Call of Duty: Warzone (previously called Warzone 2) is a popular battle royale game for which players often report startup issues. For example, a COD Warzone player said this on Reddit, “I’ve been trying to launch Warzone on my PC and nothing is working… No error message, it just doesn’t launch at all.” There are many possible causes for Warzone not starting. These are some ways you can fix Call of Duty: Warzone not launching on Windows PCs.
Run Steam or Battle.net With Admin Rights
First, try running your Steam or Battle.net game client for Warzone with admin rights. Players who’ve applied this troubleshooting method confirm it can fix Call of Duty: Warzone not launching. This is how you can set Steam or Battle.net to run with admin rights.
- Right-click your Steam or Battle.net shortcut on the desktop to select a Properties option.
- Click Run this program as an administrator to select that option on the Compatibility tab.
The Run this program as administrator option
- Select Apply to set the compatibility options selected.
- Click OK to finish.
Verify or Repair Call of Duty: Warzone
Activision’s support service recommends players run verification or repair scans to fix Call of Duty: Warzone not launching. In Steam, you can select an option for verifying files as outlined on this Valve page. Or select Scan and Repair as instructed on this Battle.net page.
The Verify integrity option
Uninstall ReWASD or Razer Synapse
Players confirm that uninstalling ReWASD and Razer Synapse can fix Call of Duty: Warzone not launching on PCs. It can’t be a mere coincidence that those are both software packages for customizing gamepad, keyboard, and mouse peripherals. If you have either (or both) installed, try uninstalling it with one of the methods for removing apps in this Microsoft guide.
The Uninstall option
Disable the WeMod Background App
WeMod is software for modding Windows PC games. Some COD players have confirmed that disabling Wemod can resolve Call of Duty startup issues. Do you have WeMod installed on your PC? If so, make sure that the app isn’t running when starting Warzone like this:
- Open Task Manager using its Ctrl + Shift + Esc hotkey.
- Look for a WeMod process in the Processes tab.
The End task option
- Right-click the process for WeMod and select End task.
Perform a Clean Boot
Numerous other background services and programs can potentially conflict with Call of Duty: Warzone. Activision’s troubleshooting service recommends applying a clean boot to disable all the third-party apps and services starting with Windows. This Microsoft website page tells you how users can set Windows 11/10 to a clean boot.
The System Configuration tool
Note that Activision confirms the MSI Afterburner, Razer Cortex, and NZXT CAM software can conflict with Call of Duty: Warzone. If you have any of those installed, you should certainly disable them from the Windows startup. Make sure those programs aren’t running in the background when you start Warzone.
Turn off the GeForce Experience Overlay (or Alternatives)
A few players have confirmed that disabling the GeForce Experience can fix Call of Duty: Warzone not launching. Such overlays can interfere with Warzone’s loading sequence. If you have GeForce Experience installed, turn off its overlay like this:
- Click the NVIDIA system tray icon with your mouse’s right button to select GeForce Experience.
- Next, click Settings in GeForce Experience.
- Turn off the In-Game Overlay option if enabled.
The In-Game Overlay setting
- Other software has similar overlay features, such as Discord, Steam, and MSI Afterburner. If you have any of those software packages installed, disable the overlay settings for them.
Delete the Call of Duty Data Folder
Deleting the Call of Duty data folder is a confirmed way to fix COD game startup issues generally. Applying this troubleshooting method might fix Call of Duty: Warzone not launching because it resets in-game settings. This is how you can erase that folder:
- Click File Explorer’s pinned taskbar shortcut.
- Go to the C:\Users\<user folder name>\Documents folder path.
- Right-click the Call of Duty folder there and select Delete.
The Delete option and Call of Duty folder
Other Possible Ways to Fix Call of Duty: Warzone Not Launching
There are numerous other potential ways to fix Call of Duty: Warzone not launching that might work for some players. These additional troubleshooting methods for Warzone not starting might also be worth a try:
- Add the Call of Duty: Warzone game installation folder to your antivirus tool’s exclusions list.
- Disable VPNs before starting Warzone.
- Increase the Shader Cache Size setting to 100 GB via Manage 3D Settings in NVIDIA Control Panel.
- Reinstall or update the graphics driver for your PC’s GPU.
I hope one of those ways to fix Call of Duty: Warzone not launching kick-starts that game on your PC. Sometimes it can be hard to fix Warzone when it doesn’t start, and you might need to apply numerous troubleshooting methods to do so. To access more support options for Warzone, check out this Activision website page.
