I love PC gaming. But at the same time, I really hate PC gaming. My recent woes getting Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to stop crashing on my PC is the perfect example of why consoles should always have a place. And now there's another one.
It appears that NVIDIA's latest driver has suddenly broken some older Microsoft games on PC, namely Forza Horizon 3, Forza Motorsport 6 Apex, and Forza Motorsport 7, as reported by VideoCardz.
The trouble with older games is that they're not necessarily going to get fixed, either. Be it a driver problem, or something in those games that's conflicting with something the newer driver does. There is a workaround, which while not ideal, will at least get you back playing your classic Forza.
The report first surfaced in NVIDIA's forums, suggesting trying to play these titles with the new driver presents an AP204 error, showing the GPU as not compatible. The specific complaint was first raised regarding an NVIDIA RTX 50 series GPU.
Following up, one of NVIDIA's staff confirmed the bug, but also that it may not be guaranteed to get fixed. The workaround is to roll back to the 576.88 NVIDIA driver, at least for now, as it'll get you playing again.
As described in the NVIDIA response, if the game is doing something out of NVIDIA's control that isn't compatible with newer drivers, there's potentially nothing that can be done. That would fall on Microsoft, and it's not exactly going to be on the priority list.
Once again, it looks like the best way to keep playing the older games in your library is on a console. I'll admit it's been a minute since I played any of these titles, but I'm quite sure I could fire up my Xbox console and jump right in without any issues.
It speaks more to the constant, wider threat that with PC gaming, that stuff can break at a moment's notice. There are simply more variables.
The experience can, and should, be better overall, but not when you have to spend time dealing with issues and frustration. Anyway, rant over. If you're affected, roll back to the older driver, and you should be good to go.
FAQ
How do you roll back to an older NVIDIA driver?
The easiest thing to do is to use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to first completely remove all trace of the current driver.
Then it's a case of going to the NVIDIA website and downloading the older one, and installing it fresh.
For the specific issue affecting older Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport games, driver 576.88 seems to be the newest one that will allow you to play again.
What exactly broke with the new NVIDIA driver?
The latest GeForce driver update causes older Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport games to crash or fail to launch, leaving players unable to access their titles.
Which games are affected?
Reports specifically mention Forza Horizon 3, Forza Horizon 4, and older Forza Motorsport entries. Newer releases like Forza Horizon 5 appear unaffected
Which driver version is causing the issue?
The bug is tied to NVIDIA’s most recent Game Ready driver (November 2025 release). Rolling back to an earlier driver resolves the problem.
Is this a Windows 11 issue or just NVIDIA?
It’s an NVIDIA driver compatibility problem, not a Windows 11 bug. The games run normally once the driver is reverted.
Should I avoid updating drivers for now?
If you regularly play older Forza titles, yes — hold off until NVIDIA releases a patched driver. Otherwise, the update is safe for most other games.
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