When a game crashes once, I would not read too much into it. Games do crash occasionally. The point where I would start looking at the computer is when the same game keeps closing every day, or different games begin doing it as well.
The useful clue is whether you have one bad game or a wider Windows problem.
If only one game is crashing
I would start with the game itself.
Open Steam, the Xbox app, EA app, Epic Games Launcher, or whatever you normally use to start it. Check whether the game has an update waiting.
After that, look for an option such as Verify, Repair, or Verify integrity of game files.
I prefer doing this before reinstalling because it can replace a damaged file without making you download the whole game again.
If the crashes started just after the game received an update, I would also check the game’s support page. Sometimes the problem is with that version and a lot of people are seeing the same thing.
If several games are crashing
That changes where I would look.
Restart Windows first, then go to Settings > Windows Update and install the normal updates that are available.
After the restart, check the graphics driver. If the PC has NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel graphics, use the graphics program already installed on the computer and see whether a driver update is offered.
Then test a game before changing anything else.
It is much easier to know what fixed a problem when you change one thing at a time.
Close some of the background programs
This is easy to overlook on a gaming PC because there is usually a lot running at once.
A browser with plenty of tabs, Discord, another launcher, a download and the game can use a surprising amount of memory.
Close what you do not need and pause large downloads for a while.
I would also turn off game overlays temporarily. Discord, Xbox Game Bar and graphics software can all place an overlay over a game. They normally work fine, but they are an easy thing to rule out.
Reinstall only when it makes sense
If one particular game still crashes after its update and file check, then I would reinstall that game.
If five different games are crashing, I would not start reinstalling all five.
At that point I would pay more attention to the computer itself. If it is getting unusually hot, restarting, showing a blue screen, or other programs are also crashing, this has probably stopped being a game problem.
That distinction matters. It saves a lot of time spent fixing the wrong thing.
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