The issue is caused by Bannerlord's launcher, and you can avoid that launcher entirely if you start the game directly via it's executable. Thankfully user Raineacha found a fix and shared it on the game's official forum. Some users are reporting that, after exiting, the game doesn't actually close and continues to eat up resources.

Companions can crash the game in towns sometimes, so remove companions from the party to avoid this.

Delete the file 'std_TaleWorlds_CampaignSystem-zho-CN.xml'.

Click the local files tab and follow the these steps:

If you do not get an error message, but the game crashes while booting it up, right click Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlords in your Steam library and click properties.

Try lowering your graphical settings or remove shadows if you experience crashes when transitioning from maps to towns.

There is currently no way to reverse this, so don't press R if you want to ensure your character is an adult.

By pressing the 'R' key in character creation, your character will become a baby.

So we'll start with the funny one and move onto more serious general fixes. There are other bugs and issues that have been reported elsewhere, including one that is utterly hilarious. Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord bug fixes and workarounds If you have any other confirmed bugs or workarounds that are not seen here, do mention them in the comments. Hopefully it will remain on the Steam forums. There's a really helpful list of known issues collated on Steam by the user 'LawH', who is doing the lord's work here.

Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord known critical issues.

Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord bug fixes and workarounds.

Some workarounds have been found, as well as causes for critical errors, so we'll list the most troublesome ones here for your convenience. Some are funny, like the baby mode pictured above, but many are really not amusing at all. Performance issues are plentiful and many have complained about it. Let's just say that Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord has had a bit of a rough start.

Change mount and blade save file