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Civ 5 is Not Launching? 5 Ways to Fix it

Quick solutions to get the game running

9 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Civ 5 has been in the top 10 of every gamer as one of thebest strategy gamesever made. However, it seems that for some users, Civilization V is not launching or crashing on startup in Windows 10.

Users report that Civilization V won’t even run, they get the error message, and the application crashes.

Why is Civ 5 not opening?

Your computer may be missing specific DirectX files. DirectX is a visual component, and the appropriate version of the API should be installed.

Alternatively, corrupt game files are a tried-and-true explanation, which may be why a number of games cannot start up.

Civilization 5 is a great game, but sometimes specific errors can occur. Various problems can prevent you from runningit, and users reported the following issues:

Keeping your Windows 10 up to date can fix this issue, so we advise you to update your OS first. If updating doesn’t help, you might want to try some of these solutions.

How do I fix Civ 5 not launching?

1. Update your graphics card driver

According to users, you might experience issues with Civilization 5 if your graphics card drivers are outdated. Look into the practical steps below to update your graphics driver successfully.

OpenDevice Managerfrom theStart Menu.
Find theDisplay adapterssection and expand it to find your driver.
Right-click on the driver device and selectUpdate driver.
Choose theSearch automatically for driversoption.
Wait for the drivers to be updated and then restart your PC.

Of course, the issue can be fixed by downloading and installing the latest drivers. Visit your graphics card manufacturer’s website, find your model, and download the latest drivers.

Although it sounds simple in theory, sometimes it’s more complicated, and you may do more harm by installing the wrong driver on your system.

The safer and easier solution is to automatically download and installOutbyte Driver Updater, a specialized solution that will automatically update and fix your drivers in a couple of seconds.

You don’t even have to click on anything because after installing; it will start working by scanning your system for driver problems or updates.

When the process finishes, you will see a complete list of the driver’s situation.

The only input required from you is to either click on theApply & Updatebutton or each box from the left of the driver names and hit theUpdatebutton from their right.

⇒Get Outbyte Driver Updater

2. Remove Lucid Virtu

According to users, you might experience problems with Nvidia graphics if you haveLucid Virtuinstalled.

This solution applies only to Nvidia owners, so if you don’t own Nvidia graphics, you can skip this solution and try something else.

Many users fixed things when Civ 5 was not launching simply by removing Lucid Virtu from their PC.

Alternatively, you might be able to fix the problem by switching to the older version of Nvidia drivers.

To remove Lucid Virtu entirely, along with its associated files, it’s recommended to use a dedicated removal tool. Uninstalling from Windows Settings will leave behind leftover files. These will clutter your PC and may cause additional errors in the future.

Uninstaller softwareis created to find and remove all files associated with the app you want to delete. So you just select what you want to uninstall, and the software will automatically find and completely uninstall that app from your PC.

3. Uninstall your display driver

Windows will now install the default driver for your graphics card, and the issue should be resolved.

4. Run Civilization V in compatibility mode

5. Update your BIOS

If Civ 5 is not launching, it can be an issue with the onboard graphics or an onboard and dedicated graphics card.

It can happen that BIOS doesn’t support Windows 10, and this can create a particular issue, so you might want to try updating it.

Before you start, we must warn you that updating the BIOS is an advanced technique, and if not done correctly, it can cause permanent damage to your computer.

If you don’t know how todo that, please, take your computer to the official repair center and ask them to do it for you. Otherwise, make sure to check out our guide onhow to update your BIOS.

6. Verify the integrity of the game’s cache

When Civ 5 is not launching on Steam, a quick solution is to verify the integrity of game files. Keep in mind that this process can take a couple of minutes, so don’t interrupt it.

7. Install DirectX

According to users, problems with Civilization 5 can occur if you don’t have the necessary version of DirectX.

To fix the issue, you need to download and install the necessary version of Civilization 5. You can download the required DirectX right fromMicrosoft’s website.

Alternatively, you can check Civilization 5’s installation directory for theDirectXdirectory.

In there, you should find the DXSetup file. Then, the issue should be resolved by running the setup and installing DirectX.

8. Run the game in windowed mode and turn off Anti-aliasing

Many users reported issues while using Civilization 5 and DirectX 11.

According to them, the game cannot start, and the problem seems related to the anti-aliasing feature. So, to fix the issue, you need to check the game’s settings.

According to users, set the game to run in Windowed mode and turn off anti-aliasing. After that, the game should run without any issues on your PC.

It might not be necessary to run the game in windowed mode, so you can try disabling anti-aliasing.

9. Make sure that your Steam client is up to date

In case Civilization 5 is not working in multiplayer mode, updating the client should help.

Check out our guide on what to do ifthe Steam client update is stuckso you can get this fixed along the way.

10. Try running the game in Offline mode

11. Copy the missing DLL files

What are the Civilization V system requirements?

When a hardware or software application runs smoothly and efficiently, the system requirements are the configuration the system must have for it to do so.

Failure to achieve these prerequisites can result in installation and performance issues. Thus the minimum system requirements for Civ V are as follows:

The recommended requirements to run the game smoothly are:

If you think your computer’s specifications suffice for the game to be installed and launched, then let’s move on to how you can make it work again.

Does Civilization V work on Windows 11?

Yes, Civilization V works on Windows 11. The game requirements are met by the platform. This is also confirmed on the GOG official website.

Why is Civ 5 not launching from Steam?

It must communicate with various other modules to get a game up and running.

Games have difficulty keeping up with the fast-paced environment of regular upgrades made by Microsoft and other graphics manufacturers. This makes it difficult for games to remain in sync with one another.

We recommend that you look at our guide with8 methods to try if Civ VI is not launching from Steam.

For more information and potential solutions to this error, we recommend you check our post onCiv 5 video settings not saving.

We hope this guide helped you to run Civilization V on your Windows 10 computer. If you have any comments or questions, contact the comment section below.

Civ 5 is Not Launching? 5 Ways to Fix it#

Why is Civ 5 not opening?#

How do I fix Civ 5 not launching?#

1. Update your graphics card driver#

2. Remove Lucid Virtu#

3. Uninstall your display driver#

4. Run Civilization V in compatibility mode#

5. Update your BIOS#

6. Verify the integrity of the game’s cache#

7. Install DirectX#

8. Run the game in windowed mode and turn off Anti-aliasing#

9. Make sure that your Steam client is up to date#

10. Try running the game in Offline mode#

11. Copy the missing DLL files#

What are the Civilization V system requirements?#

Why is Civ 5 not launching from Steam?#