Fortnite was not started correctly and needs to be closed

Fortnite is not launching on many Windows computers, when trying to launch the game, users are getting an error message saying Fortnite was not started correctly and needs to be closed. In this post, we are going to talk about this issue and see what you can do to resolve it. Following is the exact error message users are seeing when trying to access this game.

ERROR
Fortnite was not started correctly and needs to be closed. We recommend trying to launch the game using the Epic Games Launcher or contact player support.

Let us go to the troubleshooting guide.

Why is my Fortnite not opening?

If you see “Fortnite was not stared correctly and needs to be closed” when trying to launch the game, then check if there are apps such as Chrome and Discord running alongside the game. In case, there are redundant apps, close them and your issue will be resolved. If that doesn’t work, then something might be wrong with your game files or tools that work alongside it. Follow the solutions mentioned in this post to resolve the issue easily.

Fortnite was not started correctly and needs to be closed

If Fortnite was not started correctly and needs to be closed, try the following suggestions to resolve the issue.

1. Do as the message says
2. Close all the redundant apps before launching the game
3. Repair Fortnite Game Files
4. Switch to DirectX11
5. Install the latest version of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable
6. Repair Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable
7. Reinstall Fortnite

Let us talk about each of the solutions one by one.

1] Do as the message says

As you can read in the error message, the game asks you to close it and then restart it from Epic Games. We will go above and beyond by not just closing the game, but also restarting the system. Go ahead and reboot your system, and then start the game and see if that worked.

2] Close all the redundant apps before launching the game

According to some subreddits, one of the easiest ways to resolve this issue is by closing all the unnecessary apps such as Chrome, Discord, etc before launching the game. You should not just close the apps by clicking on the Cross (X) button, but open Task Manager, right-click on the redundant processes, and select End Task. Once you have closed the apps, launch Fortnite from the Epic Games or from the Desktop shortcut and see if the issue persists. Hopefully, this will do the job for you.

3] Repair Fortnite Game Files

One of the major causes of this issue is corrupted game files. You can quickly repair Fortnite using the Epic Games Launcher. The utility will not only search the game files for corruption but will also restore the corrupted ones. If you don’t know how to verify your game files, just follow the prescribed steps to do the same.

1. Open Epic Games Launcher.
2. Go to Library.
3. Then, go to Fortnite, and click on the three horizontal dots associated with the game.
4. Select Verify.

Let the launcher, scan the game files and repair them. Once it’s done, check if the issue persists. Hopefully, your issue will be resolved.

4] Switch to DirectX11

DirectX12 is the latest version of DirectX and if you constantly update your computer, there is a high chance that you are running it on your computer. However, there seems to be a problem that stops Fortnite on computers with DirectX12, it seems to only work with the 11th generation of DirectX.

We can try to force Fortnite on the previous version and not the latest version and see if that works. This worked for a lot of gamers, they change the properties of Fortnite to launch with DirectX11 and the game started opening without any worries. To do the same, follow the prescribed steps.

1. Open Epic Games Launcher.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Navigate to Fortnite and expand it.
4. Tick the box associated with Additional Command Line Arguments.
5. Type d3d11.

Finally, launch Fortnite and check if the issue persists. Hopefully, this will do the job for you.

5] Install the latest version of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable

Just like DirectX, Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable is required to launch a game. It creates an environment for games that are written in the C++ language. There are various things that could be wrong with this tool. But first and foremost, we need to update it and see if that works. So, go ahead and download the latest version of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable. Install the downloaded file and see if that worked. Hopefully, this will resolve the issue for you. If not, move to the next solution to repair the corrupted file.

6] Repair Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable

If updating to the latest version of Visual C++ Redistributable didn’t work, let us try to repair it and see if that works. As mentioned earlier, Fortnite depends on this tool to run, so, if it is corrupted, the game won’t launch on your system. To repair it, you need to follow the prescribed steps.

1. Launch Settings by Win + I.
2. Navigate to Apps > Apps & Features.
3. Look for Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages.
4. For Windows 11: Click on the three vertical dots. For Windows 10: Select the app.
5. Click Modify.
6. You will be asked to confirm your actions in UAC prompt, click Yes.
7. Now, click Repair and follow the on-screen instructions.

Once the tool is repaired, launch Fornite and see if that worked.

7] Reinstall Fortnite

If nothing worked, your last resort is to reinstall Fortnite. Since Fortnite is a big game, we have kept this solution at the button, but if all else fails, you will have no other choice but to reinstall the game completely.

Hopefully, you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this article.

Read: A D3D11 compatible GPU is required to run the engine 

Is something wrong with Fortnite today?

To know the server status of Fortnite, visit status.epicgames.com. Then, expand Fortnite to know the service status. In case, the server is down, the only thing you can do is wait for the engineers to get the issue resolved. In the meantime, you can try some other free games from Epic Games Store or Steam.

Also Read: Fix Fortnite keeps crashing or freezing on Windows PC.