How To Fix Humankind Not Launching

Humankind has been the most anticipated 4X game in 2021, and gamers have been getting hyped after the Closed Beta. And now it’s finally out! But just like any new releases, Humankind is far from error-free. Many players have reported the game won’t even launch. If you’re in the same boat, no worries! We have a few working fixes you can try to get the game started ASAP.

Try these fixes…

You don’t have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick!

1: Run as Admin

2: Verify your game files

3: Update your graphics driver

4: Disable Epic Games Launcher overlay

5: Delete previous game files from OpenDev or Closed Beta

6: Reinstall DirectX

7: Reinstall Visual C++ Redistributable

8: Reinstall Dot Net

9: Perform a clean boot

System Requirements for Humankind

Although Humankind isn’t a very demanding game, your PC/laptop still needs to meet the minimum requirements to run the game. Refer to the tables below for details:

Minimum Requirements:

Recommended specs for a smoother gameplay experience:

Fix 1: Run as Admin

The first thing you can do is to run Humankind and the game launcher as administrator. If your game didn’t launch because no admin rights were given, this fix should solve your problem in seconds. Here’s how to do it:

1. Find the executables of Humankind and your game launcher. If you didn’t change the path when installing, the default location should be:
   
   Humankind: C:Program Files (x86)SteamSteamappsCommonHumankind
   OR C:Program FilesEpic GamesHumankind
   
   Steam: C:Program Files (x86)Steam
   
   Epic Games: C:Program Files (x86)Epic GamesLauncherEngineBinariesWin64
   
2. Right-click the executable files, then click Properties.
   
3. Under the Compatibility tab, check the box of Run this program as an administrator. Click Apply then OK.
   

If running the game as well as the game launcher doesn’t give you luck, try the next fix.

Fix 2: Verify your game files

If your game files are missing or corrupted, Humankind won’t be able to launch. The good news is you can verify the game cache via the game launcher. If anything seems wrong, the game launcher will fix it for you. Here’s how:

Steam:

1. Open your Steam library and find Humankind. Right-click the game then select Properties.
   
2. Under the LOCAL FILES tab, click Verify integrity of game files.
   
3. It’ll take some time for Steam to finish the scan.

Epic Games:

1. Go to your Epic Games library and find Humankind.
2. Click the three-dot icon then click Verify.
   
3. It may take a while for the scan to complete depending on the game size.

If verifying your game files doesn’t solve the problem, try the next fix.

Fix 3: Update your graphics driver

Outdated or faulty graphics drivers are a common reason for Humankind not launching. You may want to make sure yours is up-to-date and functioning properly.

There are two ways to keep your graphics card driver up-to-date. One is to manually update it via Device Manager. If Device Manager hasn’t updated the latest version for your PC, you can also go to the manufacturer’s website, and search for the latest correct driver. Be sure to choose only the driver that is compatible with your Windows version.

• NVIDIA
• INTEL
• AMD
• Asus

Automatic driver update – If you don’t have the time, patience, or computer skills to update your driver manually, you can, instead, do it automatically with Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct driver for your exact graphics card and your Windows version, then it will download and install it correctly:

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 the Update button next to the flagged graphics card driver to automatically download the correct version of the driver, then you can manually install it (you can do this with the FREE version).
   
   Or 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 which comes with full support and a 30-day money-back guarantee. You’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All.)
   

Restart your PC for the new graphics driver to take effect. If your graphics driver is working fine but Humankind still won’t open, try the next fix.

Fix 4: Disable Epic Games Launcher overlay

Some players reported that even if they’re launching Humankind from Steam, Epic Games Launcher would try to open and launch the game as well. If you also encounter this issue, simply disable Epic Games overlay. If it doesn’t work, you can also try to uninstall Epic Games Launcher. But it should be your last choice since it can be a hassle when you want to play games on Epic.

If you’re launching Humankind from Epic but Steam is interfering, you can also try to disable Steam overlay.

Fix 5: Delete previous game files from OpenDev or Closed Beta

The developers suggest that previous game profiles in the OpenDev era or Closed Beta could cause unexpected errors. If you’ve also joined the game in early periods, it’s very likely that the old files have blocked your game from starting.

Even if you downloaded the game without actually playing, you’ll need to delete the local game folders. Go to Users[Your Username]DocumentsHumankind and delete the whole Humankind folder. Restart the game to see if you can launch it now.

Fix 6: Reinstall DirectX

DirectX files are essential and when they are corrupted, they can prevent the game from launching normally. The solution to this is to reinstall DirectX. You can either:

• Visit Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer page, download the file and follow the instructions to complete the installation.

OR

• Go to C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonSteamworks Shared\_CommonRedistDirectX, and run DXSETUP.exe to reinstall DirectX.

Make sure you restart your PC after the installation. If this doesn’t solve your problem, try the next fix.

Fix 7: Reinstall Visual C++ Redistributable

If your Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable files are damaged, your game won’t be able to launch, or it could crash at startup. You can try to reinstall Visual C++ Redistributable to solve this problem. Here’s how:

1. Go to C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonSteamworks Shared\_CommonRedistvcredist. You should see 3 folders: 2012, 2013, and 2019. You may also see other folders named as 20xx.
2. Run the following executable files in these folders. (If you have different folders, run the vc_redist.x64.exe in those folders.)
   
   2012vc_redist.x64.exe
   2013vc_redist.x64.exe
   2019vc_redist.x64.exe
   
3. Reboot your PC then test the issue.

If reinstalling Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable doesn’t give you luck, try the next fix.

Fix 8: Reinstall Dot Net

Dot Net framework is used in game development and also essential for the game to run properly. Go to C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonSteamworks Shared\_CommonRedistDotNet4.5.2 and run the NDP452-KB2901907-x86-x64-AllOS-ENU.exe. You’ll need to restart your PC after the reinstallation.

If this doesn’t solve your problem, there’s one more fix you can try.

Fix 9: Perform a clean boot

A clean boot will start your PC with the minimum sets of drivers and services that Windows requires to run. By doing a clean boot, you can identify if there’s any background program interfering with Humankind.

Here’s how to perform a clean boot:

1. In the search bar next to the Start button, type msconfig then click System Configuration.
   
2. Under the Services tab, check Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all and OK.
   
3. Switch to the Startup tab, click Open Task Manager.
   (Windows 7 users: right-click anywhere empty on your taskbar to find the option of task manager.)
   
4. Under Startup tab, click each startup item then click Disable until you’ve disabled all startup items.
   
5. Restart your PC.

If Humankind now starts, this means at least one of the programs you disabled was causing the problem.

Here’s how to find out which one(s):

1. In the search bar next to the Start button, type msconfig then click System Configuration.
   
2. Under the Services tab, tick the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox, then tick the checkboxes in front of the first five items in the list.
   Then click Apply and OK.
   
3. Reboot your computer and launch Humankind. If it once again won’t launch, then you know that one of the services you ticked above is conflicting with it. If it does launch, then the above five services are fine, and you’ll have to keep looking for the offending service.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 above until you find the service that conflicts with Humankind.
   
   NOTE: We recommend testing five items in a group since it’s more efficient, but you’re welcome to do it at your own pace.

If you don’t find any problematic services, you’ll need to test the startup items. Here’s how:

1. Right-click anywhere empty on your taskbar and click Task Manager.
   
2. Switch to the Startup tab, and enable the first five startup items.
   
3. Reboot and try launching the game.
4. Repeat until you find the startup item that’s conflicting with Humankind.
5. Disable the problem program and reboot your PC.

Hopefully this article is helpful and you can now launch Humankind! Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or comments.

• Epic Games Launcher
• game error
• games
• Steam