Still playing Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC and getting ERR_GFX_STATE, “exited unexpectedly”, Unknown error FFFFFFFF or Error Code 18? Rockstar’s support mostly points to the graphics API setting: which one is stable on your machine, Vulkan or DirectX 12?
Video: “Red Dead Redemption 2 PC Trailer”, official Rockstar Games channel, October 17, 2019. Official PC trailer, not a troubleshooting video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXvQ1nK4oxk
What Rockstar says (read on November 11, 2026):
- ERR_GFX_STATE: update the GPU driver, switch Graphics API from Vulkan to DirectX 12 (Settings, Graphics, Advanced Settings unlocked), run RDR2.exe as administrator and disable fullscreen optimization.
- FFFFFFFF: plug headphones or speakers in after the game has started, update drivers, or switch the API in system.xml and delete the “sga_” files.
- Error Code 18: change kSettingAPI_Vulkan to kSettingAPI_DX12 in the settings file.
Questions for players:
- Vulkan or DirectX 12: which API is stable for you, and on which GPU?
- Did deleting the “sga_” files fix FFFFFFFF or a crash after a driver update?
- Was an external headset or DAC really the cause of your FFFFFFFF error?
- Rockstar Games Launcher, Steam or Epic: did running RDR2.exe as administrator change anything?
Please share your Windows version, CPU/GPU, driver version, launcher, API and what fixed it. No account details or unofficial downloads.
Full guide with Rockstar’s official fixes: https://tricknfix.com/articles/red-dead-redemption-2-pc-crash-err-gfx-state-exited-unexpectedly-ffffffff-error-18-rockstar-official-fixes/
Sources (Rockstar Games Customer Support, read November 11, 2026):
ERR_GFX_STATE: https://support.rockstargames.com/articles/7n3mPnDq5ld6M6KIXboneC/red-dead-redemption-2-on-pc-crashing-with-err-gfx-state-error
Exited unexpectedly: https://support.rockstargames.com/articles/2qjn6j48MfhpmlfEuaLAZt/red-dead-redemption-2-on-pc-exited-unexpectedly
Error Code FFFFFFFF: https://support.rockstargames.com/articles/7xzxylRbekL5tPKLaVhJbJ/red-dead-redemption-2-error-code-ffffffff
Error Code 18: https://support.rockstargames.com/articles/6FcwRakW7gmXS7MS1jdeF9/rockstar-games-error-code-18
Image: official Red Dead Redemption 2 screenshot (Steam store page), © Rockstar Games
French version of this topic: https://tricknfix.com/fr/sujet/red-dead-redemption-2-sur-pc-en-novembre-2026-vulkan-ou-directx-12-quelle-api-a-mis-fin-a-vos-plantages-err-gfx-state-ffffffff-error-18-9d2fb3db03/