How to Fix World of Warcraft Not Launching in Windows 11 or 10 (2024)

World of Warcraft (or "WoW" for short) is one of the most widely played MMORPG for Windows 11 and 10. However, sometimes players need fix technical hiccups for WoW. For instance, some players have posted on Blizzard’s support forum seeking potential fixes for World of Warcraft not launching in Windows 11/10. Clicking the Play button in Battle.net doesn’t start the game for them.

The good news is that many players have also fixed World of Warcraft launch issues. There are numerous confirmed potential resolutions for WoW not launching. These are some of the potential resolutions that can get World of Warcraft started.

1. Configure World of Warcraft to Run as Administrator

The Run as administrator option gives software you select to launch elevated system rights. If WoW isn’t configured to run as administrator, it doesn’t have full access to restricted areas in Windows. So, it’s a recommended troubleshooting starting point to make sure World of Warcraft is configured to run with admin rights as follows.

1. Open File Explorer and World of Warcraft’s folder. The default folder path for the game is C:\Program Files (x86)\Battlenet\World of Warcraft\_retail.
2. Right-click the WoW.exe and select the Properties context menu option.
3. Then select Run this program as administrator on the Compatibility tab if that option isn’t selected.

   

4. Select the Apply > OK options to confirm.

2. Reset the In-Game Options for World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft might not start because some of its in-game settings aren’t compatible with your PC. In which case, resetting World of Warcraft’s in-game settings via Battle.net could be a potential solution.

Here is how to reset WoW’s in-game options to a default configuration:

1. Open Battle.net launcher’s window.
2. Press the Battle.net button at the top left of the Battle.net window.

   

3. Click the Settings menu option.
4. Select Game Settings on the left of the window.
5. Then select World of Warcraft, and click its Reset In-Game options button.

   

6. Press the Reset In-Game Options button to confirm.

3. Repair Corrupted Game Files

Corrupted or missing files can often cause game startup issues to arise. You can fix World of Warcraft’s files with Battlenet’s repair utility like this.

1. Bring up the Battle.net launcher software.
2. Select World of Warcraft in Battle.net.
3. Click the right side of the Play button for WoW to bring up the menu shown directly below.

   

4. Select Scan and Repair on the menu.

4. Disable Third-Party Antivirus Software

Antivirus utilities can sometimes wrongly flag and block legitimate software from running. To ensure your antivirus software isn’t confusing World of Warcraft to be malware, disable it before you try to launch the game. To do so, click the antivirus utility’s system tray icon with your right mouse button and select an option that temporarily disables its shield from the context menu.

5. Configure World of Warcraft to Start With DirectX 11

The DirectX 12 API can generate startup issues for some games. Configuring Warcraft to always launch with DirectX 11 will ensure DX12 doesn’t cause any issues for WoW. You can do that by adding a command-line argument for World of Warcraft as follows:

1. Launch the Battle.net software.
2. Open the Game Settings options for Warcraft as specified in steps two to four of the second resolution.
3. Select the Additional command line arguments checkbox.
4. Enter -d3d11 in text box.

   

5. Press the Done button to save.

6. Update Your Graphics Card’s Driver

Antiquated or faulty GPU drivers can often generate technical gaming issues. As World of Warcraft is a graphically intensive game, it’s all the more likely you might need to update your PC’s graphics card driver to fix the game not starting.

You can update the driver for your PC’s graphics card manually or with third-party software. The easier way is to update device drivers a with third-party driver updater utility, like DriverBooster, but that might not install the very latest driver for your graphics card. Our guide on how to update graphics drivers in Windows provides further details about the different methods you can use.

7. Delete the Battle.net Folder

Blizzard recommends that users delete a Battle.net temporary files folder to fix World of Warcraft launch issues. Erasing that folder will also delete corrupted and outdated files with it.

Here is how you can erase the folder:

1. First, open the Run window.
2. Type C:\ProgramData in the Open box.
3. Click OK to bring up the ProgramData folder.

   

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4. Select the Battle.net folder there.
5. Press the Delete button on File Explorer.

8. Clean Boot Your PC

A clean boot is a minimal boot configuration that removes third-party software and services from the Windows startup. This potential resolution will remove software and services that could be conflicting (or interfering) with World of Warcraft and free up system resources. You can configure a clean boot by changing some MSConfig settings like this.

1. Start the Run app.
2. Input the MSConfig Run command, and click the OK option.
3. Deselect the Load startup checkbox on the General tab.

   

4. Click the Services tab to select Hide all Microsoft services.

   

5. Select Disable all to uncheck the remaining checkboxes.
6. To save the new boot settings, click the Apply button.
7. Select OK to close the MSConfig utility.
8. Then select Restart on the dialog box prompt.

Should clean booting fix the issue, one of the disabled programs or services was probably causing the issue. The startup issue will likely occur again if you restore the original boot settings without identifying the conflicting program or service.

Nevertheless, you can restore the original boot configuration by selecting the Load startup items option in MSConfig. Click Enable all to re-enable all disabled third-party services. Then select Apply to save the changed settings.

9. Reinstall World of Warcraft

If Warcraft’s installation is corrupted, you might need to reinstall the game to fix it. By doing so, you’ll lose WoW add-ons and modifications unless you make backup copies of them. You can reinstall World of Warcraft in Windows 11 like this.

1. Start the Battle.net client software.
2. Select World of Warcraft in your Battle.net game library.

   

3. Click the cog (Options) icon to select Uninstall.
4. Once it's uninstalled, restart Windows.
5. Open Battle.net again, and reinstall the game from there.

Kick-Start World of Warcraft With Those Potential Fixes

There isn’t a guaranteed fix for World of Warcraft not launching. However, there’s a pretty decent chance at least one of the above potential fixes will resolve a Warcraft launch issue on your PC. Then you can enjoy all the thrills and spills of the Warcraft universe once again.