6 Ways You Can Fix the “Steam Must be Running to Play This Game” Error

Steam is the software with which many players launch their Windows PC games. Many players have reported their games don’t start because of a “Steam must be running” error that occurs when they try to play them. For example, a player said this in a Steam forum post, “I get this error message when attempting to run the game… ‘Steam must be running to play this game.’” This is how you can fix the “Steam must be running to play this game” error on a Windows PC.

Restart the Steam Client

Restarting Steam is a simple potential resolution some users confirm to work. However, it’s also recommended to terminate Steam processes via the Task Manager to restart. Try restarting Steam like this.

1. First, close the Steam window.
2. Next, right-click the Steam icon in the system tray and select Exit.
3. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to view Task Manager.
4. Right-click any Steam-related background processes inside the Processes tab and select End task.
   
   

   The Processes tab

5. Run your Steam software again.

Run Steam With Admin Rights

Running Steam with administrator rights has fixed the “Steam must be running to play this game” error for some users. This gives Steam full system permissions on your PC. You can configure Steam to start with elevated privileges like this.

1. Right-click the shortcut for Steam on your desktop to select Properties and Compatibility.
2. Click Run this program as an administrator to add a checkmark to the box for that setting.
   
   

   The Run this program as an administrator checkbox

3. Select Apply > OK to finish.

If this doesn’t work, try launching Steam within an administrator account if your Windows user account is a standard one. You can set the user account to be an administrative one via Settings or the Control Panel. This Microsoft page includes guidelines for how to configure a user as an administrator via Settings.

Try Starting Games Directly From Steam

Does the “Steam must be running to play this game” error occur when you try to start games with desktop shortcuts? If yes, try selecting to launch the games directly from your Steam client software instead. Open Steam, go into the Library tab, select a game, and click its Play button.

The Library tab in Steam

Verify Files for Affected Games

The “Steam must be running to play this game” error can sometimes occur because of corrupted or missing game files. Running verification scans for affected games will address this potential cause. To do so, go through the steps on this Steam help page to verify files for affected games.

The Verify integrity of game files button

Disable the Run as an Administrator or Affected Games

Disabling the Run this program as an administrator option for affected games is an odd potential fix for the “Steam must be running to play this game” error many players confirm to work. This means you must unselect selected administrator settings for games’ EXE application files. You can disable the administrator settings for affected games like this.

1. Bring up your Steam software to open its Library tab.
2. Next, right-click an affected game in the Library tab and select Manage > Browse local files.
   
   

   The Browse local files option

3. Right-click the EXE (application) for the game in its installation directory to select Properties and Compatibility.
4. Unselect the Run this program as an administrator option if that setting is selected.
5. Click Apply > OK to finish disabling the administrator option.

Turn Off Windows Defender Firewall

Another possible cause of the “Steam must be running to play this game” could be that of a firewall blocking Steam apps. The simplest way to address this would be to temporarily disable the Windows firewall before starting Steam games. Check out this Microsoft webpage for details about how to turn off Windows Defender Firewall.

The Turn off Windows Defender Firewall option

If you have third-party security software on your PC, that could have a firewall component. Check if a third-party antivirus app on your PC includes a firewall. If it does, try turning off that firewall before playing Steam games.

Other Possible Ways to Fix the “Steam Must be Running to Play This Game” Error

The troubleshooting methods above are more widely confirmed to fix the “Steam must be running to play this game” error, but there are other potential resolutions. These are some extra potential fixes for that gaming issue:

• Select to opt out of the Steam beta participation if you have beta updates set.
• Update Steam by clicking Steam > Check for Steam Client Updates within Valve’s gaming client.
• Reinstall the Steam gaming client as instructed on this Valve support page. Note that removing Steam also uninstalls games installed with that gaming client.
• Disable enabled workshop mods for affected games.

Many users have resolved the “Steam must be running to play this game” error by applying the potential resolutions covered in this guide. So, one of those troubleshooting methods might also fix that gaming issue on your PC. If not, try submitting a help ticket about the error by clicking Contact Steam Support from here.