Microsoft runtime that adds the DirectX 9.0c, 10 and 11 components older games need (D3DX, XInput and more) – works alongside DirectX 12 on Windows 10 and 11.
Opens the developer's official website. Version information checked 3 Oct 2026.
The Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime provides updates to DirectX 9.0c and previous versions of DirectX — the core Windows technology that drives high-speed multimedia and games on the PC. The June 2010 release is the final version of this runtime package.
Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation and rich audio. DirectX includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs.
The Windows gaming API delivers Microsoft's High-Level Shader Language (HLSL) and an advanced suite of design tools for the development of rich multimedia elements such as full-spectrum color graphics, video, 3D animation and enhanced audio.
DirectX 9.0 introduced significant improvements across its suite of APIs: DirectSound offers new audio capabilities, DirectShow accelerates video rendering hardware, and Direct3D enhances low-level graphics programmability with new programmable vertex and pixel shader 2.0 models.
Do I still need it? Windows 10 and Windows 11 already include the latest DirectX (DirectX 12). However, many older games and programs also need extra DirectX 9, 10 and 11 components (such as the D3DX libraries) that Windows does not include. If a game reports a missing file like d3dx9_43.dll or xinput1_3.dll, installing this June 2010 runtime adds those components safely alongside DirectX 12.