There is a GPU blacklist inside AoE2:DE. The error messages "Failed GPU startup" and "Your GPU is not DirectX 11 compliant." are fake and can be bypassed.

I can't believe I found this after spending a week installing various drivers from the internet and even reinstalling Windows.

If you got an AMD Switchable Graphics (PowerXpress/Enduro) or NVIDIA Optimus laptop with Intel HD Graphics, the game will complain that your integrated GPU does not support DirectX 11 even through you have a dedicated GPU with DirectX 11 support.

This was the error I got: Intel(R) HD Graphics 3000 GPU with vendor ID 32902 and device ID 278 is not DirectX 11 compliant.

If you ever used a laptop with AMD or NVIDIA graphics, you'll know how I was puzzled. If you don't know that kind of error message means, it means that you did not added the game to the AMD/NVIDIA control panel. When you add the game to the list, the error should go away.

I really thought there is something wrong with my drivers and it does not switch to dedicated graphics, hence why I spent a week trying to fix it by installing different versions of both Intel and AMD drivers and eventually giving up and reinstalling Windows only to find out there is a hidden blacklist inside the "AoE2DE_s.exe"

You can only guess how mad I was. I still didn't installed half of the programs I need to this new Windows install.

Here is how to remove the blacklist:

1. Before doing anything, add the game to AMD/NVIDIA control panel.
2. Note down your vendor ID and device ID from the error message. In my case it's "32902" and "278".
3. You'll need to convert those ID's from decimal to hexadecimal format. You can search for decimal to hexadecimal converter or you can use the Windows calculator. My hex ID's are: "8086" and "116".
4. You'll need an hex editor to open the "AoE2DE_s.exe" I used HxD Hex Editor.
5. Open the .exe file and search for your vendor ID and device ID. Eventually, you'll find a list like this: https://pastebin.com/atzRc3fc
6. There should be a "unsupported" : "true" text right after your vendor ID and device ID. You'll need to change it to "unsupported" : "false" Make sure that you'll not changing the file size or forgetting to put the quote mark and comma. There is a few blank spaces after the unsupported text, so it should fit.
7. Save and exit from Hex editor.
8. Launch the game. The error should be gone.

I actually played some of the Art of War campaigns and ran the benchmark. I got 987, which is slightly below the required 1000. The game runs fine, didn't have any problems so far.