7 Ways to Fix Skate Not Launching on a Windows PC

The latest Skate instalment is now available on Steam and Epic Games, but some players can’t play the game because it doesn’t start on their PCs. For example, one player said this about Skate not starting: “This only happens with this game. I play any other game, no issues, but the Skate. playtest crashes when I launch it.” Skate can throw up error messages or get stuck on loading when it doesn’t start. This is how you can fix Skate not launching on a Windows PC.

Close the NVIDIA App Before Starting Skate

Some players confirm that closing the NVIDIA App can fix Skate not launching. Is the NVIDIA App installed on your PC? If it is, try closing that app with Task Manager before starting Skate like this:

1. Open Task Manager by right-clicking the button for the Start menu and selecting its shortcut.
2. Look for and select the NVIDIA App in the Processes tab.
3. Click on the End task option to close the NVIDIA App.
   
   

   The Task Manager utility

4. I also recommend closing other unnecessary third-party app processes that might conflict with Skate via Task Manager, as outlined in the previous steps.

Set a DX11 or DX12 Launch Option for Skate

Players have been able to fix Skate not launching by setting a DX11 or DX12 launch option for the game. Applying this possible fix forces the game to use the DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 API. This is how you can set the DX11 or DX12 launch options for Skate.

Steam

1. Go into your Steam Library tab.
2. Right-click Skate in the sidebar to select Properties.
3. Enter -dx11 within the text box for launch options on the General tab.
   
   

   The launch options for Steam

4. If the game doesn’t start with DirectX 11, try entering -dx12 in the launch text box.

EA App

1. Open your EA App software and select Skate in its installed games list.
2. Click the Manage button for Skate.
3. Select the View properties option.
4. Enter -dx11 or -dx12 in the Advanced launch options box.
5. Click on the Close button and try playing Skate.

Repair the Javelin Anticheat for Skate

Some players may need to repair the Javelin anticheat software to fix Skate not launching. EA Javelin is EA’s in-house anti-cheat software for Windows PC games. You can select to repair Javelin like this:

1. Open this download page for Javelin.
2. Click the EA Javelin anticheat installer download link there.
3. Open the folder containing the EAAntiCheat.installer.exe file.
4. Double-click EAAntiCheat.installer.exe to open a setup window.
5. Select Skate inside the drop-down menu.
   
   

   The EA Javelin Anticheat Setup

6. Next, select the Skate installation folder.
7. Click on the Select Folder option.
8. Wait for the repairs to finish.
9. Click on Repair and OK.

The Javelin Anticheat Setup also has some additional troubleshooting options you can try selecting. If the Repair option in the EA Javelin Anticheat setup doesn’t work, try selecting its Update option. Alternatively, click Uninstall and Install in the setup window to reinstall Javelin.

Install or Repair Visual C++ Files

Players confirm that updating Visual C++ files can be an effective way to fix Skate not launching. Applying this fix can repair corrupted runtime libraries or install new ones. These are the steps for installing Visual C++ files:

1. Bring up this Microsoft Visual C++ download page.
2. Click on the download links for the X86 and X64 architecture versions of Visual Studio 2015-2022.
   
   

   The Visual C++ download page

3. Open the 64-bit Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable installer by clicking the downloaded VC_redist.x64.exe file in whatever folder includes it.
4. Select I agree and Install or Repair within the installer window.
   
   

   The Visual C++ installer

5. Repeat the previous two steps for the X86 (32-bit) Visual C++ Redistributable package downloaded.

Change the Steam Overlay Settings

Some players say they’ve fixed Skate not starting by turning the Steam overlay on or off, which is a little confusing. If the Steam overlay is enabled, change the setting by turning it off. Or turn the Steam overlay on if it’s currently disabled in your software. This Valve help page tells you how users can access the required Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game setting for applying this possible fix.

The Enable the Sea Overlay while in-game setting

Reinstall Skate

Reinstalling the game is a potential way to fix Skate not launching that has worked for some players. Applying this troubleshooting method is the best way to refresh and repair game files. You can reinstall your Skate game like this:

Steam

1. Open Steam and click on the Library tab within that game’s client.
2. Right-click Skate to select Manage > Uninstall (twice to confirm).
   
   

   The Manage > Uninstall options

3. Click the uninstalled Skate game in Steam’s Library tab to select Install.
4. Select Install again to continue.

Epic Games

1. Run the Epic Games program to access its Library tab.
2. Press the ellipses (three-dot) menu button for Skate to select Uninstall twice.
   
   

   The Uninstall option in Epic

3. Then, click the image for the uninstalled Skate game to select Install.

If you’ve installed Skate on a different drive from the EA app, try installing it on the same drive as that software. To do that, you would need to click Manage Storage or Browse within the Steam or Epic Games installation options. Then, select a different installation drive for Skate from there.

I hope one of the ways to fix Skate not launching on Windows PCs above works for you. No troubleshooting method is guaranteed to work, but the potential remedies above have fixed the game not starting for some players. You can ask for more potential fixes by clicking Contact Us on this page to send a support ticket to Skate’s EA help service.