Last Updated on November 1, 2022
Modern Warfare 2 Won’t Start: What could be more annoying than trying to play the new COD with your friends, and your game wouldn’t start?
The 19th Call of Duty title is out in a few regions; the full launch is due on the 28th. Players who cannot wait until the full release can switch their region to New Zealand to play early. Keep in mind Infinity Ward has already warned that users doing this will get region locked.
Release time in all time zones:
- 9 PM PT, October 27, 2022
- 12 AM ET, October 28, 2022
- 5 AM BST, October 28, 2022
- 6 AM CEST, October 28, 2022
- 1 AM BRT, October 28, 2022
- 1 PM JST, October 28, 2022
- 3 PM AEDT, October 28, 2022
Every year, millions of gamers eagerly await the release of the latest Call of Duty game. For many, it is the most anticipated event of the year. COD games are always highly anticipated, featuring cutting-edge graphics, new campaign missions, and best-ever gunplay mechanics. This year’s installment, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, is shaping up to be one of the best yet.
Read: How To Check Ping in MW2
So I kept hitting the play button, and the game won’t start, my friends were already out fragging in quick play, and I was sitting trying to fix the game. MW2 launch hasn’t been well received; the game is full of irritating bugs and issues.
Enough blabbering about the issues; let’s find out how we can fix this won’t launch issue:
Modern Warfare 2: Game Won’t Start or Launch
Here are a few traditional tweaks that work for every game:
Restart Your PC
While this might sound stupid to many, I had the game not launching issue many times, which only happened after updating the game. After looking into almost everything, a simple restart fixed the problem.
I also researched a little and found out that this was also happening during beta. Players on Reddit reported multiple crashes during the campaign.
My crashing problem was fixed with a simple restart; if this doesn’t work for you, continue reading.
Update Device Drivers & Windows
From time to time, I have seen people reporting crashes, and it turns out they haven’t updated their Graphics drivers for a while. You can easily update your graphic drivers by heading to the official websites:
Nvidia has already pushed the Game Ready Driver for MW2 called 516.29; for AMD, the Driver Version is 22.9.1.
If you still face issues after updating drivers, a clean install using DDU can also help. Many users on Steam and Reddit have reported that downgrading GPU drivers have helped them fix crashes.
On the other hand, Updating Windows ensures you get all the performance enhancements. With every new update, Microsoft improves the speed and efficiency of the operating system. For example, with the release of Windows 11, Microsoft made several changes to improve performance, including faster startup times and improved graphics processing.
Install Visual C++ Redistributables
Visual C++ redistributable is a software component installed on a computer to run applications developed with Visual C++. Updating or installing this has helped solve the crashing issues in multiple games we covered earlier.
You can download Visual C++ Redistributable Runtimes All-in-One from here. Unzip the file and launch “install_all.bat” as Administrator.
Shut down conflicting applications
This is a community recommendation; users have reported that software such as iCUE, Razer Synapse, and Armory Crate lead to random crashes in MW2.
These applications are unimportant to me, so I uninstall them. I’ve also heard that users running iCUE were handed out bans for no reason. However, you can never be sure about cheaters; they are known for making things up.
Scan and Repair Files
For Battle.net Users
Modern Warfare 2 is a game on Battle.net Launcher. To verify the game, follow the steps given below:
- Click on the Modern Warfare Icon
- Locate the Gear Button located right next to “Play.”
- Now, click “Scan and Repair” and then click “Begin Scan.”
- The launcher will now start looking for any broken or corrupted files.
For Steam Users:
- Open Steam and click on the Library tab.
- Right-click on Modern Warfare 2 and select Properties.
- Click on the Local Files tab > click on the Verify Integrity of Game Files… button.
- Steam will start verifying the game files and will fix any corrupted ones it finds.
Disable Antivirus & Firewall
This is another traditional tweak that works most of the time.
One of the most common reasons for crashes is antivirus or firewall program interference. These programs are designed to protect your computer from harmful programs but can also block legitimate programs from running correctly.
If you find that your game is frequently crashing, it may be due to antivirus or firewall interference. To fix this, you must add the game to your antivirus or firewall program’s list of exceptions. This will allow the game to run without interference and should help to fix the problem.
Click on Allow Access when you launch the game for the first time:
These are community fixes and traditional tweaks that have been working for years for almost all games. If you still face issues, contact Activision Support or wait until the devs push a hotfix.
I have already written a guide on fixing performance issues in MW2; you can read it. For more MW2 Guide, head here.
Call of Duty® | Modern Warfare II is available on Playstation and PC via Steam.
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