How to Fix CS2 Not Launching or Crashing

Counter-Strike 2 has multiple new features and updates planned for years to come.

It will be a free upgrade to CS:GO players, featuring a new CS Rating system.

CS2 also features dynamic smoke grenades, improved maps, sub-tick updates for responsiveness, and more.

Smoke can now interact with other gameplay events, seep out of opened doorways, and more.

The game promises a fresh and exciting experience for fans of the franchise.

If you’ve recently installed the game, it might fail to launch or crash.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to fix CS2 (Counter-Strike 2) not launching, crashing on startup, freezing, or a UI bug.

How to fix CS2 not launching or crashing

To fix CS2 not launching or crashing, you need to update your operating system to Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11 22H2 or newer.

You can also try updating your graphics card, disabling NVIDIA Ansel, verifying the integrity of game files, and enabling compatibility and administrator mode.

Method 1: Update your operating system

Method 1: Check for updates – Search for “Check for updates” using Windows Search, open it, and select “Install all” or “Update”.
Method 2: If version 22H2 isn’t offered automatically via “Check for updates” – Update Windows using the Windows Update Assistant or use the Windows 10 installation media.

Note: CS2 requires your operating system to be Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11 22H2 or newer to run.

Method 2: Update your graphics card

Method 3: Disable NVIDIA Ansel

Search for “Windows Powershell” using Windows Search.
Right-click the program and select “Run as administrator”.
Run these 2 commands:
dir “$env:systemroot\system32\driverstore\filerepository*NvCameraEnable.exe” -rec |% {& “$_” off}
dir “$env:programfiles\nvidia corporation*NvCameraEnable.exe” -rec |% {& “$_” off}

Note: NVIDIA Ansel is known to conflict with CS2, so it’s recommended that you disable it to fix launching issues.

Method 4: Verify the integrity of game files

Go to your Steam Library and right-click Counter-Strike.
Select “Properties” followed by “Installed Files”.
Select “Verify integrity of game files”.

Method 5: Enable compatibility and administrator mode

Go to your Steam Library and right-click Counter-Strike.
Select “Manage” followed by “Browse local files”.
Game > Bin > win64 > cs2.exe.
Right-click “cs2.exe”, select “Properties”, and select “Compatibility”.
Tick “Run this program in compatibility mode for”.
Tick “Run this program as an administrator”.
Apply > OK > Launch CS2.