How to fix World of Warcraft not launching on Windows 10 and 11

World of Warcraft (WoW) is one of the most widely played MMORPG titles on Windows 11 and 10. However, some players have posted on Blizzard’s support forums about WoW not launching on Windows 11 and 10, specifically when the player presses the Play button in the Battle.net launcher the game does not start.

Many players have fixed WoW launch problems and provided some solutions below for community reference.

Start WoW with admin rights

One reason WoW can’t be started is because the game doesn’t have admin rights. Without full administrative rights, WoW will not have access to the system. You can configure the game to always run as administrator every time it boots to fix the error of not starting the game.

· Access the WoW installation directory at C:\Program Files (x86)\Battlenet\World of Warcraft\_retail.

Right-click the game executable file WoW.exe and select Properties.

· Select the Compatibility tab, check the box Run this program as an administrator.

Done, click Apply > OK to save the settings.

Run WoW as administrator Screenshots

Reset options inside WoW

WoW may not launch because some settings inside the game are not compatible with the computer system. In that case, resetting the settings can be an effective solution.

To reset options in WoW to default configuration:

· Open the window of the Battle.net launcher.

· Press the Battle.net button at the top left of the window.

· Click on the Settings menu and select the Game Settings item on the left.

· Then select World of Warcraft and press the . button Reset In-Game Options.

· Click Reset In-Game Options again to confirm the change.

Reset the game’s internal options Screenshots

Repair damaged game files

Corrupt or missing files can often cause boot problems. You can repair WoW files using Battle.net’s own repair utility.

· Open the Battle.net launcher and select World of Warcraft.

· Click the gear icon next to the Play button, you will see a submenu appear.

· Choose Scan and Repair to start debugging.

Fix game files with Battle.net launcher Screenshots

Turn off third-party Antivirus software

Anti-virus software can sometimes misidentify and prevent the launch of legitimate software. To make sure your anti-virus software doesn’t mistake WoW for malware, try disabling it before launching the game.

Start WoW with DirectX 11

DirectX 12’s API may cause startup problems for some games. Configuring WoW to always launch with DirectX 11 will ensure DirectX 12 can’t cause problems. Proceed as follows:

· Launch the Battle.net app.

· Open WoW’s Game Settings option.

· Check the Additional command line arguments option.

· In the data input field, you type -d3d11.

· Click Done to save the settings.

Run WoW with DirectX 11 Screenshots

Delete the Battle.net folder

Blizzard recommends that users delete the folder containing the Battle.net temp files to fix WoW launch issues. This will also delete corrupted and obsolete files.

· Press the Windows + R key combination to open the Run application.

· Enter the path C:\ProgramData and press Enter.

· Navigate to the Battle.net folder and delete it.

Reinstall WoW

If WoW’s installation is corrupted, it may be necessary to reinstall the game to fix the problem. When reinstalling, WoW add-ons and changes will be lost, unless you make a backup copy of them.

· How to reinstall the game from Battle.net

· Launch the Battle.net software and select WoW in the game library.

· Click the Options icon with the gear shape and select Uninstall.

· After removing WoW from the system, restart the computer.

· Continue to open the Battle.net software and proceed to reinstall the game.