How to fix PUBG not starting due to new anti-cheat solution
Games that are competitive tend to attract all kinds of players, including those that will cheat. When games grow popular, the number of players that cheat will grow too. Once too many players start cheating, the game doesn’t remain objective which is why developers will intervene and block cheating methods.
PUBG not starting due to new anti-cheat solution
PUBG is insanely popular and it is no surprise that it gets its fair share of cheaters. Likewise, the game developers have worked hard to block them. To do so, anti-cheat features are added to the game. To the end user, it may seem like nothing has changed but when PUBG installs or is updated, additional software is installed which, when the game is running, will block cheat-ware.
The anti-cheat solution in PUBG has mostly been successful but many users have found that the game no longer runs, or crashes on launch after installing the update. Here’s how you can fix it.
Quit overlay apps
If you have overlay apps running, quit them. PUBG may consider them to be cheat-ware. This can include overlays from Nvidia’s ShadowPlay or any other screen recording feature e.g. if you have OBS running.
You should also try disabling the Discord overlay. Discord is generally a safe app for all games but anti-cheat solutions can be overzealous and block it as well.
Family sharing on Steam
As part of the anti-cheat solutions added back in 2018, PUBG has disabled support for Family Sharing on Steam. If you’re using Family Sharing on Steam, make sure you’ve disabled it for PUBG. Once it’s disabled, open the game and it should start.
Verify files
It’s possible something went wrong when you installed the PUBG anti-cheat update. Verify the files on Steam and any problems with the game files will be fixed.
- Open Steam.
- Go to Library.
- Right-click PUBG in the column on the left and select Properties from the context menu.
- Go to Local Files.
- Click the Verify integrity of game files.
- Allow Steam to check and fix files.
Uninstall and reinstall game
PUBG is an online game so your progress is always saved. When you update the game, it’s always an in-place update and things can go wrong that Steam might not be able to fix. In this case, you can uninstall and reinstall PUBG. It’s not easy given that the game is fairly large but it will fix the problem.
- Open Control Panel.
- Go to Program>Uninstall a program.
- Select PUBG from the list of installed apps.
- Click the Uninstall button and the game will be uninstalled.
- Open Steam and go to Library.
- Select PUBG from your library and install it again.
Conclusion
PUBG gets a lot of cheaters and they have ruined the game for many people. The anti-cheat measures, while somewhat effective, have known to cause problems with gameplay. A fresh install can usually fix things when all else fails.
