Days Gone Not Launching On PC [SOLVED]

After a couple years’ wait, the once PS-exclusive title Days Gone has finally made its way to PC. However, not all gameplay is smooth and some players even find the game not launching before they could venture into the world of Freakers at all.

If you also encounter the Days Gone not launching problem, don’t worry. Here are 7 fixes that could help you get the game back in business. Just navigate your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.

Preliminary steps: Check your PC specs

The developer studio of Days Gone has released a guideline of requirements in order for the game to be played decently and smoothly. So if your copy of Days Gone fails to start often, it may be worth gauging whether your PC is up to the task.

Below I have listed the minimum requirements and recommended requirements for Days Gone. If you are not sure how your PC is built, you can follow the later step to compare.

To check the specs of your PC:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time, then type dxdiag and press Enter.
   
2. Under the System tab and you can check the Operating System and Memory information on your PC.
   
3. Select the Display tab, and you’ll be presented with the information about your graphics card.
   
4. Close DirectX.

If your PC specs have been up to the mark but Days Gone still fails to launch, please move on to Fix 2, below to begin troubleshooting.

How to fix Days Gone Not Launching on PC

Fix 1 – Install the latest game patch

The developer team of Days Gone released a note of known bugs in the game. It is possible that the launching failure is also one of the bugs and that a patch is required to fix it. So you should keep a watchful eye on the latest patch. As long as it’s released, you should close the game, then restart Steam client or Epic Games Launcher for the updates to take effect.

If you’ve installed the latest patch but the issue persists, please try Fix 2, below.

Fix 2 – Update your graphics driver

A graphics driver, acting as a translator between your operating system, programs and your graphics hardware, is essential to the proper functioning of the whole system. If the driver is wrong, outdated or corrupt, it may cause instabilities, crashing and game launching problems. So you should update your graphics driver to see if it solves the issue. If you don’t have the time, patience or skills to update the driver manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy.

Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.

You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 steps (and you get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee):

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system (this requires the Pro version– you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All).
   
   Note: You can do it for free if you like, but it’s partly manual.
4. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
5. Open the game in your launcher and see if it launches smoothly. If yes, you’ve fixed the problem. If it’s still failing, just head on to Fix 3, below.

Fix 3 – Launch Days Gone in Windowed Mode

Playing Days Gone in fullscreen may contribute to a more immersive gaming experience, but it’s resource demanding, which may put more strain on your PC and cause your game to not launch. To verify if this is the case, you can run the game in Windowed mode and see how it goes.

In Steam

1. Launch Steam and go to LIBRARY.
2. Locate Days Gone and right-click on Properties.
3. In GENERAL, scroll down to LAUNCH OPTIONS, then add -windowed -noborder to the text bar.
   
4. Click Close to exit the window.
5. Fire up Days Gone and see if it opens properly this time. If yes, congrats! If it doesn’t do the trick, please try Fix 4.

In Epic Games Launcher

1. Open Epic Games Launcher and launch Days Gone.
2. Choose Options.
3. Click the DISPLAY tab, then in WINDOW MODE, choose Windowed mode. Click Apply and exit.
   
4. Open Days Gone and see if the launching issue is fixed. If yes, then congrats. If it’s still no joy, please continue with Fix 4, below.

Fix 4 – Disable all overlays

Overlay in Steam gives you access to features and apps without having to leave the game. However, some Steam players report that the feature has interfered with their gameplay and triggered the launching issues for them. If you have the feature on Steam, GeForce Experience and/or Discord, it’s recommended that you turn them off altogther and see if it helps with the situation.

Disable Steam Overlay

1. Launch Steam and go to LIBRARY.
2. Locate Days Gone and right-click on Properties.
   
3. Uncheck the box for Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.
   

Disable GeForce Experience Overlay

1. Open GeForce Experience.
2. In the top right corner of the screen, click Settings button.
3. From the GENERAL panel, toggle the SHARE setting to off.
   

Disable Discord Overlay

1. Open Discord.
2. Click the cog icon in the lower left corner.
   
3. In the pop-up window, scroll down to Game Overlay, then in the right panel, switch off the Enable in-game overlay toggle.
   
4. Click Esc to exit the window.

Once you have disabled these overlays, run Days Gone and see if the launching problem is fixed. If not, move ahead to Fix 5.

Fix 5 – Verify game integrity

Days Gone may not launch if the game files are missing or corrupt. Luckily, both Steam client and Epic Game Launcher have built-in repair features, allowing you to verify the integrity of the game files and fix it (if anything wrong is found).

On Steam

1. Launch Steam and go to LIBRARY.
2. Locate Days Gone and right-click on Properties.
   
3. Click LOCAL FILES > Verify integrity of game files….
   
4. Wait a bit until the process finishes.
   

After that, re-launch the game and see if it opens without fail. If it’s still not launching, please continue with Fix 6, below.

On Epic Games Launcher

1. In Epic Game Launcher, click Library.
2. Locate Days Gone, then click the three dots icon next to the game and click VERIFY.
   
3. Wait a bit until the process finishes. After that, re-launch the game and see if it opens without fail. If it’s still not launching, please continue with Fix 6, below.

Fix 6 – Rename the Movies Folder

According to some players’ feedback, renaming the Movies folder has helped in recovering the game to normal. It may sound not too intuitive, but it’s worth a shot. To do so, simply find your game’s directory, locate the Movies folder, then rename the folder (e.g. Movies_2).

Once finished, head back to your game launcher to fire the game up. If this cuts it, then great. If it’s yielding no result, just try Fix 7, below.

Fix 7 – Close unnecessary apps

Having too many apps running in the background may make your game fail to restart, since they compete for CPU and memory. So it makes sense that while you’re playing the game, you close these resources hungry applications and services.

Here’s how to close background apps:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key, then press Ctrl, Shift and Esc keys at the same time to bring up Task Manager.
2. Select the Startup tab, then right-click on each item and click Disable.
   
3. Restart your computer.
4. Run Days Gone and hopefully the launching error is now resolved.

That’s the end of this post. Hopefully it has pointed you in the right direction in fixing the launching issues in Days Gone. Enjoy ploughing your way through the swarms of Freakers in the post-apocalyptic world! If you have any questions, ideas or suggestions, you’re more than welcome to leave us a comment below.