Red Dead Redemption 2 not Launching or Starting full screen

Here is a complete guide on how you can fix the problem where Red Dead Redemption 2 is not Launching or Starting full screen on your Windows PC. of being unable to launch Red Dead Redemption 2. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a great action-adventure game by Rockstar Games. However, many users have recently reported facing trouble when launching the game. The game won’t just launch leaving the gamers frustrated and annoyed. Now, if you are one of the affected users, this guide will help you find a suitable fix for your problem. So, let’s check out!

Why won’t my RDR2 go fullscreen?

The reason why your Red Dead Redemption 2 (or RDR2) game won’t go full screen could be the outdated graphics card drivers. It may also don’t start in full-screen mode if the game is not launched with administrative privileges. You should also make sure that the game resolution is set as per your computer display. In addition, you can open Rockstart Games Launcher, access Settings, select Red Dead Redemption 2 game, and select the fullscreen option in the Launch arguments section.

Red Dead Redemption 2 not Launching or Starting full screen

If Red Dead Redemption 2 not Launching or Starting full screen on your Windows 11/10 PC here are some suggestions that are sure to help you.

1. Update your Windows and graphics drivers.
2. Update your Rockstar Games Launcher.
3. Run Red Dead Redemption 2 as an administrator.
4. Whitelist the game through your antivirus/ firewall.
5. Verify the integrity of the game.
6. Clear the Settings folder.
7. Delete your launcher profile details.
8. Run an SFC scan.

Let us discuss the above fixes to resolve the problem.

1] Update your Windows and graphics drivers

The first thing you should do to fix the issue is to make sure that you have updated your Windows. New updates address and fix the stability issues with games and applications and enhance the system performance. Hence, update your Windows by going to Settings > Windows Update and pressing the Check for updates button. Then, download and install all the pending updates.

In addition to updating Windows, you also need to make sure that you have up-to-date graphics drivers. Outdated or faulty graphics drivers cause various gaming issues on PC including a problem with launching the game. So, if you want to avoid game launch and other performance issues, update your GPU drivers to their latest version.

You can update graphics drivers on Windows 11/10 using the following methods:

1. Download and install updates for your graphics drivers by using the Optional Updates feature that you can find under the Settings > Windows Update section.
2. Another method is to go to the official website of the device manufacturer and download the most recent version of your graphics driver. Then, run the installer and complete the installation.
3. Device Manager can also be used to update GPU card drivers using the below steps:
   • Launch Device Manager from the Win+X menu.
   • Go to the Display adapters category and expand the respective menu.
   • Right-click on your graphics card.
   • Click on the Update Driver option.
   • Complete the update process by following the prompted guide.
4. You can also use free driver update software using which you can automatically update your graphics and other system drivers.

After updating Windows and graphics drivers, try launching the Red Dead Redemption 2 game and see if the problem is fixed or not. In case you are still able to launch the game, try the next potential fix to resolve the issue.

2] Update your Rockstar Games Launcher

The problem might be caused because of outdated Rockstar Games Launcher. So, if the scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the issue. For that, first, exit the launcher. And then, restart it and let it download available updates. After that, relaunch Rockstar Games Launcher and see if you are able to start the Red Dead Redemption 2 game.

3] Run Red Dead Redemption 2 as an administrator

In many instances, you might be unable to launch the game if it lacks due administrator privilege to run. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, simply run the game with admin rights and see if it works properly or not. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Firstly, go to the Rockstar Games Launcher’s program icon, right-click on it, and select the Run an administrator option to launch it.
2. Now, click on Red Dead Redemption 2 from the My installed games section.
3. Next, select the Open under View Installation Folder option to open its installation location on your PC.
4. After that, right-click on the RDR2 application and select the Properties option.
5. Then, navigate to the Compatibility tab and enable the checkboxes called Run this program as an administrator and Disable fullScreen optimization.
6. Finally, press Apply > OK to save changes.

Now, try launching the game and see if it starts or not. If not, there might be some other underlying cause of the issue at hand. So, move on to the next potential fix to resolve it.

4] Whitelist the game through your antivirus/ firewall

The game might be blocked due to your overprotective antivirus suite blocking it because of some false positive alarm. To make sure that’s the cause, you can try disabling your antivirus for some time and then launch the game. If it launches properly, you can be sure that your antivirus was the main culprit. In that case, you can add the concerned game to the exclusion/ exception list of your antivirus.

You can check the same with your firewall. If it is at the fault, try whitelisting the game through your firewall to fix the issue.

If this doesn’t work, you can try the next method to fix the issue.

5] Verify the integrity of the game

If you are still unable to launch the game, there are chances that the issue is caused due to corrupted game files of Red Dead Redemption 2. So, to fix the corrupted or missing game files and the issue at hand, you can try verifying the integrity of your game files. Here is how to do that:

1. Firstly, open the Rockstar Games Launcher application.
2. Now, tap on the Settings option which you can find in the top-right section of its GUI.
3. Next, select the Red Dead Redemption 2 game from the My installed games section.
4. After that, click on the VERIFY INTEGRITY button that you can see under the Verify game file integrity section. It will then verify and fix the game files.
5. Once the process is done, a confirmation message will pop up after which you can try relaunching the game to check if the problem is fixed or not.

Steam users can follow the below steps to verify and repair game files of Red Dead Redemption 2:

1. Firstly, launch Steam and navigate to the game LIBRARY.
2. Now, press the right-click on the Red Dead Redemption 2 game and click on Properties.
3. Next, go to the LOCAL FILES tab and select the VERIFY GAME INTEGRITY button to start the game files’ verification process.
4. After that, try relaunching the game and see if the issue is resolved or not.

6] Clear the Settings folder

If the game’s Settings folder is corrupted or has broken files, you are likely to experience a launch issue with the game. So, if the scenario is applicable, you can try deleting the Settings folder to fix the issue. However, it is recommended to create a backup of the folder at some other location (e.g., Desktop) to be on the safer side.

Here is how you can clear the Settings folder:

1. Firstly, close Rockstar Game Launcher and related processes by using Task Manager.
2. After that, press the Windows logo key and E hotkey to open File Explorer.
3. Now, go to Documents and select the folder named Rockstar Games.
4. Next, find the folder named Settings and then delete it.
5. Finally, try launching the game and see if the problem is fixed.

7] Delete your launcher profile details

In a few instances, corrupted profile details also cause launch problems with your game. So, if your game launcher’s profile details are corrupted, you can try deleting the details to fix the issue. Here is how to do that:

1. Firstly, start Rockstar Games Launcher and choose SETTINGS.
2. Now, click on Account Information, go to the Delete local profile section, and select DELETE.
3. Next, confirm the deletion process.
4. After that, re-login to the game launcher and launch the Red Dead Redemption 2 game to check if the issue is fixed or not.

8] Run an SFC scan

If none of the above solutions worked for you, the issue might lie with your system itself. It is likely that there are corrupted system files on your PC that are preventing the game from launching. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the issue by performing an SFC scan.

System File Checker or SFC is an in-built tool in Windows that enables you to fix corrupted system files. Here is how to run an SFC scan:

Firstly, start an elevated command prompt window.

Next, enter the following command and wait for it to complete:

sfc /scannow

After that, reboot your PC and try relaunching your game to see if the problem is fixed or not.

Hopefully, this helps!

Read: Fix Rockstar Games Launcher Error Code 7002.1 with GTA 5 and RDR 2.

How do I fix Red Dead Redemption 2 not responding?

If Red Dead Redemption 2 is not responding or keeps crashing, then you should verify the game files. Apart from that, make sure to update your graphics drivers, temporarily disable your security software, and close unnecessary background applications.

Now read: Fix Unable to launch game, please verify your game data error on Rockstar Games Launcher.