Fix Victoria 3 Crashing at Startup, Not Starting, and Won’t Launch Issues

Victoria 3 was just released by Paradox Interactive for PC, macOS, and Linux on Steam. It is a grand strategy game which is also called the Ultimate Society Simulator. It is a much-awaited sequel that fans of Victoria II have been waiting for 11 years. It can be really frustrating when you try to launch it and it just does not. Do not worry, you might not have to wait much longer. We have brought to you some community-sourced workarounds that may work for you. Feel free to give them a shot but please note that it is not necessary that they do the trick.

Fixing Victoria III Crashing at Startup, Not Starting, and Won’t Launch Issues

Verify your system meets the game’s minimum requirements before attempting any of the suggested solutions to Victoria III crashes. As a challenging game, Victoria III will crash if your system isn’t up to par. Here are some first-day troubleshooting basics to consider if you run into any problems.

Update GPU Driver and OS

Verify that the graphics driver and operating system are up to date before proceeding with the rest of the solutions. Victoria III  on PC may fail on startup if the GPU is not up to date. Do not use the Device Manager to install the GPU driver; instead, utilize the GeForce Experience or obtain the update directly from Nvidia. To reinstall everything from scratch after an update, select Custom Install from the menu.

Be sure to update everything in Windows, including the optional updates. The.NET Framework would benefit from any available updates which are really important.

Launch Steam as an Administrator and Check the Game’s Integrity

If it doesn’t work and the game still won’t launch, giving the Steam client administrative access is the next logical step. After everything is done, you can attempt a file verification for the game. The desktop shortcut for Steam must be set to run with administrative privileges in order to do so; to do so, right-click on the shortcut, select Properties, and then select the Compatibility tab. Tick the Run this program with administrator permission after that.

If you purchased the game through Steam or are participating in the beta through the Steam client, please follow these steps to verify the integrity of your game files.

• Simply launch the Steam client and navigate to the Library.

• Select “Properties” from the menu that appears when you right-click on “Victoria III”

• The option to check the game’s integrity can be found in the Local Files submenu.

After you’ve finished verifying and downloading the game, try starting it. Following these fundamental steps, Victoria III should launch without crashing at startup. If it does not, try the following.

Turn off any overlays and other apps running in the background

Many other apps are known to cause problems with video game titles, which could be why your game won’t launch. Turn off GeForce Experience and Steam overlays in Task Manager. Disable any overclocking or RGB software you may be using. If you want to make sure that no other software is going to interfere with your gaming experience, then a clean boot is the way to go.

Close Instant Replay and ShadowPlay

Many gamers have found that using Nvidia’s Instant Replay or ShadowPlay causes the game to crash more frequently. If you’re able to launch the game, and the crash is happening while you’re playing, this patch will help. As was mentioned before, it’s advisable to make sure the Nvidia GeForce Experience is entirely closed before starting the game.

Reduce the Overclocking Setting

Many players have experienced Victoria crashes in the past due to overclocked GPUs or CPUs. Turn off the overclocking option. In some cases, the problem could be caused by a factory-overclocked GPU. Users of Nvidia hardware can quickly remove any preinstalled overclock. Here is the procedure for doing so.

• Launch the Nvidia Control Panel.

• Select the “Help” tab in the menu bar.

• Enable the Debug Mode

• Each and every one of the factory overclocks will be disabled once Debug Mode is activated.

Make an Exception for the Game in Windows Security

The next step in fixing the issue is to whitelist the game under Windows Firewall. The Victoria III will fail to launch if the firewall prevents the game from running. Using a third-party antivirus, you can create an exception for your software. Learn how to exclude some programs from being scanned for viruses by the Window Firewall and other security programs by reading this thread.

Check that Victoria III is loading in Native Resolution

Due to being unable to use the main menu, changing or checking the game’s resolution requires accessing the config file. Your Victoria III configuration files are in your Documents folder. Victoria III’s configuration file is not as clear as those of other games when it comes to displaying the parameters, but you can still figure out the resolution by looking for a string like “3840×2160,” “1920×1080,” or something similar. It’s important to make sure this number corresponds to the maximum resolution your screen can display. In order to ensure that your display is set to its native resolution:

• Press the Windows key and I key and select System.

• You may check the display resolution of your monitor from the display tab.

Get the Visual C++ Redistributable Latest Version

Games that have a problem starting up may have an issue with the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, especially if it is out of date or otherwise malfunctioning. For a single download that supports both X86 and X64, follow this link to Microsoft’s site. Follow the installation instructions for each file, and then restart the computer. Check if that fixed the issue.

Launch from Source

One user reported that instead of launching the game from the desktop shortcut, opening it from the main location did the job for them. This is worth a shot although it may not work for everyone. 

Uninstall Paradox Launcher V2

Uninstalling Paradox Launcher V2 is one of the methods to fix the launch issue for Victoria III. Once you uninstall it, launch the game again so that it reinstalls the launcher. This helped a user get past this issue and play the game.

At the present, these are your only viable options for addressing the problem. If none of those solutions work, it’s possible you’ll need to wait for a patch to fix the problem in the game. Developers are trying to resolve the issue at hand. That was it for this guide on fixing Victoria III crashing at startup, not starting and won’t launch issues. Please stay posted for more content that we shall release on Victoria III. Thank you for reading this article.