7 Ways to Fix Total War: Warhammer 3 Not Launching on a Windows PC

Total War: Warhammer 3 is a game that some players report they can’t start on their Windows PCs. A player’s Reddit post said this: “I’ve been wanting to play some Total War, and since I watch a lot of Warhammer 3. I wanted to play some. When I launch the game from the launcher, the first screen with the logos and then it closes.” Players can’t engage in total war when Warhammer 3 doesn’t start. This is how you can fix Total War: Warhammer 3 not launching on a Windows PC.

Wait Five to 10 Minutes for the Game to Start

Note that Total War: Warhammer 3 can take some time to load when first started. SEGA recommends players wait five to 10 minutes for the game to get going when first starting, which is sometimes needed for PC configuration. Some players have even said they needed to wait up to 20 minutes. If you’re trying to start the game directly after purchase, be prepared to wait up to 10-20 minutes.

Verify the Integrity of TW: Warhammer 3

Verifying the integrity of a game scans its files and repairs corrupted ones. Players confirm they were able to fix Total War: Warhammer 3 by verifying its files. You can run a verification scan as covered on these Epic support and Steam help pages.

The Verify option

Run Total War: Warhammer 3 as an Administrator

SEGA recommends players troubleshoot Total War: Warhammer 3 by running the game with administrator rights. Applying this possible fix will give the game full system permissions. These are the steps for running Total War: Warhammer 3 as an administrator:

1. Open File Explorer and the Total War Warhammer III game installation folder. The Steam path for that folder is Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > Total War: WARHAMMER III.
2. Right-click Warhammer 3 EXE file to select Properties.
3. Select Run this program as administrator inside the Compatibility tab.
   
   

   The Run this program as an administrator checkbox

4. To save the admin option selected, click Apply > OK.

Delete the Warhammer 3 Data Folder

Erasing the Warhammer 3 data folder is a player-confirmed way to fix Total War: Warhammer 3 not launching. You can erase that data folder like this:

1. Go into File Explorer by pressing the Windows logo + E key combination.
2. Navigate to the C: /Users/AppData/Roaming/Creative Assembly/ folder path.
3. Right-click the Warhammer 3 data folder there to select Delete on Explorer’s context menu.

Turn Off Steam’s Overlay

Disabling Steam’s overlay feature is another way to fix Total War: Warhammer 3 not launching, the SEGA support service recommends. Overlays can sometimes cause game startup issues because of incompatibility and resource conflicts. Try turning off Steam’s overlay like this:

1. Go into the Steam software window.
2. Click the Steam menu and select Settings from it.
3. Turn off the Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game option on the In-Game tab.

The Enable the Steam Overlay setting

Delete Total War: Warhammer 3 Mods

Some players have been able to fix Total War: Warhammer 3 not launching by removing problematic game mods. That’s especially likely for players with outdated mods that might not be entirely compatible with the latest version of the game. You can remove unneeded game mods with the methods covered on this SEGA help page.

Reinstall Warhammer 3

Finally, try reinstalling your Warhammer 3 game if nothing else works for you. A few players have also confirmed that reinstalling fixed the game not starting on their PCs. You can reinstall Total War: Warhammer 3 with Steam and Epic Games like this:

Steam

1. Start Steam and open the Library tab within that software.
2. Next, click the Total War: Warhammer 3 game with the right mouse button to select Uninstall.
   
   

   Steam’s Uninstall option

3. Select Uninstall again for confirmation.
4. To reinstall, select the uninstalled Total War: Warhammer 3 game and click its Install option.

Epic Games

1. Bring up your Epic Games software and its Library tab.
2. Click the three-dot menu button for Total War: Warhammer 3 and select Uninstall.
3. Select Uninstall again.
   
   

   Epic Games’ Uninstall option

4. Click the uninstalled Warhammer 3 game and its Install option.

Other Possible Ways to Fix Total War: Warhammer 3 Not Launching

There are more possible ways to fix Total War: Warhammer 3 not starting beyond those above. These extra potential resolutions might also kick-start that game for some players:

• Install the latest graphical driver for your PC’s GPU using the method in this guide for updating graphics drivers.
• Opt out of Steam beta participation if you’re in it.
• Update Visual C++ components by downloading and running the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2022 installer package from this Microsoft page.
• Add the Total War: Warhammer 3 game folder to the firewall and antivirus exception lists.

The potential resolutions discussed above are some of the most widely confirmed ways to fix Total War: Warhammer 3 not launching on Windows PCs. Those possible fixes might not work for all players, but they’re worth a try. You can also send a support ticket to SEGA’s help service about this gaming issue from this form page.

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