Steam Game Won't Launch or Crashes on Startup

You hit Play, the game flashes or sits on “Preparing to launch…” and then nothing happens — or it crashes a second or two after the window opens.

Why: Almost always a corrupted game file, an out-of-date graphics driver, or another program (overlay, antivirus) interfering as the game starts. Steam’s own launch troubleshooting walks through these in order.

Fix 1: Restart, then verify the game files

A single damaged file can crash a game on launch. Verifying replaces only the bad files.

1. Fully restart your computer first and reopen Steam — this clears file locks left by a crashed game.
2. In your Library, right-click the game and choose Properties.
3. Open the Installed Files tab and click Verify integrity of game files.
4. Let it finish (it can take several minutes), then launch the game again.

A note that a few files “failed to validate” is normal — those are your local config files and are left alone on purpose.

Fix 2: Update your graphics drivers and Windows

Outdated GPU drivers are the most common cause of crash-on-launch.

1. Update Windows fully (Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates) so the .NET runtime and system libraries are current.
2. Update your graphics driver from the maker’s site — NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel — rather than relying on Windows.
3. Restart and try the game again.

Fix 3: Close programs that interfere with the game

Overlays, screen recorders, and some antivirus tools can crash a game as it loads.

1. Close non-essential background apps — overlay tools (Discord, MSI Afterburner/RivaTuner), recording software, and “game booster” utilities.
2. Temporarily disable third-party antivirus, then launch the game; if that fixes it, add the game’s folder as an exclusion.
3. Restart from a fresh boot before testing so nothing lingers.

Fix 4: Check the game’s system requirements

If the game has never launched on this PC, it may simply not meet the requirements.

• Open the game’s Steam store page and compare the Minimum and Recommended specs against your hardware.
• Falling short on GPU, RAM, or available disk space can cause an instant crash with no error.

FAQ

It gets stuck on “Preparing to launch” forever. Restart the PC and verify the files (Fix 1); a hung first-time setup (like a DirectX install) usually clears after a reboot.

Only one game crashes, the rest are fine. That points to that game’s files or requirements — do Fix 1 and Fix 4. If every game crashes, it’s drivers or a background app (Fix 2 and 3).

Do I need to reinstall the game? Not first. Verifying files (Fix 1) fixes corruption without a full redownload. Reinstall only if verification keeps finding problems.

Sources: Steam Support — Games do not run after ‘Preparing to Launch’, Steam Support — Verify Integrity of Game Files