Horizon Zero Dawn has many fans, but not everyone can play it on Windows PCs because of startup issues. Players have frequently reported Horizon Zero Dawn not starting on their PCs since that game’s 2020 Windows release. One HZD player’s Reddit post says, “I’ve been unable to play Horizon Zero Dawn (HZD). Every time I attempt to open the game, I receive the ‘Unfortunately, the game has crashed’ error.” Other players have reported HZD getting stuck on loading. This is how you can fix Horizon Zero Dawn not launching on a Windows 11/10 PC.
Verify the Horizons Zero Dawn Files
Verifying means scanning and repairing game files. Games sometimes fail to start because of missing or corrupted files, which this potential resolution can fix. The linked Steam, Epic Games, and GOG Galaxy pages below include instructions for verifying games with those gaming clients.
The Verify option
Set Horizons Zero Dawn to Run as an Administrator
Some users confirm setting HZD to run with elevated privileges (admin rights) can fix Horizon Zero Dawn not launching. This will give the game full PC system access, which is otherwise lacking when it doesn’t have admin rights. To apply this resolution, you’ll need to adjust the game’s compatibility settings via its installation folder like this.
- Simultaneously press the Windows + E keyboard keys and open the Horizon Zero Dawn installation folder on your PC.
- Right-click the HorizonsZeroDawn.exe file to select Properties.
- Next, click Run this program as an administrator to select that option within the Compatibility tab.
The Run this program as an administrator option
- Press Apply and OK within the HorizonsZeroDawn Properties window.
- Try launching HZD from its folder outside your gaming client by double-clicking the HorizonsZeroDawn file.
Delete the Profile Folder
Deleting the profile folder is a widely confirmed way to fix Horizon Zero Dawn not launching. So, this is certainly worth a try. This is how you can delete the profile folder.
- Navigate to this folder path within File Explorer: C:Usersmav_uDocumentsHorizon Zero Dawn.
- Right-click the Saved Games folder and select Copy. Paste a backup copy of that folder to the desktop or another location by right-clicking and selecting Paste.
The Copy option
- Next, open the Saved Games > profile subfolders in the Horizon Zero Dawn directory.
- Press Ctrl + A to select all profile folder content.
The profile folder and Delete context menu option
- Right-click and select Delete to erase selected content.
I can’t confirm whether this resolution affects saved game data or not. So, I recommend you back up the Saved Games folder before applying. You can then restore backed-up saved games if necessary.
Increase Virtual Memory
Players also confirm that increasing virtual memory allocation is another troubleshooting method that can fix Horizon Zero Dawn not launching. This will increase the amount of space allocated for simulated RAM. You can increase virtual memory like this.
- Click the Search box or button (magnifying glass) on the taskbar to activate a tool for finding files and apps.
- Next, type in View advanced system settings to access a System Properties window.
- Click Settings for the performance options.
- Select Advanced on the Performance Options window that appears.
- Click Change to access the settings for virtual memory.
The Change button
- Deselect Automatically manage paging file size for all drives to disable that setting.
- Select Custom size.
- Enter 8192 in the Initial size and Maximum size boxes if your PC has eight gigabytes of RAM. Or input 16834 in both those boxes if your PC has 16 gigabytes of RAM.
The Virtual Memory window
- Click OK on the Virtual Memory and Performance Options window.
- Restart Windows 11 or 10 after increasing virtual memory.
Turn Off the Windows Defender Firewall
Turning off Windows Defender Firewall has fixed Horizon Zero Dawn not starting for some players. Doing this will prevent that firewall from blocking HZD from establishing necessary connections. This Microsoft support webpage provides step-by-step instructions for disabling Windows Defender Firewall.
The Turn off Windows Defender Firewall option
Temporarily turn off that firewall and try starting Horizon Zero Dawn. If this works, you’ll know the firewall was the issue, but it’s not recommended to leave it disabled. You can try adding the Horizon Zero Dawn game to the firewall’s allowed list by going through the steps on this Microsoft page.
Reinstall Visual C++ Redistributable Packages
Uninstalling and reinstalling Visual C++ Redistributable packages can fix Horizon Zero Dawn launch issues caused by corrupted or missing C++ runtime libraries. So, try reinstalling Visual C++ Redistributable packages as follows.
- To start Run, right-click Start and select the shortcut for opening that command accessory on the menu.
- Type in the appwiz.cpl Run command for accessing Programs and Features and click OK.
- Select the X64 and X86 Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable packages and click Uninstall to remove.
- Go to this Microsoft Visual C++ page.
- Click on the X86 and X64 links for downloading Microsoft Visual C++ for Visual Studio 2015-2022.
The Visual C++ Redistributable download options
- Next, bring up the directory (folder) containing the downloaded Visual C++ files.
- Double-click VC_redist.x64.exe to open the 64-bit Visual C++ installer.
- Click the I agree option and press Install.
The Install option for Visual C++ 2015-2022
- Next, double-click VC_redist.x86.exe and select to install.
- Downloading the Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable package from this page is also recommended. Double-click the downloaded file for the Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable package, and select I agree and Install from there.
- Restart Windows 11/10, and then try playing Horizon Zero Dawn.
Set Your PC to Clean Boot
The Services tab in MSConfig
Clean booting is the disabling of third-party apps and services that automatically start with Windows. This eliminates background programs, some of which can cause gaming startup issues to occur. To apply this troubleshooting method, you’ll need to disable services and apps via Task Manager and MSConfig as instructed in Microsoft’s guide to clean booting. Try starting Horizon Zero Dawn after clean booting.
Other Potential Ways to Fix Horizon Zero Dawn Not Launching
Although the methods above are more widely confirmed to work, there are other ways you can feasibly fix Horizon Zero Dawn not launching. Try applying these extra potential fixes if the game still doesn’t start:
- Update the AMD or NVIDIA driver for your PC’s GPU.
- Turn off Steam’s overlay feature and others in alternative software.
- Reinstall Horizon Zero Dawn.
- Select to disable full-screen optimizations for Horizon Zero Dawn on the Compatibility tab.
The troubleshooting methods in this guide will often fix Horizon Zero Dawn not launching on Windows 11/10 PCs. They aren’t necessarily guaranteed to work in all scenarios, but Horizon Zero Dawn players confirm they’ve fixed HZD not starting by applying them. You can contact the game’s support service from this HZD help page if more potential fixes are needed.
