Resident Evil 5 Not Launching On Steam? Try These Fixes

Resident Evil 5 not launching on Steam is common, as it’s an old game. The title debuted in 2009, but the problem remains on the platform. Moreover, Steam is the only PC platform currently selling the title.

You’d see the problem on Windows 11 and Windows 10. What happens is that you push the Play button on Steam, and absolutely nothing happens. Alternatively, the game opens but crashes immediately.

If this happens to you, you’re probably experiencing the game’s current incompatibility issue with Windows. It requires outdated and unavailable Microsoft software to run, and no company has addressed the issue. 

There’re solutions, but these are not official. Also, you may still run into driver and update issues after fixing the main problem.

Resident Evil 5 Not Launching on Steam Causes

The issue is that Resident Evil 5 is a decade-old title. The problem keeps resurfacing on the platform because there’s no official support for the game.

The solutions involve downloading and installing older software and non-official patches.

Regardless, here’s the summary of the problems you may find:

• Windows Live is not running: RE5 runs on deceased software, Games for Windows Live. You may need to install it on your PC or solve it through Compatibility workarounds.
• Incompatibility: Because of its age, sometimes it doesn’t get along with your Windows PC. It happens because your computer is missing an old update or driver Windows 10 or Windows 11 won’t download or use again. 
• Corrupted Steam file: Capcom is no longer providing any support to Resident Evil 5. It means there’re no updates, patches, or fixes, so if you run into a bug, it will eventually make it unplayable. The solution is to fix the corrupted file through Steam’s tools. 

Bear in mind Windows 10 is pretty good at running old games, and running into compatibility problems is not common. Rather, Resident Evil 5 has specific issues we need to solve.

And after making the game run, we recommend doing two additional things. That’s updating the drivers and Windows and verifying the integrity of its Steam files.

How to Solve Resident Evil 5 Not Launching on Steam?

We’re going through effective methods to fix Resident Evil 5 not launching. We recommend trying these solutions to ensure Steam, RE5, and older games run properly on your system. 

A related problem is Steam not updating games. If you’re finding Resident Evil 5 is stuck in the queue, you can try these additional fixes.

Install Microsoft’s Games Windows Live

The most probable issue is the lack of Microsoft’s Games for Windows Live (GFWL) on your PC. 

GFWL program doesn’t exist anymore. This deceased online gaming service allowed Windows PC games to connect to Microsoft’s Live service. Xbox Live, and therefore Xbox apps, superseded the platform. 

Microsoft Games for Windows Live also bundles a DLL file, the “Marketplace client,” and a Redistributable package. Those files are not present on Windows 10.

Resident Evil 5 should carry a built-in solution the developers created with Steam’s development suite, Steamworks. However, since about 2020, Windows 10 updates have rendered the solution useless.

Neither Capcom nor Steam nor Windows has provided a solution for the problem. So, since 2020, Resident Evil 5 has been incompatible with Windows 10. Also, as there’s no support from Capcom, an update won’t solve the problem.

As a result, pressing the Play button on Steam doesn’t do anything. But here’s how to fix it:

1. Open Steam
2. Go to the Library
3. Right-click Resident Evil 5 and select Manage
4. Select Uninstall
5. Right-click RE5 again and choose Properties
6. Go to Betas
7. Select None and close the window
8. Install Resident Evil 5 again. You will need to re-download it
9. Download a new copy of GFWL (more info below)
10. Install GFWL
11. Open RE5 again

Installing GFWL

The software is no longer available in official terms. Luckily, we found three sites where you can download it:

If you’re unsure about how to use ZIP / RAR programs, it’s rather easy. There’re three steps:

1. Download a ZIP compressor software like WinZip, WinRAR, or Breezip to open it (these options are free).
2. Install the software
3. Click the ZIP or RAR file on your PC. It will open it, which allows you to see its files
4. To use these files, you must press the Extract or Extraction button
5. Select a Path and confirm the extraction
6. Browse for the extracted folder on your PC. Typically, the software will open the folder automatically after the extraction.

Copy the Windows Live DLL on RE5’s Folder

An alternative solution is downloading the Games for Windows Live dll file from a credible source. For example, you can browse a reasonable dll library to find the archive.

Here’re the steps

1. Download the xlive.dll from a dll library
2. Open Steam
3. Go to your Library
4. Right-click RE5 and select Properties
5. Go to Local Files, and select Browse to access RE5’s directory
6. Paste the DLL file into the directory

Install a Fan-made Patch

A secondary is installing a fan-made patch. You can find it here, and you can download it for free.

It will bypass the need to install GWL by replacing certain files. You need too is copy its contents into Resident Evil 5’s folder.

1. First, you need to download and install the proper RAR software, like WinRAR
2. Reinstall RE5, and ensure it’s not using any betas
3. Open the RAR file
4. Copy its contents
5. Open Steam
6. Right-click RE5 and select Properties
7. Go to Local Files
8. Select Browse
9. Paste the files there. Choose to replace the files

Afterwards, try opening the game again.

Run Resident Evil 5 in Compatibility Mode

Resident Evil 5 is a native Windows 7 game that ran on Windows 8 and 8.1 without issues.

Currently, though, it’s not compatible with Windows unless you do the solution below. However, there’s an alternative workaround, which is using Windows’ built-in compatible mode.

1. Open Steam
2. Go to your Library
3. Right-click RE5 and select Properties
4. Go to Local Files
5. Select Browse
6. Locate the re5dx9.exe file
7. Right-click the file and choose Properties
8. Go to the Compatibility tab
9. Check Run the program in compatibility mode, and select Windows 7
10. Click Apply and then Ok to save the changes

Alternatively, you can right-click the exe file, select Troubleshoot compatibility, and let Windows solve the process automatically. 

Verify the Integrity of Resident Evil 5 on Steam

Even if the game works after the fixes above, you should verify its files are healthy. Steam can identify issues and re-download what it needs if something is missing, bugs, or corrupted files. 

Here’re the steps: 

1. Open Steam
2. Go to the Library
3. Right-click Resident Evil 5
4. Select Properties
5. Go to Local Files
6. Select Verify Integrity of game files
7. Wait for the process to complete

After the verification finishes, try the game again. As I said, if Steam finds any problems, it will re-download what it needs to make it run again. Therefore, the process may take a while. 

Update Your Windows Operating System

The next step is updating your Windows system. It will help your computer run smoothly, so you should do it regularly.

These updates are automatic, but you can check the state manually to confirm you’re running the latest build. 

1. Type Windows Update on the Windows search bar
2. Open Windows Update settings
3. Click on Check for updates
4. If there’s an update available, let the computer download it. After it finishes, it will ask you to restart the computer to install the new content. 

Update Your Graphic Card’s Drivers

The next solution is updating your graphic card’s driver. As Resident Evil 5 is an old game, you may run it on an Intel CPU’s integrated graphic card, so you may have one of these three GPUs:

• An integrated Intel HD GPU. Every 
• A discrete or integrated AMD GPU
• A discrete or integrated Nvidia GPU 

First, let’s discuss the difference between integrated and discrete GPUs. An integrated model comes within the CPU, and it’s typically less powerful. 

A discrete GPU is a separated piece. It has a built-in heat dissipation solution (like heat pipes, fans, or both), so it performs better. For example, AMD 4000 series processors include an iGPU, and most Intel CPUs have Intel HD graphics.

Still, Resident Evil 5 doesn’t require much to run, so I’m teaching you how to identify and update any of these options. 

Identifying Your GPU

Here’re the steps to identify your GPU on Windows 10: 

1. Go to your Desktop, and right-click anywhere
2. Select Display Settings
3. Select Advanced display settings at the bottom
4. Select Display adapter properties for your display
5. The GPU’s name will be right there under Adapter Type

You can also update or reset the GPU driver on the same menu:

1. Click on Properties
2. Go to the Driver tab
3. Select Update Driver
4. Select Search automatically for drivers
5. If there’s a driver available, the system will download and install it

This process works mostly for iGPUs, especially on Intel models. Discrete graphics work better with separate software. 

Also, the process looks a bit different on Windows 11 PCs.

Updating the GPU Drivers

AMD and Nvidia require additional software to keep the drivers up to date. That’s because the drivers come from a third party, meaning you won’t find them through the Windows Update option. Additionally, the option below won’t always find the newest options.

The solution is to download the software and install it on your computer.

• For Nvidia, you can download and install this software. It will detect your graphics card and prompt the download you need. After installing the program, you’ll need to register or log in to an account, but the steps are easy and intuitive. Otherwise, you can browse from the exact driver you need on this site.
• For AMD, you can try the Auto-Detect software. Download it, install it, and it will automatically detect your AMD GPU, download the software you need, and prompt the driver to download the card required. Otherwise, you can find the exact program you need by browsing the list.

If you find additional issues, here’s a detailed guide on updating GPU drivers.