If the Epic Games Launcher is crashing, not downloading or launching games, or otherwise not working as expected, here are some troubleshooting steps that often fix common problems:
- Check the Epic Games server status
- Check for updates
- Verify system requirements
- Disable fullscreen optimization
- Clear the Epic Games Launcher's webcache
- Run the Epic Games Launcher as an administrator
- Update graphics card drivers
- Reinstall the Epic Games Launcher
Check the Epic Games server status
Check the Epic Games Server Status page to make sure all systems are operational. If the Epic Games Launcher is affected by an outage or system-wide failure, your issue may be fixed when the outage is resolved.
Check for updates
Check to see if there is an update for the Launcher. To do this, click your profile icon in the top right corner of the Launcher and select Settings.
If you see a RESTART AND UPDATE button select it to update the Launcher.
Verify system requirements
Make sure your computer meets the system requirements to run the Epic Games Launcher. The system requirements for the Epic Games Launcher are here.
Disable fullscreen optimization
If you're seeing low frames per second (FPS), try disabling fullscreen optimization:
- Shut down the Epic Games Launcher completely.
- Go into the directory where it is installed, right-click on the launcher .exe file, and click Properties (Epic Games\Launcher\Engine\Binaries\Win64\EpicGamesLauncher.exe).
- Go to the Compatibility tab.
- Click to check the Disable fullscreen optimizations box.
- (Optional) You can also click to check the Run this program as an administrator box.
- Click Apply and Ok.
Clear the Epic Games Launcher cache
The cache files contain information about previous uses of the launcher. Deleting these files, then letting the Launcher rebuild them again can sometimes fix issues like this.
On PC:
- In the lower right corner click on the arrow pointing up (the chevron)
- Right-click on the Epic icon in the pop up window
- Select Exit
- Press the Windows key and tap the R key, this will open a run window
- Type %localappdata%
- Press the Enter key, this will open File Explorer
- Open the EpicGamesLauncher folder
- Open the Saved folder
- Right click and select delete on:
- webcache
- webcache_4147
- webcache_4430
There may only be one or two of the files present
On Mac:
- Exit the Epic Games Launcher.
- Open Finder.
- Click on Go then Go to Folder...
- Type "~/Library/Caches/com.epicgames.EpicGamesLauncher" and press Enter.
- Drag the webcache folder to the Trash.
- Press control and click on Trash.
- Click on Empty Trash.
- Relaunch the Epic Games Launcher.
Run the Epic Games Launcher as an administrator
Running the Launcher as an administrator elevates its permissions to avoid problems with downloading games, for example.
Follow these steps to run the Launcher as an administrator:
- Right-click your Epic Games Launcher shortcut.
- Click Run as Administrator.
Update graphics card drivers
Making sure you're using the latest graphics card drivers may resolve the launcher crashing. Review this article for steps on how to update graphics drivers.
Reinstall the Epic Games Launcher
Note: The following process will remove all of your installed games.
On Windows:
Follow these steps to run the system file checker then reinstall the Epic Games Launcher:
- Close the Epic Games launcher by right-clicking the system tray icon in the bottom right corner and then clicking Exit.
- Click Start.
- Type "cmd", right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
- In the window that opens, type "sfc /scannow", and then press Enter.
This may take a little while. - Restart your computer.
- Click Start.
- Type "Add or Remove Programs", and then press Enter.
- Select Epic Games Launcher from the list of programs.
- Click Uninstall.
- Go to www.epicgames.com and click Get Epic Games in the top right corner to download the latest installer.
On Mac:
Note: If your Launcher is freezing on macOS 10.15.1 or earlier, reinstalling the Launcher often fixes the issue. Please note that macOS 10.12 and earlier are no longer supported.
- Close the Epic Games Launcher.
- Verify there are no processes associated with the Epic Games Launcher by checking Activity Monitor.
- Open the Applications folder.
- Click and drag the Epic Games Launcher application to the Trash.
- Verify all the following directories no longer have any Epic Games Launcher folders or files:
- ~/Library/Application Support
- ~/Library/Caches
- ~/Library/Preferences
- ~/Library/Logs
- ~/Library/Cookies
- Go to www.epicgames.com and click Get Epic Games in the top right corner to download the latest installer.