Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is a popular medieval strategy game that’s had a big new War Salis DLC update. Yet, some players can’t get that game started on their PCs. One player said, “I downloaded Warsails today. Now, when I launch the game in Steam, the pop-up appears. I select Play, then nothing happens.” This is how you can fix Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord not launching on a Windows PC.
Verify the Mount & Blade II Game Files
Try verifying the game files in Steam with the Verify integrity option to repair them. You can read this Steam support page for details.
The Verify integrity of game files option
Run the Launcher.Bannerlord File With Admin Rights
Running the Launcher.Bannerlord file as an administrator may help. Here’s how:
- Open File Explorer and the Steam > steamapps > common > Mount & Blade II Bannerlord > bin > Win64_Shipping_Client folder.
- Right-click the Launcher.Bannerlord file to select Properties > Compatibility.
- Then click in the checkbox for Run this program as an administrator to select that setting.
The Run this program as an administrator option
- To save settings, select the Apply > OK options.
Install Visual C++ Dependencies
Installing Visual C++ dependencies is a way to fix Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord not launching that has worked for some players. Mount & Blade II won’t work if the required Visual C++ dependencies for it are missing on your PC. These are the steps for installing Visual C++ runtime libraries:
- Navigate to this Microsoft page with your browser.
- Click the X64 and X86 download links for Visual C++ Redistributable v14.
The Visual C++ download page
- Double-click the downloaded VC_redist.x64 file in the folder it downloaded to.
- Select the I agree checkbox and Install.
The I agree option
- Repeat the previous couple of steps for the X86 Visual C++ package downloaded.
- Restart Windows 11/10 after installing the Visual C++ dependencies.
Enable Your GPU
Some players say they needed to enable GPUs on their PCs to fix Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord not launching. So, check if your graphics card is disabled and enable it if it is. This is how you can enable a GPU via Device Manager:
- Right-click Start and select the shortcut for Device Manager.
- Expand Display drives by double-clicking that category.
- Next, right-click your graphics card and select Enable device.
The Device Manager window
- Click Yes for confirmation options.
Delete the Mount & Blade II Data Folder
Another widely confirmed way to fix Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord not launching is to delete the Mount & Blade II data folder. Erasing that data folder might delete corrupted settings or shader cache data. Go through these steps to delete the Mount & Blade II data folder:
- Open C:\Users\<YOUR USER>\Documents\ within a File Explorer window.
- Click on the Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord folder once to select rather than open it.
- Select Delete to erase the folder.
Disable Overlays
The Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game option
Finally, try disabling overlays in software like Steam, GeForce Experience, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, and Discord. All of those software packages include overlay settings you can turn off. Then, start Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord with the overlays disabled.
Other Possible Ways to Fix Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Not Launching
First, apply all the troubleshooting methods above to kick-start your Mount & Blade II game. If they’re not enough, you can try applying these additional potential fixes:
- Reinstall Mount & Blade II on an alternative SSD drive if possible.
- Set alternative -dx11 or -dx12 launch options for Mount & Blade II in Steam.
- Add the Mount & Blade II Bannerlord folder to your antivirus software’s exclusion list.
- Install a new graphical driver for your PC’s GPU as covered in this KeenGamer guide.
I hope you fix Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord not launching with one of the potential remedies above. They’re some of the most widely confirmed ways to kick-start that game. If the game still doesn’t start, click Create a ticket on this Mount & Blade II page to ask the support service for more potential fixes.
