CS: GO not launching or opening on Windows PC

If you are unable to launch Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) version 1535 on your Windows PC, we got you covered. In this post, we will be mentioning several working fixes based on different scenarios to fix the launch problem with CS: GO.

CS: GO is a popular multiplayer tactical first-person shooter that you can play on Windows using the Steam launcher. However, several users have complained that they are unable to launch the CS: GO on Steam. The game just won’t open at all leaving gamers frustrated. Now, there can be different reasons for this problem. It could be caused due to a lack of admin rights, outdated game version, overclocked CPU, corrupted game files, etc.

If the problem is happening with other Steam games as well, we will recommend you clear the Steam download cache, run it with admin rights, or disable your antivirus/ firewall. However, if the problem occurs only with the CS: GO game, follow this guide and apply a suitable fix.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) not launching or opening on PC

In case the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) game is not launching or opening on your PC, make sure your PC meets the minimum system requirements of the game. If it does, you can use the below methods to fix the issue:

1. Update Windows and Graphics drivers.
2. Don’t overclock your CPU.
3. Open CS: GO as an administrator.
4. Check for game updates.
5. Verify the integrity of the game files of CS: GO.
6. Reset the autoexec.cfg file.
7. Customize Launch Options for CS: GO.
8. Uninstall, then reinstall CS: GO.

1] Update Windows and Graphics drivers

First of all, this problem is not caused due to a system issue. It might be used if your system is outdated. Hence, make sure you have installed all pending Windows updates. For that, launch the Settings app using Win+I, go to the Windows Update tab, and press the Check for updates button.

Additionally, if your graphics driver is out-of-date or corrupted, the CS: GO game might not even open. So, you need to ensure that your graphics driver is updated to the most recent version. You can update your graphics driver on Windows PC using the below steps:

1. First, open the Settings app, go to the Windows Update tab, and press Advanced options.
2. After that, click on the Optional Updates option and then download and install all available device driver updates including graphics driver updates.
3. When done, restart your PC and then check if the CS: GO game is launching or not.

If you want to update your display drivers you can go to Intel, NVIDIA, or the AMD website and download the latest graphics driver. Free third-party driver updaters can also be used for updating device drivers to their latest version.

In case your graphics driver is corrupted or faulty, you will need to uninstall your GPU driver and then reinstall its fresh version.

See: Connecting to CS: GO Network error.

2] Don’t overclock your CPU

Overclocking is helpful when you want to run your CPU or some other system component faster than the manufacturer-specified speed to give a performance boost. However, it can also make your system unstable and cause issues with your apps and games. Hence, if you have overclocked your CPU, disable overclocking and see if the problem is fixed or not.

3] Open CS: GO as an administrator

In a lot of cases, launch issues are caused if you lack the necessary permissions to run the game or app. If that is the case with the CS: GO game by running it with administrator rights. To do that, right-click on CS: GO’s main executable and then choose the Run as administrator option to launch the game. If the problem is resolved, you can make the CS: GO game always run with admin rights using the below steps:

1. First, right-click on the main executable file of CS: GO and select the Properties option from the context menu. You are most likely to find the executable at the below location:

   C:\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo.exe

2. In the Properties window, go to the Compatibility tab, tick mark the Run this program as an administrator box, and press the Apply > OK button.
3. When done, try launching the CS: GO game and see if the issue is fixed or not.

4] Check for game updates

Another thing you should make sure of is that you have the latest version of the game installed. Developers keep launching patches with new functionalities and bug fixes. Hence, it is recommended to install all the latest game patches to fix the problem. Steam should be able to automatically update your game. However, if the settings are not configured for the automatic game updates, you can turn it on using the below steps:

1. First, open Steam, go to LIBRARY and right-click on the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) game.
2. Now, click on the Properties option and go to the Updates tab.
3. Next, under the Automatic updates drop-down, select the Always keep this game up-to-date option.
4. If there are updates available for the game, they will be downloaded.
5. Finally, restart Steam to update the game and then try launching CS: GO now.

Read: CS: GO Voice Chat Not Working [Fixed].

5] Verify the integrity of the game files of CS: GO

In some scenarios, the games don’t launch due to damaged game files. If the game files of CS: GO that are responsible for starting the game are infected or missing, it won’t open. Hence, you will be required to verify the integrity of the game files and fix the corrupted game files. Steam provides a direct option to do that; here’s how:

1. Firstly, open your Steam client and press on the LIBRARY tab.
2. Now, right-click on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) and choose the Properties option.
3. After that, click on the Local Files tab and tap on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
4. Once your game files are fixed, try opening CS: GO and see if the problem is fixed or not.

6] Reset the autoexec.cfg file

You might be having a launch issue with the CS: GO game because of its corrupted game configurations file. Hence, if the scenario applies, you can try resetting the configuration file. To do that, delete the file and then try launching CS: GO. Once the game is successfully launched, the configuration file will be regenerated. However, you can create a backup of the file to be on the safer side.

Here are the steps to reset the autoexec.cfg file of CS: GO:

1. Firstly, open File Explorer using Win+E and go to the following location:

   C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<Replace with your Steam ID>\730\local\cfg

2. Now, locate and select the autoexec.cfg file and delete it.
3. After that, try launching the game and see if it launches correctly or not.

In case you still can’t open the CS: GO game, move on to the next fix.

Read: Steam Games not launching or opening on Windows 11/10.

7] Customize Launch Options for CS: GO

Try launching the CS: GO game in fullscreen mode with custom launch options and see if the problem is resolved or not. Here’s how you can do that:

1. First, open Steam, go to LIBRARY, right-click on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), and tap on the Properties option.
2. Now, go to the General tab and locate the LAUNCH OPTIONS box, and enter the following command:

   -fullscreen

3. Finally, exit the Properties window and try launching your game and see if the problem is resolved or not.

8] Uninstall, then reinstall CS: GO

If you still can’t launch CS: GO on your PC, the last resort to fix this issue is to reinstall the game. You might be dealing with a corrupted installation of the game. And if this is the case indeed, you will have to remove the corrupted version of CS: GO and reinstall a fresh copy of the game. Here’s how you can do that:

1. Firstly, open Steam and go to the LIBRARY section.
2. Now, right-click on CS: GO, go to the Manage option, and select the Uninstall option.
3. Once the CS: GO game is uninstalled, reboot your computer.
4. Finally, launch Steam and then reinstall the CS: GO game.

Hopefully, you will be able to launch CS: GO without any issues.

How do I fix stuck on Loading screen CS:GO?

If the CS: GO game gets stuck on the loading screen forever or CS: GO is on the Initializing World screen, check if you have enough storage to store the game files. If not, create some space on your hard disk where the game is installed. Apart from that, you can verify and repair the game files, delete the Download Cache on Steam, run the game through your firewall, or troubleshoot the issue in a clean boot state to fix the problem.

Why does CS:GO keep crashing?

The primary reason for CS: GO crashes is that your CP doesn’t fulfill the minimum requirements of the game. Apart from that, if there are too many applications running on your computer, it can cause CS: GO to crash due to a lack of enough system resources. It might also be caused because of outdated DirectX and Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages. Other than that, corrupted game installation can be another reason.

That’s it.

Now read: Microphone not working on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).