Mass Effect Legendary Edition PC – Crashing at startup – Game won’t launch – How to fix

Mass Effect Legendary Edition crashing and won’t launch – It is 2021, and we just got a Mass Effect game. No it is not a new title. Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3. Everything remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD.

But it looks like the remaster is not a perfect one. Players are already complaining about the game crashing every now and then on PC. And some players are also facing launch issues. This is mainly happening to Steam users. So here are some basic methods you can try to fix your issues.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition PC – Crashing at startup – Game won’t launch – How to fix

The 2021 version Mass Effect supports Windows 10 only

Yes, the original Mass Effect still runs smoothly on Windows 7. Unfortunately that is not the case with the Legendary Edition. The game is not supported on Windows 7 or on 8.1. Which means you have to have Windows 10 to play this game without issues. This is something that you couldn’t fix, as the developers themselves didn’t feel necessary to make the game compatible for Windows 7. Therefore, if you are still on Windows 7. I would suggest that you update your system to Windows 10. There is no harm is giving it a try, isn’t it?

Does your system meet the minimum requirements

You’ll want to be running 64-bit Windows 10, with either an Intel Core i5 3570 or AMD FX-8350 processor, at least 120 GB of free space, and 8 GB of system memory. For the best experience an Intel Core i7-7700 or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X processor and NVIDIA GTX 1070, AMD Radeon Vega 56, or DirectX 11 compatible video card are recommended. Take a quick glance at the official system requirements for Mass Effect LE:

Mass Effect Legendary Edition - System requirements

You need EA account even if you bought the game on Steam

If you check the Steam page of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, it clearly says the following stuff:

Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and Origin client software installation and background use required.

Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account

This means you need to have either Origin or EA Play installed on your system, and you have to make sure that they are running in the background. Just having Steam won’t do the trick.

Are your drivers updated

If you didn’t know, Nvidia already released a driver that brings optimizations for Mass Effect 2021. The version is 466.27. It is the same driver that was released for Resident Evil Village. So go ahead and update your drivers. Nvidia users can download the latest drivers from here or via GeForce Experience. AMD users can download the latest drivers from here.

Corrupted or broken in-game files can be repaired easily

If I am not wrong, the PC version of Mass Effect Legendary Edition is available on Steam and EA Desktop/Origin only for people to download. Here is how you can repair the game on multiple launchers:

Origin

  1. Open Origin
  2. Go to My Game Library
  3. Select Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  4. Click on the Settings icon
  5. Select Repair

Steam

  1. Head over to your Steam Library
  2. Right click on Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  3. Select Properties
  4. Click on the Local Files tab
  5. Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files

EA Desktop

  1. Start EA Desktop
  2. Go to “My Collection”
  3. Right Click on Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  4. Select Repair
  5. Restart EA Desktop after the process is completed

EA Desktop users switch back to Origin

EA Desktop made its debut just a while ago. It is here to completely replace Origin, but not immediately. EA Desktop still has a lot of issues. A lot of games aren’t even compatible with this new launcher. So it is best to switch back to Origin for the time being. It is true that Origin is lacking a lot of features, but you cannot deny the fact that it is way more stable than EA Desktop.

Try running the executable of Mass Effect Legendary Edition as “Administrator”

Try to run the executable file or .exe file of Mass Effect Legendary Edition as admin. Here is how to do it:

  1. Go to the Installation folder of Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  2. Right-Click on the .exe file of Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  3. Go to Compatibility tab
  4. Check “Run this program as an administrator”

Try re-installing Mass Effect LE (Only if no other method works)

If none of the fixes mentioned above work for you then re-installation is your last resort. Game installations go wrong all the time. A file might have gone corrupted during the installation process. And that might be the reason why the game is crashing for you. So do a fresh installation of the game once.

Before you go for the re-installation, make sure you empty your “Temp” folder.

  • Go to the Start menu on your Desktop.
  • Press the Windows key+R at the same time.
  • Type in %TEMP% and press Enter.
  • Select All (Edit > Select All or Ctrl+A).
  • Click the Delete key.


If you think this guide had helped you then let us know in the comment section below. Also, if you are facing other problems with the game then try checking out our other guides on Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Who knows, you might end up finding a fix.


That’s all folks!

Last Updated on May 14, 2021

1 thought on “Mass Effect Legendary Edition PC – Crashing at startup – Game won’t launch – How to fix”

  1. Thank you for this! I couldn’t get it working using any of your steps however, turning off my Antivirus (Sophos) seemed to do the trick. I’m able to play the game now.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *