PUBG Failed to Initialize STEAM? Here Are Solutions!

PUBG, short for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, is a battle royale game played from either a third-person or first-person perspective. This game is available on Steam, Epic Games, PS, and Xbox platforms.

Some players report that they have encountered the “Failed to initialize Steam” error when playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. If you also encounter this error, don’t worry. This post from NewsPivot offers you 6 solutions and you can try them.

Way 1. Force Close All Steam Processes

Some people report that they have solved the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds failed to initialize Steam issue by just closing all Steam processes in Task Manager. Therefore, you can also have a try.

Just press the Windows logo key + X and then select Task Manager from the menu. On the Process tab, find every Steam process. Right-click them and select End task from the menu.

Also Read: What to Do If PUBG Keeps Freezing on PC?

Way 2. Run the Game as an Administrator

Some people say running the game as administrator helps solve the PUBG failed to initialize Steam. Here is the guide:

1. Run Steam as administrator.
2. Right-click on PUBG in your Steam Library and choose Properties.
3. Go to the Local Files tab and click Browse Local Files. You are now in the game folder.
4. Go to Steam\steamapps\common\PUBG\TslGame\Binaries\Win64.
5. Find TsIGame.exe and TsIGame_BE.exe.
6. Right-click on them and click Properties > Compatibility. Under Settings, check the box of Run this program as an administrator.
7. Click Apply and OK to save the changes and then launch the game from Steam to see if the error is removed.

Way 3. Disable Third-Party Antivirus Software

Do you use Avast, Bullguard, or other third-party antivirus software? Some people report that these antivirus programs may detect the anti-cheat of PUBG as a threat and block it. Then, disabling these antivirus programs will solve the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds failed to initialize Steam issue.

Way 4. Update the GPU Driver

Updating the GPU driver can fix many game issues, including the PUBG failed to initialize Steam issue. Here is the guide:

1. Press the Windows logo key + X and then select Device Manager from the menu.
2. Expand Display adapters, right-click the graphics driver, and click Update driver.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the driver update process.

Way 5. Reinstall C++ in the Game Folder

Some people report that reinstalling C++ in the game folder helps them solve the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds failed to initialize Steam issue. Here is the guide:

1. Go to the PUBG game installation folder.
2. Open the _CommonRedist > vcredist folder. You may see the 2013, 2015, and 2017 folders.
3. Open these folders and you will see vc_redist.x64 (for 64-bit OS) and vc_redist.x86 (for 32-bit OS) files.
4. Double-click either of them to reinstall C++ for your computer (you should choose one according to your system).

Way 6. Reinstall PUBG and the Game Launcher

If all the above methods don’t work, you can try reinstalling PUBG and the game launcher to solve the failed to initialize Steam issue. Here is the guide (taking Steam as an example):

Step 1: Uninstall PUBG.

1. Go to your Steam Library.
2. Right-click on PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and select Uninstall.
3. A window will pop up asking for confirmation. Click on Delete.

Step 2: Remove associated files.

1. Go to the PUBG game installation folder and delete the TslGame folder and the WELLBIA folder.
2. Navigate to Program Files\Common Files and delete the PUBG and UNCHEATER folder.
3. Navigate to Program Files (x86)\Common Files\BattlEye and delete the file BEService_pubg.exe.
4. Navigate to Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common and delete the PUBG folder.
5. In Steam, go to Settings > Downloads and click on CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE.

Step 3: Uninstall Steam.

1. Press the Windows logo key + R, type “appwiz.cpl” in the dialogue box, and press Enter.
2. On the pop-up Programs and Features window, find Steam to uninstall it.

Step 4: Reinstall Steam and PUBG. Then, launch the game to see if the error is solved.

Bottom Line

This post shows you how to solve the PUBG failed to initialize Steam issue in 6 ways. If you know other solutions, contact me and I will add them to my post.