Bodycam is an Unreal Engine 5 game maintained by two people, and launch problems spike after every big patch. The fix list below comes from the studio’s own moderation team (a pinned Steam guide by Reissad’s content team), ordered from least to most invasive. One of these resolves the overwhelming majority of won’t-launch and crash cases.
Fix 1: Add the -dx11 Launch Option
The single most effective fix for launch crashes:
- Right-click Bodycam in Steam → Properties
- In Launch Options, type:
-dx11 - Launch normally
This forces DirectX 11 instead of 12, sidestepping the DX12 initialization crashes that UE5 titles suffer on some driver/hardware combinations.
Fix 2: Delete the Cache
Corrupted cached files cause both launch failures and weird in-game breakage:
- Press Win+R, run:
%localappdata%\Bodycam\ - Delete the cache folder only; leave configs and saves alone.
- Relaunch; the game rebuilds the cache.
Fix 3: Kill the Overlays
Discord, Steam, GeForce/Radeon overlays: disable them all. The moderator guide credits overlay removal with 20 to 25 FPS gains in some setups, and overlays are a classic UE5 crash source. If the game launches but dies randomly mid-match, start here.
Fix 4: Clean GPU Driver Reinstall
For persistent crashing: a proper clean reinstall with DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) in safe mode, then the latest driver fresh from NVIDIA/AMD. Tedious, and the fix for the cases the easy steps don’t touch.
Fix 5: Windows-Level Tweaks
- Disable fullscreen optimizations on Bodycam.exe (right-click the exe → Properties → Compatibility)
- Verify game files through Steam
- Run as administrator once to rule out permissions
Know This One: The Black Screen Login Bug
If you got a black screen at launch before v0.8’s first patch, that was a Steam login failure presenting silently; patch #1 added a proper error message for it. If you see the login error now, it’s Steam connectivity, not your install: restart Steam first.
Performance rather than crashes? The v0.8 update added DLSS 4.5, FSR 4, XeSS 3, and frame generation; our settings guide covers the performance stack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did v0.8 make stability better or worse? Both, as always: major content plus four rapid patches. The fix list above survived the transition intact.
Is it my anti-virus? Less commonly than folklore suggests, but an exclusion for the install folder is a harmless extra step.
Will the eventual anti-cheat change these fixes? Anti-cheat is officially “well underway”; when it ships, expect a new class of launch quirks and a fresh update to this guide.
Where do I report a crash the fixes don’t solve? The official Discord and Steam forums; the studio’s team actively pins and updates troubleshooting guidance.