6 Ways to Fix Dragon Age: The Veilguard Not Launching on a Windows PC

Dragon Age: The Veilguard can fail to launch pretty much like every other Windows PC game. Some players report that the game crashes when they try to start it. A Dragon Age player said this on Reddit: “After some time, Veilguard appears under ‘Installed Games’. If I click Play, it says ‘Launching Game,’ but nothing happens.” Other players say Veilguard crashes shortly after starting. This is how you can fix Dragon Age: The Veilguard not launching on Windows 11/10 PCs.

Verify the Dragon Age Game

First, start the troubleshooting by running a verification (repair) scan for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. That might not be a potential solution for everyone, but it could kick-start the game for some players. This EA help (under repair game files) and Steam support pages include instructions for verifying games with those clients.

The Verify integrity of game files

Run Dragon Age in Compatibility Mode

Setting Dragon Age to run in compatibility mode has kick-started that game for some players. This straightforward potential fix will set the game to run as it would on the Windows 8 platform. You can configure Dragon Age: The Veilguard to run in compatibility mode like this:

1. Hold the Windows logo key and press E to access File Explorer.
2. Navigate to the Dragon Age: The Veilguard installation folder.
3. Right-click the Dragon Age The Veilguard file to select Properties and Compatibility.
4. Select Run this program in compatibility mode > Windows 8 in the tab.
5. Next, select Disable fullscreen optimizations by clicking that checkbox.
   
   

   The Compatibility tab

6. Click Apply to save the options selected and OK to exit.

If running in compatibility mode doesn’t work for you, you can also try running as an administrator. Select the checkbox with the Run this program as an administrator label on the Compatibility tab to do so.

Clear the Shader Cache Folder

Many players confirm clearing the shader cache folder can fix Dragon Age: The Veilguard not working. Corrupted data in that cache can cause startup issues to occur. These are the steps for clearing the shader cache:

1. First, go into the File Explorer and open the Dragon Age: The Veilguard game folder from there.
2. Open the shader_cache subfolder in the game’s installation directory.
3. Select everything in the shader_cache (press Ctrl + A).
   
   

   The shader_cache folder

4. Right-click your mouse to select Delete.

Select Debug Mode

Enabling Debug Mode within the NVIDIA Control Panel has also worked for some players who’ve needed to fix Dragon Age: The Veilguard not launching. Selecting that option resets NVIDIA graphics settings to defaults. These are the steps for selecting Debug Mode:

1. Right-click any area of your Windows desktop to select NVIDIA Control Panel.
2. Click on the Help menu.
3. Select the Debug Mode option from there.

The Debug Mode option

Install the New Driver for Your Graphics Card

If your PC’s graphics driver is outdated for many months (or even years), updating the driver for your GPU could be a potential fix for Dragon Age: The Veilguard not launching. Outmoded graphics drivers can generate compatibility issues with some games, particularly those with more advanced graphical effects. To apply this potential solution, check out our guide to updating graphics drivers.

The NVIDIA graphics driver

Add Dragon Age to Windows Security’s Exclusion List

To ensure the Windows Security antivirus isn’t causing any startup issues for the game, try adding Dragon Age to its exclusions list. If you have an alternative third-party antivirus package, add the Dragon Age directory to its exclusion list instead. You can add the Dragon Age game folder to Windows Security’s exclusion list like this:

1. Open Windows Security by double-clicking the icon for it within the system tray area.
2. Select Virus & threat protection in Windows Security.
3. Click Manage settings > Add or remove exclusions in Windows Security.
4. Press the Add an exclusion button and select Folder.
   
   

   The Add an exclusion button

5. Select the Dragon Age installation folder.
6. Click Select Folder to add it.

Other Possible Ways to Fix Dragon Age: The Veilguard Not Launching

There are more potential fixes for Dragon Age: The Veilguard not launching aside from those potential resolutions covered above. These are some more troubleshooting methods that could kick-start the game:

• Install missing DirectX components by downloading and running the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer.
• Check for and install Windows updates, as instructed on this Microsoft page.
• Completely reinstall the Dragon Age game.
• Set the Shader Cache Size setting to 10 GB in the NVIDIA Control Panel.

There are no guaranteed ways to fix Dragon Age: The Veilguard not launching, but the potential resolutions above are worth trying. Clearing the shader cache is the most widely confirmed way to kick-start Dragon Age: The Veilguard. If you need more troubleshooting methods, try chatting with the EA Help service from this page.