Fix: Red Dead Redemption 2 Won’t Launch

Red Dead Redemption 2 Won’t launch using Epic games, Rockstart Launcher, or Steam on PC. You can’t launch RDR2 even if it does it stuck on the loading screen.

Many users are reporting that when running Red Dead Redemption 2 using an in-game Rockstar launcher the game won’t launch although there’s a process running in the Task Manager.

Others complain that instead of the game launch it shows a message that:

• Red Dead Redemption 2 unable to launch game please verify your game data.
• Please run Red Dead Redemption 2 from the Rockstar games launcher.

You can fix Red Dead Redemption 2 won’t launch issue by disabling the Integrated Graphics Adapter using the Device Manager.

How To Fix Red Dead Redemption 2 Won’t Launch

Try the below-mentioned fixes but you don’t need to apply all of them in order. However, one of the below fix will help you solve RDR2 Won’t launch or crashing issue.

Fix 1. Update Graphics Card Driver

The very first thing that you should come up to your mind when a game won’t launch is the GPU drivers.

The graphics card drivers play a very important role so you should make sure that these are updated to their latest version.

You can update graphics card drivers in two ways. Manually or Automatically.

The manual method includes opening Device Manager locating the AMD/NVIDIA GPU and then finding the latest version.

However, we recommend the automatic method to update GPU drivers. For that, all you need is to download Driver Easy on your PC. This tool is an advanced system driver updater that is fully compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Using this Driver Easy you don’t need to do anything, just install and run it. It will automatically scan and install the latest version of graphics card drivers from their official sites.

Fix 2. Change in-game graphics API to DirectX 12

There’s a user who found Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC that won’t launch on Reddit. So follow these steps:

• Go to the Device Manager then in the Graphics Card tab right-click on your graphics card and disable it.
• Launch the RDR2 on PC. (The games should normally launch with the processor)
• In the game go into the Settings in Graphics and then unlock the settings move forward.
• Once the Settings is unlocked go to the Graphics API tab and change the Vulkan to DirectX 12 or 11.
• Now close your game.
• Open the Device Manager again and then Reactivate your graphics card.

The Red Dead Redemption 2 should normally launch without mishap.

Fix 3. Modify BIOS Settings

If you have changed or tweaked BIOS settings then it may become a reason for Red Dead Redemption 2 won’t launch problem.

So Go into BIOS settings and turn UEFI settings to default. It will solve the game launching problem.

Fix 4. Update Rockstar Games Launcher

The Rockstar developers keep releasing new updates for their launcher to fix bugs and game-not launching problems.

So check whether your Rockstar launcher is updated, follow these steps:

• First, close the Rockstar launcher from the taskbar and Task Manager.
• Now restart it again and allow any update to install.

Fix 5. Run Game as Administrator

Many users told that they simply fixed Red Dead Redemption 2 won’t launch problem by simply running with administrator access.

If you are playing games on PC without administrator access then Windows OS won’t run necessary services hence you face not launching errors.

Fix 6. Delete the Settings folder

Sometimes the game settings are making corruption preventing RDR2 from loading. So you should delete this folder.

Follow these steps:

• Go to the game file directory. and click on Red Dead Redemption 2 folder.
• Delete the folder Settings.

After deleting this folder the game will start with default settings.

Fix 7. Clear Launcher Profile Details

If the launcher is not giving permission to launch the game then there are chances that your profile is corrupt.

• Open your Rockstar Games Launcher and select Settings.
• Select Account information and in the Delete local profile section, click Delete.
• Click Confirm.
• Sign in again into the launcher and launch the Red Dead Redemption 2.

Fix 8. Turn Off Antivirus Software

Most users who have activated antivirus or Windows Defender on PC will face Red Dead Redemption 2 won’t launch problem.

These programs consider the certain game file as a virus threat and prevent it from launching.

If you have installed avast or any other program then disable it from running in the background or create an exclusion list. It will help you solve the problem.

Fix 9. Verified Integrity of Game

If you are facing the Red Dead Redemption 2 unable to launch game please verify your game data error. Then verify the integrity of the game file using the Steam, epic games, or rockstar launcher.

This process checks any corrupted or broken game file and replaces it with the fixed one. Follow these steps:

• Open Steam launcher.
• Click on the Library.
• Right-click on the Red Dead Redemption 2 and choose Properties.
• Choose to verify the integrity of the game file.

Wait for the process to complete and then restart the game.

Fix 10. Remove Version.dll File From game Directory

We have found this solution on Reddit that is very helpful but it involves risk. No doubt, it helped many RDR2 players still you have to save game data before applying this fix.

• Go to your RDR2 game directory. (Where you have installed on PC)
• Locate the file named version.dll and Remove it from the game directory

Now launch the game to check if Red Dead Redemption 2 won’t launch issues resolved or not.