Sea of Thieves is a popular multiplayer game some players can’t play when it doesn’t start on their PCs. For instance, a player’s Reddit post says, “The game (Sea of Thieves) just boots and brings me to a window of the Sea of Thieves, but it’s just the picture with some pirates and it says SEASON 8 and it won’t actually load the game.” Players also report Sea of Thieves failing to launch with variable error messages. This is how you can fix Sea of Thieves not launching on a Windows PC.
Set a Dx11 Launch Parameter
Setting a dx11 (Direct 11) launch parameter is one potential way to fix Sea of Thieves not launching some players say has worked for them. Applying this possible solution sets Sea of Thieves to start with the DirectX 11 API. Note that this potential fix is specifically for the Steam version of the game for which a launch parameter can be set. You can set a dx11 launch parameter for SoT like this:
- Run Steam to open its Library tab.
- Right-click the Sea of Thieves game in the left sidebar of Steam to select Properties.
- Enter -dx11 inside Steam’s launch options text box.
The -dx11 launch parameter
- Restart Steam and try playing Sea of Thieves again.
Set Steam to Run as an Administrator in Compatibility Mode
Players also say they’ve been able to fix Sea of Thieves not launching by setting Steam to run as an administrator in compatibility mode. Applying this potential fix will give Steam, the gaming client for Sea of Thieves, full admin system access. Try setting the admin and compatibility settings for Steam like this:
- Right-click your Steam desktop shortcut to select Properties on its context menu.
- Next, select Compatibility in the window that appears.
- Click on Run this program as an administrator to select the checkbox for that setting.
- Select Run this program in compatibility mode and the Windows 8 platform setting for that option.
The Compatibility tab
- To save what you’ve selected, click on Apply > OK.
Reset the Sea of Thieves App
If you’ve installed Sea of Thieves from the MS Store, try resetting that app’s data. This possible fix is a common troubleshooting method for resolving app startup issues. You can reset an app’s data as outlined on this Microsoft page.
The Reset option
Repair Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable
Some players confirm repairing Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable can fix Sea of Thieves not launching. Applying this potential resolution might address Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable bugs causing Sea of Thieves startup issues. These are the steps for repairing Microsoft Visual C++ 2025:
- To start Run, right-click your Start menu button and select that shortcut’s accessory.
- Input appwiz.cpl into Run and press Enter to access a Programs and Features Control Panel window.
- Right-click Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable and select Change.
The Repair option for Visual C++ 2015
- Press Repair to apply this fix.
Reinstall Steam and Sea of Thieves
A few players say they’ve been able to fix Sea of Thieves not launching by reinstalling Steam. However, you’ll need to reinstall Steam of Thieves along with Steam when applying this possible fix. This Steam support page provides instructions for reinstalling Valve’s game client. When you’ve reinstalled Steam, open that game client, log into your account, and click the Install option for Sea of Thieves in the Library tab.
Install a New Graphics Driver
Installing new graphics drivers has worked for some players who’ve needed to fix Sea of Thieves not launching. For example, this is what one player’s post on Reddit says, “The fix I had for that was in my video driver, had to uninstall and do a clean install with the latest drivers, and that worked for me.” Check out the instructions in our guide to updating graphics drivers to apply this possible fix.
The NVIDIA graphics driver page
Update Windows
The official SoT help service says updating Windows is one of the most reliable ways to fix Sea of Thieves not launching. Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 10 in October 2025, but this potential resolution is also applicable to that platform until then. You can check for and install Windows updates by going through the steps on this Microsoft website page.
The Check for updates button
Other Possible Ways to Fix Sea of Thieves Not Launching
There are more troubleshooting methods for fixing Sea of Thieves not launching beyond those above that might work for some players. Try applying these extra possible resolutions if those above aren’t enough:
- Make sure the time and date are set correctly on your Windows PC via Settings if you’ve installed the Sea of Thieves MS Store app.
- Change your Windows user account to an administrator one if it’s currently a standard user.
- Execute the Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”} PowerShell command.
- If you’re a Steam user, try verifying the integrity of the SoT game.
- Reset MS Store with the wsreset Run command.
Applying the potential resolutions above will probably fix Sea of Thieves not launching on most players’ PCs. They might not kick-start that game for everybody, but there’s a good chance one will work on your PC. Players can also contact the SoT help service about this gaming issue by clicking Raise a Support quest on this Sea of Thieves page.
