Citron does a decent job of playing games, and for the most part, they work on release day, but there are some games that just don't want to cooperate and crash randomly all the time. So in this guide, we're going to take a look at all of the different solutions you can use to fix games crashing in Citron. As always, there are a lot of different things to cover, so make sure you check them all and don't skip anything, as each plays an important role in solving this problem.
Takeaways:
- Learn how to stop games from crashing in Citron
- What is causing games to crash randomly in Citron?
Table of Contents
How to Fix Games Crashing in Citron Switch Emulator
As we mentioned above, there are a lot of different things that can cause games to crash in Citron. So make sure you work your way through the list of steps below in order as it has been designed this way to give you the highest possible chance of solving most crashing issues.
Make Sure You Have the Latest Version of Citron Emulator
Citron is updated frequently to improve performance, stability, and compatibility. Running an outdated version can cause crashes, freezing, or other unexpected behaviour.
- To verify that you have the latest version, open Citron and click Help on the menu bar, then select Check for Updates.
- Follow the prompts to install any available update. You can also download the latest release directly from the official Citron website.
- After updating, restart the emulator or your computer to make sure the update is fully applied.
Make Sure You Have the Latest Prod.keys
Citron requires decryption files called prod.keys and title.keys, which come from a real Nintendo Switch console. These files let the emulator decrypt and load game data correctly. If either is missing, outdated, or incompatible with your firmware, games may crash immediately on startup.
- To fix this, locate your Citron system folder and confirm that your keys are up to date and correspond to your current firmware version.
Note: If you have recently updated your firmware, replace the old keys with a new set dumped from your console. Once the correct files are in place, restart Citron and try launching the game again.
Make Sure You Have the Latest Firmware
This works the same as Prod.keys, if they are out of date or mismatched games will crash.
- To update your firmware, open Citron and go to Tools > Install Firmware > Install from XCI or ZIP.
- Choose your firmware package and confirm the installation.
When it finishes, restart Citron. The firmware version and prod.keys version must match for stable operation.
Try Running the Game Without DLC or Updates Installed
If Citron only crashes for one specific game, the issue may be related to incomplete or corrupted DLC or game updates. Disabling these is a quick way to isolate the cause.
- Right-click the game in your list and select Manage DLC. Click the Trash Can icon to remove or uncheck installed content, then click Save.
- Do the same for Manage Title Updates. After disabling them, launch the base game.
If it runs without crashing, one of your updates or DLC files is likely damaged or incompatible. Re-dump or reinstall them to fix the issue.
Purge All of the Caches the Game has Stored
The final thing you can do is clear all of the game's cache data. There are 4 different options here:
Right-click on the game and select Remove, then each of the following:
- Remove Cache Storage
- Remove OPenGL Pipeline Cache
- Remove Vulkan Pipeline Cache
- Remove All Pipeline Caches
After you have cleared the Caches, restart Citron, and you should be able to launch the game without any issues. For whatever reasons, caches seem to cause a lot of crashing issues.
