Sons of the Forest was one of the most exciting PC game releases of 2024. However, some players can’t play that enthralling survival horror game because it doesn’t start for them. A player’s Reddit post reported Sons of the Forest not starting as follows: “So I was playing once and everything was normal, but after I saved my game, relaunched the game later, I kept getting stuck with Sons of the Forest is not responding.” These are some ways to fix Sons of the Forest not launching on a Windows PC.
Set a DirectX 12 or 11 Launch Parameter
Some players say they could fix Sons of the Forest not launching by setting DirectX launch parameters for the game. These launch parameters will set the game to utilize a DirectX 12 or 11 API. This is how you can set a DirectX parameter for Sons of the Forest:
- Open up the Steam software window.
- Click Library in Steam.
- Right-click the Sons of the Forest game in the Library sidebar to select Properties.
- Input -dx11 in the launch options text box to set a DirectX 11 parameter. Then, try starting the game again.
The -dx11 launch parameter
- If DirectX 11 doesn’t work for you, erase -dx11 and try inputting –dx12 in the launch options box for Sons of the Forest.
Disable Overlay Features in Software
It has been confirmed that disabling overlay features in software can sometimes fix Sons of the Forest from not launching. To be more specific, try disabling overlays in software like Steam, GeForce Experience, Radeon Adrenalin, and Discord before starting the game. Those are all software packages with overlay options you can turn off via their settings.
Steam’s overlay setting
Start Sons of the Forest From its Game Folder
Starting Sons of the Forest from its game installation folder is an easy potential fix to try. Then, you can try running the game with admin rights from there. You can start Sons of the Forest from the game folder like this:
- Click File Explorer within the taskbar to access the folder manager.
- Go to the Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > The Forest folder path in Explorer.
- Right-click TheForest.exe file to select Run as an administrator.
Select High Performance for Sons of the Forest
If your PC has a couple of graphics cards, try configuring the game to run with your dedicated (NVIDIA or AMD) GPU. The system requirements for Sons of the Forest do not include Intel graphics cards. This is how you can set your higher performance for Sons of the Forest:
- Click the search box (or its icon) on the taskbar.
- Enter a graphics settings search phrase.
- Click Graphics settings to bring up that part of Settings.
- Next, turn on the Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling option.
The graphical options in Settings
- Press the Browse button to select the TheForest.exe file in the The Forest folder.
- Click on Add.
- Press the Options button for Sons of the Forest.
- Select High Performance and click Save.
The High performance radio button
Verify the Sons of the Forest Game
A verification (repair) scan is a standard troubleshooting method for game startup issues that may or may not work. If there are corrupted or missing Sons of the Forest files, applying this potential solution might repair them and kick-start the game. Go through the instructions on this Steam page to verify Sons of the Forest.
The Verify integrity of game files button
Install or Repair 2015-2022 Visual C++ Redistributable Packages
Installing or repairing C++ runtime libraries might fix Sons of the Forest not launching for some players. You can do this by downloading and running a Visual Studio 2015-2022 pack for installing or repairing Visual C++ Redistributable packages. These are the steps for installing or repairing 2015-2022 Visual C++ Redistributable packages:
- Open this Microsoft Visual C++ page in a browser.
- Click the two download links for the X86 and X64 Visual Studio 2015-2022.
- Next, double-click the downloaded VC_redist.x64.exe file to open it.
The Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable download page
- Select the I agree box by clicking on it.
- Click Repair or Install in the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 window that appears.
The Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 window
- Repeat the previous two steps for the downloaded VC_redist.x86.exe file.
- Restart Windows to finish applying this potential fix.
Reinstall Sons of the Forest
Players also confirmed they were able to fix Sons of the Forest not launching by reinstalling the game. Applying this possible fix will completely refresh the game and likely restore missing files and components. You can reinstall Sons of the Forest with Steam like this:
- Open the Steam client software and click Library.
- Right-click Sons of the Forest to select Manage > Uninstall.
- Press Uninstall to remove the game.
The Uninstall option in Steam
- Next, select Sons of the Forest in Steam to click its Install option.
- Click Install again.
Other Possible Ways to Fix Sons of the Forest Not Launching
If Sons of the Forest still doesn’t start after applying all the potential fixes above, there are more troubleshooting methods you can try. These additional troubleshooting methods might also work for some players:
- Download and install the newest driver for your PC’s graphics card, as covered in this KeenGamer post.
- Unplug all unnecessary peripherals, such as gamepads, joysticks, and steering wheels, from your PC before starting Sons of the Forest.
- Disable startup items and background apps by applying a clean boot.
- Undo any CPU or GPU overclocking by restoring system defaults.
There’s quite a good chance that applying those potential resolutions will fix Sons of the Forest not launching on your PC. Nothing is guaranteed, but the potential fixes above address many potential causes for the game not starting. You can also ask the Endnight support service for more potential resolutions from this contact page.
