The game launcher will not open, or keeps updating

Launchers are small programs that sign you in, download updates and start the game. When they fail, the game cannot start either. Here is how to work through it.

Quick answer

Try these in order

Close every copy of the launcher, including any in the system tray or menu bar, then open it once.
Check that your computer's date, time and time zone are set automatically.
Restart the computer and the router.
Run the launcher's built-in repair, or reinstall the launcher only (not the games).

Clicking the icon does nothing

Most common cause: the launcher is already running, but its window is hidden. Many launchers start with the computer and sit quietly in the background. Clicking the icon again simply tells the hidden copy to show itself, and if that copy is stuck, nothing appears.

On Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Look for the launcher's name under Processes, select it, and choose End task. On macOS, press Option + Command + Esc, select the launcher and choose Force Quit.
Look for its icon near the clock (Windows) or in the menu bar (macOS) and quit it from there as well.
Open the launcher once and wait up to a minute before clicking again. Repeated clicks can start several copies that block one another.

If it still does not appear, restart the computer. A restart clears background processes that Task Manager cannot always end.

The launcher downloads the same update over and over

What you see: an update downloads, the launcher restarts, and the same update starts again.

Usual causes:

It cannot write to its own folder. The update downloads but cannot be saved, so the launcher never sees it as installed. This happens when the folder has been moved, synced by a cloud storage app, or placed somewhere that needs administrator rights.
Security software is holding the update file. The file is checked and held briefly, the launcher assumes it failed, and starts over.
The computer's clock is wrong. Secure connections rely on certificates with start and end dates. If your clock is out by days or more, the launcher may reject the update server or treat its files as invalid.

Fix: set the date and time to update automatically (on Windows: Settings, Time and language, Date and time; on macOS: System Settings, General, Date and Time). Make sure the launcher is not inside a folder synced by a cloud storage service. If the loop continues, uninstall the launcher, restart, and install a fresh copy from the publisher's official site. Installed games are usually kept, but check the publisher's support page before you remove anything.

Stuck on “Connecting” or “Checking for updates”

The launcher opens but cannot reach its servers.

Connection faults by likelihood of being the cause
Check	How to tell	Next step
The service itself is down	Other players report the same thing at the same time	Wait; follow the publisher's official channels
Your connection	Websites load slowly or not at all	Restart the router; contact your provider if it continues
VPN or proxy	The fault stops when the VPN is off	Leave it off while signing in, or ask the VPN provider
Firewall	You recently changed security software	Allow the launcher through, as that software's help explains
Network restrictions	It works at home but not at work, school or on public Wi-Fi	That network may block games; use another connection

Be wary of guides telling you to change DNS settings or edit system files to fix a connection fault. Those changes affect everything on the computer, are easy to forget, and rarely fix a problem that a restart and a check of the service status would not.

The launcher opens to a blank, white or black window

Most modern launchers draw their window with built-in web components. If those components cannot use the graphics hardware properly, the window opens but stays empty.

Update the graphics driver from the company that made your graphics chip.
Look in the launcher's settings, if you can reach them, for an option to turn off hardware acceleration in the launcher. This affects the launcher window only, not the game.
Clear the launcher's cache. The publisher's support pages normally give the folder location and say which files are safe to delete.
If you use more than one monitor, disconnect the second one temporarily. Some launchers open off screen when a display has been removed.

It stopped working after a system update

Major operating system updates can reset permissions, replace graphics drivers with generic versions, or change security settings. After a big update:

Restart once more. Some updates finish installing only on a second restart.
Reinstall the graphics driver from the chip maker's own site.
Check that your security software has also updated, since older versions can misread a launcher after a system change.
Check the publisher's support site for a notice. When an update breaks a launcher for many people, publishers usually post about it quickly.

Is it you, or is it the service?

Before spending an evening on fixes, spend two minutes finding out whether the fault is on your side at all. Launchers depend on servers run by the publisher, and when those servers have trouble, every player sees the same symptoms at once.

Check the publisher's official support site or verified social media accounts for a notice about maintenance or an outage.
Note the time. Scheduled maintenance is often announced for a set window, which may fall in the middle of the day or the night in Australia because it is planned around another region's quiet hours.
Try signing in on the publisher's website in a browser. If the website also fails, the problem is unlikely to be your launcher.
Ask someone on another internet connection, such as a mobile hotspot, to try. If it works there, the fault is closer to your home network.

If an outage is confirmed, reinstalling or changing settings will not help and may create new problems once the service returns. Wait for the all-clear, then restart the launcher once.

Launchers and games on different drives

Some launchers allow games to live on a different drive from the launcher itself. That is useful when the main drive is small, but it creates a few specific faults:

If an external drive is unplugged or has a new drive letter, the launcher may think the game is missing and offer to download it again. Reconnect the drive, then use the launcher's option to locate an existing install rather than downloading.
If the second drive is formatted in a way the operating system treats differently, such as a drive also used with another computer, permissions may block updates. Keeping games on an internal drive avoids this.
If the second drive is slow or nearly full, updates can stall partway and leave the launcher stuck on "Updating".

Common questions

Will reinstalling the launcher delete my games?

Usually not, but it depends on the launcher. Some keep installed games in a separate folder that survives a launcher reinstall; others remove everything. Check the publisher's support page first, and note your install folder before you start.

Should I run the launcher as administrator every time?

It can confirm whether permissions are the cause, but it should not be needed every day. If the launcher only works as administrator, the better fix is to reinstall it to its default location so it has normal permissions.

Is it safe to download the launcher from a mirror site?

Use the publisher's own website. A launcher handles your sign-in details, so an altered copy is a direct risk to your account.

The launcher works but the game will not start. Is that this page?

No. Once the launcher shows a Play button and the game fails after you press it, see the crashes page.

Before contacting publisher support

Support teams can help faster when you send:

Your operating system and version.
The exact wording of any error message, or a screenshot of it.
What you have already tried, from the steps above.
Whether the problem began after a specific update or change.

Never include your password in a support request. Genuine support staff do not need it, and a request for it is a warning sign covered on the account page.