Waging war within the world of Warhammer gets a lot harder when the game refuses to boot. Here’s how to get it working again on Windows 11.
Warhammer: Total War 3 is the latest TW game that’s had rave reviews during 2022. However, players have widely discussed Warhammer: Total War 3 launch issues on support forums. Some player reports have said that the game gets stuck on the copyright screen, crashes at launch, or simply doesn’t start at all.
Players who need to fix Warhammer: Total War 3 not launching after purchasing it might consider claiming a refund. However, there are numerous ways you can feasibly fix that game when it doesn’t start. These potential resolutions might fix Warhammer: Total War 3 not launching in Windows 11.
Warhammer: Total War 3 might not start because of insufficient system permissions. Make sure the game is set to run with administrative rights. You can configure Warhammer: Total War 3 to start with elevated rights in the following steps:
Some players have said they’ve needed to wait up to 20 minutes on Warhammer: Total War’s logo screen for the game to get started. That might be because the game needs time to configure itself with PCs’ system settings. If Warhammer: Total War 3 gets stuck on the logo screen after you’ve recently installed it, you might need to wait 20-30 minutes for the game to start. If that works, the game will start much more promptly thereafter.
You might need to fix corrupted or damaged Warhammer: Total War 3 files to kick-start the game. Both Epic Games and Steam users can select to run file verification scans for games. These are the steps for verifying Warhammer: Total War 3’s files within Epic Games Launcher:
To verify the game’s files in Steam, right-click Warhammer: Total War 3 in the library section of that gaming client and select Properties. Click Local Files on the window that opens. Then you can select the Verify integrity of game files option from there.
Some players have confirmed starting Warhammer: Total War 3 in windowed mode can resolve launch issues. You can set Warhammer: Total War 3 to start in windowed mode by entering a command-line argument for it in both Epic Games Launcher and Steam. This is how you can input a window mode command-line argument for the game in the Epic Games Launcher:
You can do the same thing from Steam’s Library tab by right-clicking Warhammer: Total War3 and selecting the Properties option for the game. Select the General tab in the window that opens. Then type -windowed -noborder in the Launch Options box.
Any issue with the DirectX software on your PC can feasibly be another cause for Warhammer: Total War 3 crashing when launched. Therefore, it’s recommended to run the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer to update DirectX runtime libraries. You can install missing DirectX components with that installer as follows:
Specific Visual C++ Redistributable components are needed for Warhammer: Total War 3 to run. You might need to install or even repair Visual C++ components to get the game up and running again.
To do so, download and run the Visual C++ 2015-2022 package as follows:
Warhammer: Total War 3 might not start on your PC because an overly strict antivirus utility is blocking some of its files. If there’s a third-party antivirus tool installed on your PC, try disabling its shield before starting the game. To disable an antivirus utility, right-click a system tray icon for it and select a context menu option that temporarily turns off its shield protection.
Windows 11’s built-in antivirus utility can also block games and apps. If there isn’t third-party antivirus software on your PC, temporarily turn off Windows Security (otherwise Microsoft Defender) instead. Our guide on how to turn off Microsoft Defender includes full instructions on how to disable this antivirus tool.
To minimize potential program conflict issues, it’s recommended users close unneeded background apps and services before selecting to start Warhammer: Total War 3. One way you can do that is to set up a clean boot, which will remove third-party software and services from the Windows startup. You can perform a clean boot by adjusting MSConfig settings like this:
Once done, check if Warhammer: Total War 3 can now launch. If it does, that means that a service you disabled while clean booting is causing the problem. You can now slowly begin re-enabling services until the problem resurfaces, at which point you'll know what's causing the issue and can research ways to fix it.
Reinstalling Warhammer: Total War 3 is another potential fix for the game not starting some players have said can work. As Warhammer: Total War 3 weighs in at more than 100 gigabytes, it will take some time to download and reinstall. This is how you can uninstall and reinstall the game with both Epic Games and Steam.
For the Epic Games Launcher:
If you own the game on Steam:
Those potential fixes should cover all the potential causes for Warhammer: Total War 3 launch issues. If you still can’t get the game working, double-check that your PC meets all the game’s system requirements, or submit a help request by selecting Creative Assembly: Total War Series on the Sega Support page.
Jack has been a freelance tech journalist for more than a decade. He has covered Windows Vista, 7, 10, and 11 topics within a multitude of guides for Make Use Of and numerous other websites.
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