DirectX 12 on Windows

DirectX 12 is Microsoft's application programming interface for graphics on Windows, used by games and other demanding programs to talk to the graphics card. It is part of Windows itself, so for most people there is no separate DirectX 12 download: you get it and keep it updated through Windows Update and your graphics driver.

Quick facts

What DirectX 12 does

A game does not draw its world by talking to each brand of graphics card separately. It uses an interface such as DirectX, and the graphics driver translates those instructions for the specific hardware. DirectX 12 is the current generation of that interface on Windows, and games built for it rely on it being present and supported by your driver. For you as a player, the practical questions are simple: does your graphics card and driver support it, and does the game you want to run require it? Microsoft's Windows 11 specifications list a graphics card compatible with DirectX 12 or later with a WDDM 2.0 driver among the minimum requirements, so a PC that runs Windows 11 already meets that condition.

Step-by-step: check and update

1. Press Win + R, type dxdiag and press Enter to open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
2. On the System tab, look at the DirectX version line.
3. On the Display tab, check the driver details for your graphics card.
4. Run Windows Update to get the latest system components.
5. Install the newest driver from your graphics card or laptop manufacturer.

The full Windows 11 requirements are on Microsoft's specifications page.

For developers

Game developers who need newer Direct3D 12 features can ship them with their game through the DirectX 12 Agility SDK. Microsoft documents changes in What's new in Direct3D 12, and the DirectX developer blog covers announcements.

Common problems

If a game says DirectX 12 is not supported, the cause is usually an old graphics driver or a graphics card that lacks the required feature level, not missing files. Reinstalling "DirectX 12" from a download site will not fix that. Older games that ask for DirectX 9 components are a different case, and Microsoft's older runtime installers exist for them.

Security

Be wary of sites offering a standalone "DirectX 12 installer" or "DirectX 12 for Windows 7": DirectX 12 comes with Windows itself, and such files are a common disguise for adware and malware.

Pros and cons

• Pro: built into Windows, no extra install.
• Pro: required by many modern games, already in place.
• Con: depends on graphics card and driver support.
• Con: fake installers circulate online.

Related items

Our listings include DirectX 11, DirectX 9.0c and DirectX Runtime for older games, and NVIDIA Control Panel for graphics settings on NVIDIA cards.