Facepalm: We haven't heard much about Microsoft releasing Windows 10 patches that cause more problems than they fix recently. But not wanting to abandon one of its most defining practices, a new update for Windows 10 is reportedly stopping some games from running. Users are also finding that the update fails to install much of the time.
As reported by Windows Latest, cumulative update KB4598291 arrived earlier this month as a fix for some of the features broken by the October 2020 Update, including the Alt-Tab apps switcher and Windows Credentials manager.
As we've seen many, many times before, the cumulative update addresses some previous issues in Windows 10 while introducing new ones.
Several posts on the Feedback Hub reveal that even installing KB4598291 is far from straightforward. Users write that once the update gets close to 100 percent completion, an 'install failed' message appears, and the files are removed. One person attempted to install the update more than five times without success.
Those who do manage to install the update might find themselves removing it pretty quickly. Some users have reported that it is borking DirectPlay-based games, causing them to crash upon launching. World of Warcraft is one of those affected, along with several other titles.
The patch is currently optional, but it will automatically roll out to all users as part of tomorrow's (February 9) Patch Tuesday.
There are reports of other recent Windows updates introducing problems. KB4598299 and KB4598301 have caused a multitude of issues for some users, including Blue Screen of Death loops and app crashes. Visual Studio has been impacted, with Microsoft writing on the application's forum that "a fix for this issue has been internally implemented and is being prepared for release."