Several Windows users are encountering the “Steam must be running to lớn play this game” error when trying lớn open one or more game executables. The issue is reported khổng lồ occur in all the recent Windows versions including Windows XP., Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 & Windows 10.
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What is causing the ‘steam must be running khổng lồ play this game’ error?
We investigated this particular issue by looking at various user reports. From what we gathered, there are several common scenarquả táo that will trigger this particular error message:
Steam is missing from the computer – You might be encountering this error message if you recently installed a game from its installation media. Some games require the Steam client to lớn authenticate or to lớn use multiplayer services.Corrupted Steam installation – The issue might also occur due lớn some corrupted files inside the Steam installation folder. In this case, reinstalling the client will most likely resolve sầu the issue.Steam is not updated to the lakiểm tra version – There’s a slight chance that you might be seeing the error message because your Steam client is outdated.Game’s installation thư mục contains foreign files – If you modified the Steam installation folder of the game, the issue might occur because Steam is preventing some files from running.Game’s installation directory is missing some files – It’s possible that a sudden interruption has tricked Steam into lớn believing that the game was updated correctly. Verifying the game’s tệp tin integrity will resolve the issue in this case.
If you’re struggling to lớn resolve this particular error message, this article will help. Below you have sầu a collection of verified troubleshooting method that other users in a similar situation have used to resolve the “Steam must be running lớn play this game” error.
We encourage you khổng lồ follow the methods below in the order that they are presented. You should eventually find a solution that is effective sầu in solving the problem in your particular scenario.
Method 1: Installing the Steam client (if applicable)
Before you try anything else, it’s important khổng lồ make sure that you have sầu the Steam client installed on your computer. The vast majority of PC games nowadays will require you lớn have Steam installed on your PC even if you install them from a disk.
This occurs because most games are using several services used for authentication procedures & multiplayer components.
Note: If you already have sầu Steam installed on your computer, move down lớn the next method below.
With this in mind, it’s important khổng lồ check if you have Steam installed on your computer. If you don’t, follow the steps below lớn install Steam on your PC:
Once the executable is downloaded, open it and follow the on-screen prompts to install the Steam client on your computer.
If you’re still seeing the same error message, move down to lớn the next method below.
Method 2: Updating the Steam client khổng lồ the latest version
If Steam is installed on your computer, you might be encountering the error because the game you’re trying to lớn launch requires a Steam version newer than the one you currently have sầu installed.
Several users struggling khổng lồ resolve the same error message have reported that for them, the issue was resolved as soon as they updated Steam to the lathử nghiệm version available. Here’s a quiông chồng guide on how khổng lồ vì this:
Open Steam & make sure you are logged in.Go to lớn the ribbon bar and cliông xã on Steam > Cheông chồng for Steam Clients updates.
If you’re still seeing the “Steam must be running khổng lồ play this game” error, move down to the next method below.
Method 3: Deleting foreign files (if applicable)
If you downloaded a game through Steam, then proceeded to lớn modify the installation thư mục with custom nội dung (mods, cheats, scripts, etc.), the error is likely occurring because the Steam client is blocking those foreign files from being used – which effectively brings the startup procedure of the game to lớn a halt.
This issue is quite comtháng with multiplayer games that have a modding community such as PayDay 2, Fallout 4 và a few more.
If you’re encountering this particular issue with a game with an altered installation thư mục, you will be able lớn resolve sầu the “Steam must be running to lớn play this game” error by removing the foreign files – most commonly, those foreign files being blocked are .dll and .lua (Steam seems to have a problem with them). You can remove the troublesome files by navigating to the game’s installation thư mục & deleting the files manually or by doing a clean game reinstall.
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If this method wasn’t applicable or didn’t resolve sầu the “Steam must be running to play this game” error, move sầu down to the next method below.
Method 4: Verifying the game’s files integrity
Several users have reported that the “Steam must be running khổng lồ play this game” error was resolved after they verified the game’s integrity through the Steam client. This scenario is known to lớn occur when a game is incorrectly updated through steam.
This particular error will get thrown if the Steam client discovers that the game’s thư mục is missing some files. To remedy this issue, you’ll need lớn verify the integrity of the games file. If the scan reveals any inconsistencies, Steam will download the missing components.
Here’s a quiông xã guide on verifying the game files integrity on Steam:
xuất hiện the Steam client and go to lớn the Library tab.From your các mục of games (left section of the screen), right-cliông chồng on the game that is triggering the issue and choose Properties.
If you’re still seeing the “Steam must be running to lớn play this game” error, move sầu down lớn the next method below.
Method 5: Logging out & launching the game from admin Steam
Several users struggling to resolve sầu the “Steam must be running khổng lồ play this game” error have managed khổng lồ get the issue resolved after logging out of Steam, closing the client, reopening the client và launching the game from Steam.
This procedure was reported to be successful for a lot of users encountering the issue with Call of Duty World War 2.
Here’s what you need khổng lồ do:
Inside Steam, go to the top-right corner of the screen và clichồng on your trương mục to lớn make the drop-down thực đơn visible. Then, from the drop-down menu, click on Log out of account.
If you’re still seeing the “Steam must be running khổng lồ play this game” error message, move sầu down to the next method below.
Method 6: Reinstalling Steam & game
As it turns out, the issue can also occur if your Steam installation is corrupt. If a number of Steam files are corrupted, the client will be unable to lớn open the services required by the game.Several users struggling with the “Steam must be running to lớn play this game” error have sầu reported that the issue was resolved & the game was running normally after they reinstalled Steam along with the game that was throwing the error.
Here’s a quichồng guide on how to vị this:
Press Windows key + R lớn open up a Run dialog box. Then, type “appwiz.cpl” và press Enter khổng lồ open up the Programs và Features window.
If reinstalling the Steam client has still not resolved the “Steam must be running lớn play this game” error, move sầu down to lớn the next method below.
