9 Fixes For Dx11 Feature Level 10.0 Is Required To Run The Engine

DX11 or DirectX 11 is an API or application programming interface that handles multimedia tasks on Microsoft Windows environments.

The software is stable; however, it sometimes glitches and causes errors like the “DX11 feature level 10.0 is required to run the engine” error on your system. The error appears when your system does not have the appropriate Direct3D Hardware Feature Level required for feature games such as ARK, Fortnite, Valorant, PUBG, etc.

What is DX11 Feature Level 10.0?

DirectX 11 is the application programming interface (API), the latest generation of APIs that can handle the relationship between multimedia hardware such as PS, graphics card, and sound cards.

You must keep the software updated with Windows to prevent unnecessary errors that affect your gaming experience.

You should also check that the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) you have in your system meets the requirements for running the application.

Why am I getting the “DX11 feature level 10.0 is required to run the engine” error?

There could be thousands of reasons you are getting the “DX11 feature level 10.0 is required run the engine” error on your PC. The general cause is that your system doesn’t fulfill the required Direct3D hardware feature level, and hence the game isn’t able to utilize it.

It is also possible to have an outdated graphics card driver, outdated OS, or an incompatible GPU.

In this guide, we will be dedicating our resources to helping you find the best solution to remedy the “DX11 feature level 10.0 is required to run the engine” error.

Solutions To Fix the DX11 Feature Level 10.0 Is Required Run the Engine Error?

Here is a list of fixes that you can use to fix the “DX11 feature level 10.0 is required to run the engine” error.

1. Restart Your Computer and the Game
2. Install the latest patch
3. Update your graphics card driver
4. Install the latest DirectX
5. Update Windows
6. Running the application with the dedicated GPU
7. Repairing the DirectX runtime environment
8. Installing the Windows platform update KB2670838 (Windows 7 only)
9. Install Any Updates to the Game
10. Repair DirectX

Fix 1: Restart Your Computer and the Game

Before you go ahead with this or any other mentioned fix, restart your computer and check if the error is resolved. Most of the time, it will work if there is no deeper underlying issue.

Fix 2: Install the latest patch

If restarting didn’t fix the issue, you may not have the latest patch installed for your game. Game developers keep launching new patches for the game whether you stream online or use the app version.

Updating your game with the latest patch can help you fix some issues, and probably the “DX11 feature level 10.0 is required to run the engine” error on your system.

Fix 3: Update your graphics card driver

We all know that games require graphic cards (either integrated or dedicated) to run smoothly and give you the best gaming experience.

However, sometimes these graphic cards aren’t updated and cause errors such as the “DX11 feature level 10.0 is required run the engine” error. You can update the graphic card driver in your system to fix the problem.

A graphic card driver can be updated either manually or automatically. If you know what kind of graphic card driver is installed in your system and have the technical know-how to download the most compatible version, you should go with the manual option.

The graphic card you install must be compatible with your system; otherwise, it will generate new problems. Many party applications such as Driver Easy and DriverFix can simplify this process of updating the drivers without any hassle.

The software will scan your system and find the correct drivers. It will save you a lot of effort in identifying the perfect match for a graphic driver in your system and remove the risk of installing the wrong driver.

Driver Easy offers two versions for its software: FREE and Pro. The Pro version offers ease of updating and a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can use the software by following the below steps:

Step 1. Go to the Driver Easy website and download the software.

Step 2. Please install the application and run it. Next, click on the Scan Now button on the home screen to allow the software to scan the system for all the drivers that require an update.

Step 3. A list of all the available driver updates will be shown to you, along with an Update button next to them. You can either update the drivers one by one or click on Update All to update all the drivers. The Update All button is available only for Pro users of the application.

Step 4. Restart your computer and check if you can play the game without any interruptions.

If you don’t wish to go with the third-party option, you can manually update the graphics card driver by navigating to the manufacturer’s website and downloading it from there.

Do you have NVIDIA cards?

Users with NVIDIA GeForce dedicated graphics can update their driver using two methods.

1. Using GeForce Experience

You can download GeForce Experience (here) on your computer and allow the software to automatically identify the GPU in your computer and install the appropriate driver for it. It will spare you from manually searching for the latest driver and installing it.

2. Manually

The GeForce Experience software is known to glitch from time to time and might not work perfectly with a few motherboard models. If you are facing any errors with the GeForce Experience software, here’s how you can download the latest graphics card driver.

Step 1. Navigate to the Nvidia official download page and enter the details such as Product Type, Product Series, and Product. Next, choose the operating system and the language and click on the Search button.

You can also click on the Graphics Driver button given under Option 2 on the same page. It will automatically scan your system’s requirements and download the driver most appropriate for your computer. However, you will also need to download the latest Java version for the automatic search to work.

Step 2. After clicking on the Search button, you can see the recommended Nvidia driver. Download and install it.

 Step 3. Allow the PC to restart. If it doesn’t restart automatically, restart manually once the process is completed.

Do you have ATI Graphics Cards?

AMD offers a gaming utility called Gaming Evolved (here) that is equivalent to GeForce Experience. It can help you automatically update the graphics card drivers and keep the system updated with its latest version.

Gaming Evolved software will help you optimize your games by automatically changing the graphics settings to provide you with the best possible gaming experience that your computer specifications allow.

However, you can also install the driver manually by following the below steps:

Step 1. Go to the AMD official download page.

Step 2. Enter the details about your system and graphic card, such as product type, model, and product family, under the Manually Select Driver section. Also, choose the operating system type and then click on the Display Results button.

Alternatively, you can click on the Download Now button to not take any chances while downloading the driver, especially if you are not confirmed about the specs. It will automatically detect and install the required driver and another ATI utility to scan your system and download the latest driver.

Step 3. Once the graphics driver is installed, restart your computer if it doesn’t restart automatically.

Do you have integrated Intel Graphics Cards?

If your system has an integrated graphics card that isn’t updated using ATI or the device manager in your computer, you can download it manually from Intel’s download center (here).

Fix 4: Install the latest DirectX

Usually, Windows comes with the latest DirectX version. However, you may have an older version of Windows and DirectX while your game requires the latest version.

Before we share how you can update the DirectX version and feature level, let us first show how to check the version and feature level on your computer.

Step 1. Simultaneously press the Windows icon key and R key to open the run dialog box.

Step 2. In the box next to Open: label type dxdiag. Click the OK button.

Step 3. Under the Systems tab in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window, check the version for DirectX.

Step 4. Move to the Display tab under the Drivers section, and you can see the Feature Levels for the DirectX version.

Step 5. Under the DirectX Features section in the Display tab, ensure that all the DirectDraw Acceleration, Direct3D Acceleration, and AGP Texture Acceleration are enabled.

Update DirectX version and Feature Level

DirectX version

Windows update for Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 8 come with the latest DirectX version, so there is no need for you to update it manually.

Users with Windows XP, Windows 7, or Windows Vista need to install an update package for installing the DirectX version in their system.

Once you have installed the Windows update or the update package, restart your computer and check if the DirectX error is resolved.

Feature Levels

Once you know the feature level for DirectX that your graphics card driver requires, you can check whether that level is available in your system or not.

If they don’t meet the requirements or are blank, it could be for two reasons:

1. The graphics card you have doesn’t support the required feature level, and you need to contact the graphics card manufacturer or get a new graphics card with support for feature level 10.0.

2. It’s possible that the graphic card driver you have is missing or outdated or is malfunctioning. You can update it by following the previous fix.

Fix 5: Update Windows

The DirectX 11 error can also occur when you don’t have the latest Windows update installed on your computer. Windows updates come with DirectX 11 and can help you fix DX11 feature level 10.0 is required run the engine error.

Step 1. Simultaneously press Windows, and I key to open the Settings app.

Step 2. Please navigate to the Windows Update section and click on the Check for Updates button on the right side of the window.

Step 3. Download and install any available updates, and then restart your computer.

Fix 6: Running the application with the dedicated GPU

Most modern computers and laptops come with dual graphic cards, dedicated and integrated. The integrated graphics card is integrated with the processor and is the onboard graphics adapter, while the other one is a dedicated graphics card unit that is more advanced.

For a more immersive experience in the game, you should switch from integrated graphics to dedicated graphics with more features.

Step 1. Right-click on the start menu and go to the Device Manager option.

Step 2. Please navigate to the Display Adapters section and expand it. Right-click on the built-in graphic card and click on the Disable option.

Step 3. Allows Windows to switch to the dedicated graphic card unit automatically. Your screen will go black for a while. That’s okay.

Step 4. You can re-enable the integrated graphics card anytime you want by following steps 1 and 2 and choosing the enable option instead of disabling it.

Once you have switched to a dedicated graphics card unit, check if the “DX11 feature level 10.0 is required to run the engine” error still exists. If yes, follow the below fixes.

Fix 7: Repairing the DirectX runtime environment

The DirectX package comes with a host of APIs which rarely break. However, it could happen. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to uninstall DirectX effectively from your system.

You can update or repair DirectX runtime 11.3 and 12 and other feature levels by updating Windows. However, there are no standalone packages for DirectX offered by Windows.

You can use DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer and DirectX Redist (June 2010) to repair all DirectX files except DX12.

Step 1. Click here to download the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer.

Step 2. Run the downloaded .exe file as administrator to grant all privileges.

Step 3. Follow the on-screen instruction to install the DirectX files.

Step 4. Click here to download the DirectX Redist. Extract the package and store the DirectX SDK in an appropriate location.

Step 5. In the extracted files, please navigate to the DXSetup executable and run it. Follow the on-screen instructions to re-install DirectX components.

Step 6. Restart your computer.

Fix 8: Installing the platform update KB2670838 (Windows 7 only)

For Windows 7, you require an additional platform update called KB2670838 to enable DX11 feature level 10.0 in your system. Users with Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11 don’t need this. You might have missed updating it even though the WU might be up-to-date.

You can fix this issue by applying all the pending optional updates from Microsoft, or you can click here and download KB2670838 from Microsoft. Once the update is installed, restart your computer and check if the error persists.

Fix 9: Install Any Updates to the Game

This is an obvious fix, but this might be if none of the above solutions haven’t worked. Sometimes the developers release some critical updates to the game, which are important to install.

Make sure that the game you are playing does not have any pending updates. If so, you should first install the updates and patches and then play the game. These game updates will be available on the website from where you downloaded the game.