Top 7 Ways to Fix a D3D11-Compatible GPU is Required to Run the Engine Error on Windows 11 (2024)

Trying to play Valorant or any other game the ‘A D3D11-Compatible GPU is Required to Run the Engine’ error prompts on Windows 11? Well, you are not alone. This bothersome error plagues many Windows PC users and prevents the game from launching.

The primary reasons for this error code include an outdated and unsupported GPU, missing or corrupt DirectX files, incorrect GPU selection for gaming, and old GPU drivers. Follow these seven methods to fix ‘D3D11-compatible GPU’ Error in Windows and resume gaming.

1. Terminate the Game Launcher and Restart

Before trying out advanced fixes to resolve the Direct3D 11 game issue, terminate and restart the game launcher. It is common for apps to crash or freeze abruptly and stop working but a restart can fix that. Repeat the following steps:

Step 1: Press the Control + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut to launch the Task Manager.

Step 2: Locate the game launcher application in the list of active processes and right-click on it. Select the End task option.

Step 3: Close the Task Manager window.

Step 4: Open the game and check if you face the same issue.

2. Check Your GPU’s DirectX Version

Currently, DirectX 12 is the latest version supported by not-so-old graphics cards. But if you have a very old PC or laptop with an integrated or discrete GPU that doesn’t support DirectX 11, you will encounter the D3D11-compatible GPU and shader model 5.0 not found error message. Since your hardware doesn’t have these features, you cannot run any game that needs DirectX 11 or a newer version.

To verify this, you can use the DXdiag utility to check the DirectX version supported by your onboard or discrete GPU. If it only supports DirectX 10 or lower versions, you will have to upgrade your GPU to play modern games like Fortnite that have DirectX 11 as a minimum requirement.

3. Run the Game Using the Discrete GPU

If your discrete GPU supports DirectX 11 but you still see the error message, then the games may be using the onboard GPU which doesn’t support DirectX 11. You must force the game to use the discrete GPU instead. Here’s how:

Step 1: Press the Windows + I keyword shortcut to launch the Settings app.

Step 2: Navigate to the Display section. Then click on the Graphics option.

Step 3: Scroll down to the ‘Custom settings for the application’ section. Locate the game in the list and click on the arrow icon.

Step 4: Go to the GPU Preference option and click to expand the drop-down option. Click on the High-Performance option.

Step 5: Close the Settings app.

4. Update DirectX

Outdated or missing DirectX 11 DLL files could be the reason behind the “D3D11-compatible GPU” error. You can fix it by downloading the latest files using the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Download the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer.

Download

Step 2: Double-click on the downloaded file to launch the app.

Step 3: User Account Control will pop up. Click on the Yes button.

Step 4: In the DirectX installer window, click on the radio button next to the ‘I accept the agreement ‘option. Click on the Next button.

Step 5: Uncheck the ‘Install the Bing Bar’ option and click on Next.

Step 6: Wait for the setup to download and install all the files. Click on the Finish button to close the installer.

Step 7: Restart your PC.

5. Repair Visual C++ Redistributables

Games and apps need the Visual C++ Runtime libraries to work on Windows OS. If the existing installation is corrupt, you can repair it without uninstalling the complete package. Repeat the following steps:

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start menu, type appwiz.cpl in the search bar, and press Enter.

Step 2: Find the Visual C++ Redistributable in the list of installed programs. Right-click on it and select the Change option.

Step 3: Click on the Repair button.

Step 4: User Account Control will open. Click on the Yes button.

Step 5: Wait for the utility to repair the Visual C++ Redistributable installation. Once done, click on the Close button.

Step 6: Restart your system.

6. Force the Game To Use DirectX 11

Using a game launcher app like the Epic Games Launcher or Steam, you can manually configure the game to run with DirectX 11. Repeat the following steps to enable DirectX 11 in Epic Games Launcher:

Step 1: Open the Epic Games Launcher and click on the Profile icon. Then click on the Settings option.

Step 2: Scroll down and find the MANAGE GAMES section. Click on the game name to expand its settings.

Step 3: Click on the ‘Additional Command Line Arguments’ checkbox. Type d3d11 in the text box.

Step 4: Go to the top bar and click on Back button. Close the Epic Games Launcher.

Step 5: Restart the game and check if the error code reappears.

7. Update GPU Drivers

If you habitually ignore app and driver updates, it can be the reason behind the DirectX error. GPU manufacturers periodically release drivers to fix existing bugs with old versions and ensure that games run without an issue. So, update the GPU driver using the Device Manager:

Step 1: Right-click on the Start button to open the Power User menu. Select the Device Manager option.

Step 2: Expand the Display adapters section. Right-click on the GPU adapter and select the Update driver option.

Step 3: Click on the ‘Search automatically for drivers’ option. Wait for the tool to download and install the latest GPU drivers.

Step 4: Close the Device Manager and restart your computer.

Resume Gaming on Windows 11

Games and apps need DirectX to communicate with the GPU. To fix the “D3D11-Compatible GPU is Required to Run the Engine” error install the latest GPU drivers and DirectX libraries on your PC. After that switch, to the discrete GPU and force the game to use DirectX 11 by editing the command line arguments in the game launcher.