Crashes can be caused by driver issues, software conflicting with the games, or a problem with the Windows install e.g. caused by an update. As well as many other things. This does happen, even if it's not happened to you personally.
There are lots of other causes to check for as well of course. And as you say if it's an install that's got a lot of programs installed on it and user files that need to be backed up and restored, it might not be the most convenient thing to try first. Though if
@ZedClampet is right and it's a newish Windows install that won't take long to set all back up, that's less of an issue. And it might well be a lot quicker than troubleshooting every other possibility one by one.
Point being: A windows reinstall might fix the issue, would rule out a lot of possible causes, and is a valid thing to try, even if it's not tried first...