Crusader Kings II won't launch from Steam

[Sir Tornado]

So, I am facing the following issue:

1) I click on "Play" button in Crusader Kings II in Steam
2) I get a brief steam window saying: "Synchronizing Steam Cloud" and in the Library pane, I see: "Crusader Kings II - Launching" (in blue)
3) A second later, the "Synchronizing Steam Cloud" notification disappears and the "Crusader Kings II - Launching" becomes "Crusader Kings II - Running" (in green)
4) A couple of seconds latter, "Crusader Kings II - Running" becomes "Crusader Kings II - 100%" (in blue).
5) Then nothing happens, and I am back to where I was before step 1.

I have already tried verifying integrity of Game Files. The files were fine.

 

[miggoycor]

This is happening to me too.

 

[AndrewT]

Please edit the file Documents/paradox/ck2/settings.txt to say:

fullScreen=no
borderless=yes

THEN go here:

Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads

This article lists the download links for the latest versions of Visual C++ Redistributable packages.

support.microsoft.com

And run the x86 and x64 installers there.

IF that doesn't help, has the game ever run OK on this computer? Or never?

IF NEVER:
Install ALL these Microsoft modules:

Download Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package MFC Security Update from Official Microsoft Download Center

A security issue has been identified leading to a vulnerability in MFC applications that are built with Visual Studio 2010 and ship the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package.

www.microsoft.com

Download Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 RC from Official Microsoft Download Center

This update is the latest in a cumulative series of feature additions and bug fixes for Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable.

www.microsoft.com

Download DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) from Official Microsoft Download Center

The Microsoft DirectX® End-User Runtime installs a number of runtime libraries from the legacy DirectX SDK for some games that use D3DX9, D3DX10, D3DX11, XAudio 2.7, XInput 1.3, XACT, and/or Managed DirectX 1.1. Note that this package does not modify the DirectX Runtime installed on your Windows...

www.microsoft.com

(run dxsetup.exe after extracting this download to its own folder anywhere on your computer)

Add ck2game.exe to the exceptions list of your antivirus app; ESPECIALLY if you have Windows Defender, add it to the Ransomware "Apps Allowed Through" list.

Also if you have installed RivaTuner, RadeonPro, or a gaming VPN app called Evolve, or the MSI Gaming App, or Duet, disable it as it clashes with this game.


IF IT USED TO WORK:
Please do a full **clean** re-install:

- move any valued save games elsewhere
- "uninstall" in Steam-CK2
- manually delete both the Steam/SteamApps/common/CK2 AND Documents/Paradox Interactive/CK2 folders
- re-install game in Steam, run a Steam Verify when done.
- add ck2game.exe to the exceptions list of your antivirus app; ESPECIALLY if you have Windows Defender, add it to the Ransomware "Apps Allowed Through" list.
- start the game with no mods active and test

In particular make sure there are no files or folders left under either the Steam CK2 or Documents CK2 locations, before installing again.

Also if you have installed RivaTuner, RadeonPro, or a gaming VPN app called Evolve, or the MSI Gaming App, or Duet, disable it as it clashes with this game.


IF that doesn't help:
DXDIAG is a program you run from the Windows search box on the task bar. After running it will open a window and start collecting info with a progress bar in the lower-left corner. When it completes click the 'save all information' button and save it to a file then attach that file here.

Please attach here your Documents/Paradox Interactive/CK2/settings.txt
From your Documents/Paradox Interactive/CK2/logs/ folder, attach here system.log , error.log .

 

[Sir Tornado]

Please edit the file Documents/paradox/ck2/settings.txt to say:

This file appears to be blank. It is still 18 KB for some reason, but it is blank.

 

[Sir Tornado]

The full clean reinstall worked. Thanks!

 

[Fylkir Thorongil]

I encountered a very similar issue, therefore rather than creating a new thread I am posting here instead. Approximately 2 days ago was the last time I was able to play CKII. I have never had any issues with the game starting until this point. My other games in my Steam Library are able to launch without issue so it appears to be directly related to CKII itself.

I am faced with the following sequence of events:

1. I click on "Play" button in Crusader Kings II in the Steam Library
2. The game begins to launch, with the Steam Cloud status adjacent to the "Play" button connecting and then verifying that it is connected.
3. The CKII title under the list of games on the left hand side changes from "Launching" (in blue) to "Running" (in green).
4. After a brief moment, a small icon of the cloud with a yellow dot pops up and disappears twice and the game stops running. [Note: when the Steam Cloud is turned off, the icon does not appear however the game still chooses to stop running.]
5. The Library screen appears as it did before I clicked the "Play" button without any pop-ups or other indication as to why the game did not launch properly.

Specs:

• System: Windows 11 64-bit
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
• Processor: Intel i5-13400F (~2.5 GHz)

I have done the following in an attempt to remedy the situation to no avail:

• Fully close then relaunch Steam and verify game file integrity in Steam game properties
• Turn off/on Steam Cloud save
• Turn off the internet connection, launch Steam offline, then turn internet back online in order to force the game to resync with the Steam Cloud
• Launch game without any DLC or mods
• Launch game via application in File Explorer
• Restart computer
• Run Steam and CKII as administrator
• Verify all compatibility options on .exe file were disabled (I did see if selecting "Disable fullscreen optimization" on .exe compatibility would permit a launch but this did not work either).
• Full uninstall and then reinstall of game, and thereafter verify game file integrity
• Full "clean" reinstall (i.e. move my save files to a flash drive, uninstall CKII from Steam, manually delete both the Steam/SteamApps/common/CK2 and Documents/Paradox Interactive/CK2 folders, double check with a quick search with File Explorer that all files had been removed, reinstall CKII + verify game file integrity)
• Completely uninstall Steam, then reinstall Steam and game, and verify game file integrity
• Add file "userdir.txt" to steamapps subfolder
• Check for Windows update
• Update NVIDIA driver
• Update Visual C++ redistributables.
• Verify DirectX was on latest version
• Open Device Manager and ensure everything listed had drivers on latest version.
• Run DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DxDiag) and verify there were no issues.
• Run DISM in command prompt as administrator (command: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth). Stated all systems were functioning.
• Run system file checker in command prompt as administrator (command: sfc /scannow). Returned with message "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations."
• Verify once more that Steam and CKII files and applications were exempted on firewall

I posted this issue one day ago in another online forum, with the only response suggesting that a potential reason was that the game is trying to pre-load a corrupted save file. However, the Documents folder for Paradox was deleted during my first "clean" reinstall and has not been generated since as I have been unable to launch the game. I do not have any saved game files within the Steam Cloud either.

 

[AndrewT]

What happens if you run ck2game.exe directly from File Explorer? Any error show when that fails?



DXDIAG is a program you run from the Windows search box on the task bar. After running it will open a window and start collecting info with a progress bar in the lower-left corner. When it completes click the 'save all information' button and save it to a file then attach that file here.
IF dxdiag.txt fails to attach here, rename it to dxdiag.log , or zip it up.

Please attach here your Documents/Paradox Interactive/Crusader Kings 2/settings.txt
From your Documents/Paradox Interactive/Crusader Kings 2/logs/ folder, attach here system.log , error.log , exceptions.log

 

[Fylkir Thorongil]

What happens if you run ck2game.exe directly from File Explorer? Any error show when that fails?



DXDIAG is a program you run from the Windows search box on the task bar. After running it will open a window and start collecting info with a progress bar in the lower-left corner. When it completes click the 'save all information' button and save it to a file then attach that file here.
IF dxdiag.txt fails to attach here, rename it to dxdiag.log , or zip it up.

Please attach here your Documents/Paradox Interactive/Crusader Kings 2/settings.txt
From your Documents/Paradox Interactive/Crusader Kings 2/logs/ folder, attach here system.log , error.log , exceptions.log

When I attempt to run the .exe from File Explorer it does not launch. A blue loading circle appears on the cursor for a few seconds before disappearing. This occurs as well if I attempt to run as an administrator.

I have attached a copy of the dxdiag.txt file.

Regarding the Documents, as I mentioned in my initial post I no longer have that folder due to my first "clean" reinstall attempt whereby I deleted all files related to CKII and thereafter due to the game failing to launch so that the folder could regenerate.

---

Edit: I have attempted to attach the dxdiag.txt file onto the forum, however I am unable to see it display in my post. I am unsure if this is on my end or if it has failed to attach.

 

[AndrewT]

IF dxdiag.txt fails to attach here, rename it to dxdiag.log , or zip it up.

 

[Fylkir Thorongil]

IF dxdiag.txt fails to attach here, rename it to dxdiag.log , or zip it up.

I have created a zip which hopefully is attached.

 

[AndrewT]

Did this only happen since updating the Nvidia driver to 2025?

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/game-ready-drivers/13/556589/driver-57216-causing-massive-issues/

Please try reverting it to an older version - does that help?

 

[Fylkir Thorongil]

Did this only happen since updating the Nvidia driver to 2025?

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/game-ready-drivers/13/556589/driver-57216-causing-massive-issues/

Please try reverting it to an older version - does that help?

I was unaware that the latest version (572.16) was causing issues, however the issues occurred a month after the release and I manually updated to that new driver when I was searching for potential solutions to the game failing to launch.

I cleaned out the new version and reverted back to previous version (566.36). Then just in case, I uninstalled & reinstalled the game and verified the game file integrity. However, the same issue persists and this did not affect it.

 

[AndrewT]

Hmmmm . Make a new Windows user profile on this PC and try the game under there - any better?

If not, Please install and run the free utility Speccy. Send its output to a text file and attach that here please.
https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy/download

 

[Fylkir Thorongil]

Hmmmm . Make a new Windows user profile on this PC and try the game under there - any better?

If not, Please install and run the free utility Speccy. Send its output to a text file and attach that here please.
https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy/download

I was able to get the game to run after creating a new Windows profile, so I will be using that to play for the time being. When I logged into steam and pressed the button to play, the game loaded as if it was the first time I played it, asking for me to log into my Paradox account. and so forth.

However I would still like to figure out why it will not run through my main account. I have downloaded the Speccy utility and have attached the .txt file.