DirectX 12 is not backward-compatible with DirectX 9 or 10 at the DLL level. A modern game built on DirectX 12 will use d3d12.dll . But a game from 2009 expects to call functions inside d3dx9_41.dll . If that DLL is missing, the game crashes.
By downloading the full official Microsoft redistributable ( directx_Jun2010_redist.exe ) and running DXSETUP.exe , you can banish missing DLL errors forever—without harming your system’s modern DirectX 12 performance. directx enduser runtimes june 2010 microsoft download full
Despite Microsoft releasing newer versions of DirectX—including DirectX 11.1, 11.2, 12, and even DirectX 12 Ultimate—the June 2010 redistributable package remains a critical piece of software for Windows 10 and Windows 11 users. Why? Because modern Windows operating systems do ship with the complete set of legacy DirectX 9.0c and DirectX 10 libraries. DirectX 12 is not backward-compatible with DirectX 9
Click OK. The contents (many .cab files and a DXSETUP.exe ) will be extracted. Navigate inside the extracted folder and run DXSETUP.exe as Administrator (right-click → Run as administrator). If that DLL is missing, the game crashes