Warzone 2.0 PC: Game Won’t Start or Launch

WZ 2 Won’t Start: What could be more annoying than trying to play the new Warzone with your friends, and your game wouldn’t start?

MW2’s version of Warzone comes out today, and as usual, the game has tons of issues that lead to crashes and performance issues. This reminds me of when Warzone 1.0 was released in 2019, which ended up overshadowing the development of Modern Warfare, which was abandoned soon after. The same thing happened with Cold War. I hope this doesn’t happen with MW2.

Release time:

• 6 PM (GMT)
• 7 PM (CET)
• 10 AM (PT)

So I kept hitting the play button, and the game won’t start, my friends were already out fragging in the Battle Royale, and I was sitting trying to fix the game. WZ2 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:

Warzone 2.0: 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:

• Download Nvidia Drivers
• Download AMD Drivers

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 Warzone 2.0.

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

Warzone 2.0 is a game on Battle.net Launcher. To verify the game, follow the steps given below:

1. Click on the MWII | WZ 2.0 Icon
2. Locate the Gear Button located right next to “Play.”
3. Now, click “Scan and Repair” and then click “Begin Scan.”
4. The launcher will now start looking for any broken or corrupted files.

For Steam Users:

1. Open Steam and click on the Library tab.
2. Right-click on MW2 and select Properties.
3. Click on the Local Files tab > click on the Verify Integrity of Game Files… button.
4. 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 WZ 2.0, you can read it. For more Warzone 2.0 Guides head here.

Call of Duty® | Warzone 2.0 is available on Playstation and PC via Steam.

References:

• MW2 Reddit
• Steam Discussions
• Activision Support