How Do I Fix The Fortnite Launch Error? 17 Easy Methods

If you are into online multiplayer battle royale games, you cannot miss the famous Fortnite game. Developed by Epic Games, you can enjoy this game with your friends for free. As a globally acclaimed online game, you can play Fortnite on many different platforms. 

Despite such massive popularity across the globe, the game is prone to many issues and errors. Players of Fortnite have reported server issues, computer problems, broken patches, and game crashes while playing.  

Thus, this guide has brought insight into why Fortnite might not be working. You can also find solutions to fix the issue of Fortnite crashing mid game on your PC. 

Why is Fortnite not working? Why is Fortnite crashing so much?

Have you been playing Fortnite for a while now? Have you ever encountered an error message while launching Fortnite? If you have, you are not alone. 

Rather than worrying about why Fortnite is not working or why Fortnite is crashing so much, follow this guide to resolve the issue. But first, it might help to know why Fortnite is not working in the first place.

As an online multiplayer game, it has a massive amount of players. Even with frequent updates and quick fixes to the game, players experience launch errors and crashes. The root cause might be the game server, broken patches, device problems, etc. Even to this date, it is impossible to pinpoint the cause of the Fortnite launch issue accurately. 

Suppose you are using Windows 10 or 11 devices. If you face Fortnite crashing, there could be many different reasons. Some possible causes could be corrupt drivers, overclocking, corrupt game files, high game settings, temperature issues, etc. Well, the potential problems are not limited to these, though. 

How to fix Fortnite crashing on PC?

Even though the leading cause of Fortnite crashing so much cannot be wholly identified. There are a few practical techniques to fix the issue. Try any of the following methods to solve the Fortnite launch error. 

1. Run Fortnite as Admin.
2. Update the system’s video card drivers.
3. Install the latest patch.
4. Repair EasyAntiCheat.
5. Disable background running applications. 
6. Verify your Fortnite game files. 
7. Avoid CPU overclocking.
8. Adjust the compatibility mode.
9. Change the TdrLevel Registry Key
10. Repair Visual C++ redistributables.
11. Make changes to the Graphics settings.
12. Check the server status of Epic Games.
13. Disable fullscreen optimizations.
14. Fix Packet Loss Issue.
15. Troubleshoot console connection.
16. Reinstall Fortnite.
17. Contact Epic Games official support.

Here are the insights on these fixes to the Fortnite launch error. 

Fix 1: Run Fortnite as Admin.

If launching the game as a player is causing an issue, run the game as the administrator. As an admin, you will get several access and rights to different functions of the game. 

These are the steps to run Fortnite as an Admin rather than a player:

• Open your device and right-click on the Fortnite game icon. Click on the “Run as Administrator” option. 
• On the window prompt for “User Account Control,” select “Yes.”

Now, launch the Fortnite game and play for about an hour to check if it crashes again. If the crashing issue is fixed, you can apply a more permanent fix to prevent future crashes. 

The steps to permanent fix if running as Admin works:

• Find the location of the Fortnite folder on your device and go to the directory. Right-click on the Fortnite folder and select the “Properties” option.
• When the Properties window opens, click on the “Security tab > tap the “Edit” button.
• Find your account in the “Group or User names” section. 
• Click on your Fortnite account and enable the “Full Control” option. Then, hit the “OK” button.
• Now, navigate back to the “Security” tab and go to the “Advanced” option. 
• When the “Advanced Security Settings” window opens, make your account the “Owner” account. 
• After saving the changes made, launch the Fortnite on your device. 

If the game still shows signs of crash and errors, try the other fixes on the lists.  

Fix 2: Update the system’s video card drivers.

Corrupted or faulty video card drivers could also cause Fortnite launch errors. Outdated video drivers are risky due to bugs and performance issues. Install the latest video drivers on your device if you want to enjoy playing Fortnite to its full potential. You can find the latest information on video cards on the manufacturer’s site. 

Fix 3: Install the latest patch.

If the patch is the cause, you might want to update to the newest ones. You can find it on the official Fortnite site. You simply have to download and install the latest patch on your device. After successful installation, restart the computer before relaunching the game. 

Fix 4: Repair EasyAntiCheat.

EasyAntiCheat is software to help prevent cheating in online games. Here is how you repair the EasyAntiCheat: 

• Open the “Start-Up” menu > type “Add or Remove programs” in the search box > now, click on the relevant icon. 
• Find the “EasyAntiCheat Setup” under the Add or Remove Programs list. 
• Select the “EasyAntiCheat Setup” and tap on the “Repair” button. 

Fix 5: Disable background running applications. 

If numerous applications are running in the background while you are playing Fortnite on your system, it could interfere with the gameplay. So, stop the background applications from running while other apps or programs are operating. Simply open the system’s Task Manager and go to the “Startup” tab. Choose the programs from the list and disable them.

After that, reboot your computer and relaunch Fortnite.  

Fix 6: Verify your Fortnite game files. 

Your Fortnite will crash if the game files are corrupted or missing. If game files are indeed corrupted or missing, the Epic Games Launcher will fix the issue by re-downloading the game file. 

The steps to check your game files integrity are as follows:

• Go to the Epic Games Launcher and click on “Library.”
• Find the three horizontal dots and select the “Verify” option. 

You can now launch Fortnite on your device and check if the issue is resolved.

Fix 7: Avoid CPU overclocking.

The game’s stability gets affected by high clock speeds. Your Fortnite will crash if the processor is overclocked. So, set the CPU clock speeds to standard or default settings. 

Fix 8: Adjust the compatibility mode.

The Compatibility Mode is a feature that enables the system to run programs by simulating environments like that of older Windows versions. Making adjustments to the compatibility mode may resolve the Fortnite launch error. These are the steps to do so:

• Go to the Fortnite binaries directory and find the “FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe.”
• Or, right-click on the Fortnite shortcut icon and select “Properties.”
• Click on the “Compatibility” option and select the “Run this program in compatibility mode for” box. 
• Choose your device’s Windows version and hit the “Apply” button. 

Once complete, relaunch Fortnite on your system and check for crashing issues. 

Fix 9: Change the TDR Settings.

TDR means Timeout Detection and Recovery. If the game takes too long to launch the graphics card, the Timeout Detection will crash the game. If you turn off this setting, the graphics card can take a long time to launch the game without crashing. 

Before you adjust the TDR settings or disable the setting, make sure to keep a backup of your registry.

• Press the “Windows + R” keys in the Run box. 
• Now, open “Register Editor” by typing “Regedit” and hitting the “Enter” button.
• Go to the menu and select the “File” tab > choose “Export.”
• Choose a location to save the Registry backup copy and type a relevant file name. Now, “Save” the file. 

 The steps to turn off or disable the TDR settings are as below:

• Open the “Registry Editor” and go to the “Graphics Drivers” section. 
• Find the “TdrLevel value.” If it is not there, create one by right-clicking on the suitable space > New > QWORD (64-bit) Value > rename the value as “TdrLevel.”
• Now, double-click on the “TdrLevel” and input “0” in the “Value data” field. 
• Save these changes and close the Registry Editor window. 

Now, restart your Windows computer and launch Fortnite. 

Fix 10: Repair Visual C++ Redistributables.

Any device needs the Visual C++ Redistributables to run the Fortnite. It is generally a set of libraries that enables many different applications to run on any device. You can repair or install the Visual C++ Redistributables through the following steps:

• Find a relevant platform and download all the essential Visual C++ Redistributables. 
• Download both the x86 and x64 versions on your device. 
• When downloaded, run the files and select the “Repair” option. If you cannot find the Repair option, follow the instructions on the screen for the normal installation process. 
• When the job is done, restart your Windows system. 

Try relaunching Fortnite on your device and check for crashes. 

Fix 11: Make changes to the Graphics settings.

If you have set the game settings too high, the system may not be able to load or process it. In this case, you can try lowering the resolution and check if it affects the game play again. 

Here is what you can do to change the Graphics settings:

Step 1- Find the Fortnite “Settings” and select the “Video Settings.”

Step 2- Check and make changes as required in the Video Settings window. 

• Display Resolution: Adjust it the same as your computer’s resolution. 
• Video Quality: Low or medium.
• Effects: Low.
• View Distance: Medium or Far.
• Textures: Low.
• Show FPS: On.
• Shadows: Off
• Anti-Aliasing: Off

Step 3- Save the changes made to the Graphics settings and restart your Windows system. 

Fix 12: Check the server status of Epic Games.

You should check the Epic Games server status if none of the fixes work. These servers help connect the game to your device when you launch Fortnite. So, if the game servers happen to be down, the game will not load on the system as it cannot connect to the server. 

Fix 13: Disable full screen optimizations.

Many Fortnite players have said that disabling the executable properties of the game often fix the Fortnite crashing issue. The process of disabling full screen optimizations is similar to adjustments with the game’s compatibility mode. Here is what you have to do:

• Find the Fortnite folder, right-click on the “FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping-exe,” and choose the “Properties” option.
• Select the “Compatibility” tab > “Disable Full screen Optimizations” > Click the “Apply” button followed by “OK.”

Fix 14: Fix Packet Loss Issue.

Packet loss occurs when the data packets sent from your Windows system to the game servers fail to return to the destination. The steps to fix the packet loss are as below:

• Go to the “Epic Games Launcher” and find the “Settings.”
• Navigate to the “Fortnite” and expand it. 
• Tick the box next to the “Additional Command Line Arguments” and type “-limitclientticks” in the relevant space. 

Restart your Windows computer and relaunch Fortnite. 

Fix 15: Troubleshoot console connection.

There might be minor connection issues if you are playing Fortnite using a gaming console. If Fortnite is facing a launching error due to console connection, you might have to reach out for help from the manufacturers. 

Note: Fortnite is not available on iOS devices. You can only play the game via the Epic Games App. 

Fix 16: Reinstall Fortnite.

If you cannot resolve the Fortnite crashing issue after applying all these fixes, uninstall and try reinstalling the game on the system. 

• Go to the Epic Games Launcher and uninstall Fortnite. 
• Reboot your Windows PC.
• Open Epic Games Launcher and reinstall Fortnite again.
• Select the Fortnite Battle Royale option and confirm the installation. 
• When the installation is done, rerun Fortnite. 

Fix 17: Contact Epic Games official support.

If reinstalling and none of the above fixes worked, contact Epic Games Support for help. They can help troubleshoot the Fortnite crashing issue.

Nonetheless, we hope these solutions help you fix the Fortnite launch error, and you can enjoy your game without issues.