Yakuza Like a Dragon crashing or won’t launch – One of the most awaited AAA titles of 2020, Yakuza Like a Dragon has finally been released on the PC. Players were eagerly waiting for the launch ever since the announcement. If you are a fan of the previous Yakuza games, then you will definitely love this as well. As Like a Dragon has taken a completely different approach towards the combat mechanics of the game.
But as we all know, AAA games these days don’t come without bugs and glitches. Same is the case with Yakuza Like a Dragon. A lot of players have been complaining lately, that the game is crashing from them after running for a bit. While some couldn’t even get the game to launch the game via Steam. And this problem has nothing to do with their PC hardware. That is why we decided to put all the fixes recommended by the community in one place, so that players don’t have to check multiple sources for them.
Yakuza Like a Dragon – Crashing at Startup – Game won’t Launch – How to fix
How to fix these issues
Before you start moving any further in this guide. I just want to let you know that Yakuza Like a Dragon incorporates a third party Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM.
If you don’t have any idea about what that is, then let me tell you that Denuvo is an anti-tamper technology and a digital rights management scheme that is known to protect games against piracy. It is infamous for causing horrible performance related issues in games and the problems you are experiencing with Like a Dragon, might just be because of Denuvo.
Are you using Windows 10?
If you are not then there is no point reading this guide as Yakuza Like a Dragon only supports Windows 10 64-bit. This not something that I am saying. It is something that is written on the Steam page of Yakuza Like a Dragon.
Method #1 – Check your graphics card software and make sure it’s updated.
- If you are using an Nvidia gpu, please use NVIDIA GeForce Experience to check that you are up to date with your drivers.
- If you are using an AMD gpu, please use RADEON Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition to check that you are up to date with your drivers.
Method #2 – Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable
Make sure you have Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable installed. If you don’t, you can install it from here.
Method #3 – Admin Mode
If you’re having trouble getting the game to start, please try running the .EXE file or the executable file outside of Steam while in Admin mode:
- Navigate to the following directory, or wherever the game is installed:
\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\YakuzaLikeaDragon - Then open either the x64 or x86 folder, as fits your machine.
- Finally, run the .exe file of Yakuza Like a Dragon as Administrator by right clicking on it and selecting “Run as Administrator…”
Method #4 – Is your Anti-Virus Software conflicting with Yakuza Like a Dragon?
If you go and look at the Steam discussions page of Yakuza Like a Dragon, you will notice that a lot of people have posted about how their Anti-virus software is labeling the executable or the .exe file of the game as virus, as a result blocking it.
Anti-Virus software hooks very deep into user systems and can affect disk and network operations which can cause crashes in games. Some games also use copy protection technology that can appear as malicious software to an AV scanner, resulting in potential false-positive alerts.
Either try disabling your Anti-Virus software temporarily and then run the game or add exceptions for Yakuza Like a Dragon in your Anti-virus configuration.
If you are using Windows Defender instead of a third-party AV software then here is how to add Like a Dragon on the exceptions list of Windows Defender:
- Go to Windows 10 settings
- Click on Update & Security
- Select Windows Security from the left sidebar
- Click on Virus & threat protection
- Under Virus & threat protection click on Manage settings
- Under Exclusions click on Add or remove exclusions
- Click on Add an exclusion
- Select File
- Select the .exe or executable file of Yakuza Like a Dragon
- Restart your PC
Method #5 – Verify integrity of game files
- Via Steam open your game Library.
- Right click on Yakuza Like a Dragon and select “Properties”
- Select the “LOCAL FILES” tab and click on “VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES…”
- Start a game session
Method #6 – Re-install the game
This should be the final fix that you try. If things are not working properly then, go ahead and do a fresh installation of Yakuza Like a Dragon. Yes I know this is not the most convenient step. But trust me, this is the best thing to do in this situation.
I will be keeping an eye on the forums, and will keep on searching for more potential fixes. But considering how the launch of Yakuza Kiwami was, I am pretty sure it will finally come down to the patches from the developers.
If you think that this guide has helped you then let us know in the comment section below. Also, try checking out our other guides on Yakuza Like a Dragon. Who knows, you might end up finding a something you have been looking for.
That’s all folks!
Last Updated on June 1, 2021
Shoaib, 30, is a simple guy who loves to play video games, and enjoys new cuisines sporadically. He has been gaming since he was 7 years old, and with an experience of 22 years, under his belt, there is not a single AAA game in this world, that he hasn’t played. Despite being a MBA Graduate he decided to follow his passion. And because of his love for gaming, Frondtech came into existence.