just fixing the crash for new ones. Bugnet captures the context showing the bad state driving the loop (so you know what to detect and handle) and tracks per version that affected players are freed (the loop crashes stopping for them), so you can confirm your recovery actually freed the stuck players, not just prevented new loops, which is what fully resolves a crash loop driven by persistent bad state.

What to Do When Your Game Is Stuck in a Crash Loop

Quick answer: Capture the crash with full context to find what's triggering the repeated crash (often a bad state, corrupt save, or startup issue), fix the cause, add a way to recover from the bad state, and verify per version.

A crash loop, where the game crashes repeatedly so players can't get past it, is among the worst failures, the player can't even use the game. Finding the recurring trigger is urgent. Here is what to do when your game is stuck in a crash loop.

Capture What's Triggering the Repeated Crash

A crash loop crashes the same way every time, so something persistent is triggering it: a bad saved state, a corrupt file, a startup condition that recurs every launch. Capture the crash with full context, the stack trace, breadcrumbs, and state, to find the recurring trigger that makes it crash again and again.

Bugnet captures crashes with stack trace, device, version, and breadcrumbs, so you can see what's triggering the repeated crash. For a crash loop, the captured context reveals the persistent cause, the bad state or startup condition that recurs, which is what you need to break the loop, rather than guessing why players keep crashing.

Fix the Cause and Add State Recovery

Fix the recurring trigger, and crucially, add a way to recover from the bad state: if a corrupt save or bad state causes the loop, the fix must also let already-affected players escape it (detect and repair the state, reset safely), or they stay stuck in the loop even after you fix the code.

Bugnet's captured context reveals whether a bad state (a save, a stored value) drives the loop, so you know to add recovery for it. Fixing the code stops new loops, but the captured evidence showing a persistent bad state tells you affected players need a recovery path too, so you address both and free players already stuck in the loop.

Verify the Loop Is Broken

Verify per version that the crash loop is broken, the repeated crashes stopping and players getting past the point. Since a crash loop locks players out entirely, confirming in the field that affected players can now use the game (not just that new players are fine) is essential.

Bugnet tracks crashes per version, so after fixing you can confirm the crash loop stopped, the repeated crashes gone and players past the previously-looping point. This verifies both the code fix and the state recovery worked, players freed from the loop in the field data, which matters greatly since a crash loop otherwise locks players out of the game entirely.

When your game is stuck in a crash loop, capture what's triggering the repeated crash (often a bad state or startup condition), fix the cause, add recovery so affected players escape the bad state, and verify per version. A crash loop locks players out, so finding the recurring trigger is urgent.