Error Fixes 8 min read

Marvel Rivals Won’t Launch on PC — 10 Fixes That Actually Work (2026)

GamersDignity Staff

February 23, 2026

Fix 1: Restart Your PC (Properly)

This sounds basic, but it fixes the problem for a surprising number of players. Marvel Rivals’ anti-cheat requires a complete system boot cycle — not resume from sleep, not a restart from hibernate. A full cold restart.

1. Click Start → Power → Shut down (not Restart — shutdown clears more system state)
2. Wait 10 seconds
3. Press the power button to turn your PC back on
4. Launch Steam and try Marvel Rivals again

If you’ve been putting your PC to sleep for weeks without a proper restart, the anti-cheat’s kernel driver can end up in a broken state.

Fix 2: Verify Game Files on Steam

Corrupted files are one of the top causes, especially after the Season 6.5 patch. Steam’s verification tool compares your local files against the server versions and redownloads anything that doesn’t match.

1. Open Steam → go to your Library
2. Right-click Marvel Rivals → Properties
3. Click Installed Files tab → Verify integrity of game files
4. Wait for the process to finish (typically 5-15 minutes on an SSD)
5. If Steam found and replaced files, restart your PC before launching the game

If verification finds zero issues but the game still won’t launch, the problem is elsewhere. Move on.

Fix 3: Repair the Anti-Cheat System

The anti-cheat component installs separately from the game. If it’s corrupted, the game fails silently.

Manual repair method:

1. Navigate to your Marvel Rivals installation folder. Default path:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\MarvelRivals\

1. Look for a folder named EasyAntiCheat or AntiCheat
2. Inside that folder, find EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe (or similar repair tool)
3. Right-click it → Run as administrator
4. Select Marvel Rivals from the game list → click Repair Service
5. Restart your PC

If the repair tool doesn’t exist or fails:

1. Uninstall Marvel Rivals from Steam
2. Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ and delete the MarvelRivals folder if it still exists
3. Also delete any anti-cheat remnants in C:\Program Files (x86)\EasyAntiCheat\
4. Restart your PC
5. Reinstall Marvel Rivals from Steam

Fix 4: Update Your GPU Drivers

Marvel Rivals requires DirectX 12 with specific feature level support. Outdated drivers might technically support DX12 but lack the shader model or feature level the game needs.

For NVIDIA GPUs:

1. Download driver version 591.86 WHQL or newer from nvidia.com/drivers
2. During installation, choose Custom → Perform a clean installation
3. Restart your PC

For AMD GPUs:

1. Download Adrenalin 25.1.1 or newer from amd.com/support
2. Choose Factory Reset during installation
3. Restart your PC

For Intel Arc GPUs:

1. Download the latest Intel Arc driver from intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/785597/intel-arc-iris-xe-graphics-windows.html
2. Marvel Rivals officially supports Intel Arc A380 and above. Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics may not support the required DX12 feature level.

Fix 5: Check Your DirectX 12 Support

If you’re seeing a “DirectX 12 is not supported on your system” error, your hardware or system configuration might not meet the requirement.

Verify your DX version:

1. Press Win + R, type dxdiag, press Enter
2. On the System tab, check “DirectX Version” — it should say DirectX 12
3. On the Display tab, check “Feature Levels” — you need at least 12_0

If your GPU doesn’t support DX12 Feature Level 12_0:

Unfortunately, there’s no workaround. You need a GPU that supports DX12. The minimum is:

• NVIDIA GTX 1060 or newer
• AMD RX 580 or newer
• Intel Arc A380 or newer

GPUs older than these (GTX 960, RX 480, etc.) technically support DX12 but not at the feature level Marvel Rivals requires.

Fix 6: Disable Conflicting Software

Certain programs interfere with the anti-cheat’s kernel driver and prevent the game from launching.

Known conflict software — disable or close before launching:

• VPN software (NordVPN, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost) — These install virtual network adapters that can conflict. Disconnect and close them entirely, not just disconnect.
• MSI Afterburner + RTSS — The overlay hooks into the game process before anti-cheat authorizes it.
• Razer Cortex — Game booster mode conflicts with launch sequence.
• ASUS Armoury Crate — Kernel-level hardware management conflicts.
• Discord overlay — Disable it: Discord → Settings → Game Overlay → Off.
• GeForce Experience overlay — Disable it: GeForce Experience → Settings → In-Game Overlay → Off.
• Wallpaper Engine — Pause it before launching. It sometimes grabs GPU resources during initialization.

Quick test: Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), go to Startup tab, disable everything non-essential, restart, and try launching Marvel Rivals. If it works, re-enable items one at a time.

Fix 7: Whitelist the Game in Your Antivirus

Some antivirus programs flag the anti-cheat kernel driver as suspicious and block it. This happens silently — you won’t see a notification.

Windows Defender (most common):

1. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection
2. Scroll to Virus & threat protection settings → Manage settings
3. Scroll to Exclusions → Add or remove exclusions
4. Add the Marvel Rivals installation folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\MarvelRivals\
5. Also add the anti-cheat folder if it exists separately

Bitdefender, Norton, Avast, Kaspersky: Check each program’s exception/whitelist settings and add the same paths. Some of these also have “Game Mode” features that can help — enable that as well.

Fix 8: Disconnect Game Controllers

This is a weird one, but multiple players on the Steam forums confirmed it. Certain USB game controllers — particularly PS4 DualShock 4 controllers — can prevent Marvel Rivals from launching when connected via USB.

1. Unplug any USB game controllers
2. Also check for Bluetooth-connected controllers — disconnect them
3. Try launching the game
4. If it launches successfully, reconnect your controller after you reach the main menu

This is a known bug that NetEase has acknowledged. It appears to be related to the game’s input system initialization conflicting with certain controller drivers during the startup sequence.

Fix 9: Check Windows Version

Marvel Rivals requires Windows 10 version 1909 or newer. If you’re running an older build, the game silently fails.

1. Press Win + R, type winver, press Enter
2. Check your Windows version:

– Windows 10: Must be version 1909 or later

– Windows 11: All versions are supported

1. If your version is too old, go to Settings → Windows Update and install all available updates

Also make sure your Windows isn’t stuck on a broken update. If Windows Update shows errors, run the troubleshooter: Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters → Windows Update.

Fix 10: Reinstall Marvel Rivals (Clean)

If nothing else works, a completely clean reinstall removes every possible corrupted file.

1. Uninstall Marvel Rivals from Steam (Library → right-click → Manage → Uninstall)
2. Delete leftover files:

– C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\MarvelRivals\

– C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\MarvelRivals\

– C:\Program Files (x86)\EasyAntiCheat\ (if it exists)

1. Restart your PC
2. Reinstall Marvel Rivals from Steam
3. Don’t launch immediately — let Steam fully download and verify
4. Restart your PC one more time
5. Launch the game

The double restart ensures both the game files and the anti-cheat driver are cleanly installed.

How to Stop Launch Issues After Future Updates

• Don’t close the Marvel Rivals launcher aggressively — Use “Minimize to system tray” instead of force-closing. Repeatedly killing the launcher process can corrupt anti-cheat state.
• Verify game files after every major patch — Takes 5 minutes and prevents most post-update launch failures.
• Keep GPU drivers within one version of current — You don’t need day-one drivers, but don’t fall more than two releases behind.
• Maintain 70+ GB of free space on the drive where Marvel Rivals is installed. The game needs room for temp files during updates.

FAQ

Why does Marvel Rivals say “The anti-cheat is currently inactive”?

This means the anti-cheat kernel driver failed to start with Windows. The most common fix: restart your PC (full shutdown, not sleep). If it persists, repair the anti-cheat (Fix 3) or reinstall the game. This error can also appear server-side during maintenance — check the official Marvel Rivals Twitter for server status.

Can I play Marvel Rivals on integrated graphics?

Technically, Intel Arc A380 is the minimum supported integrated GPU. Intel Iris Xe and Intel UHD Graphics are not guaranteed to work because they don’t consistently support the DX12 feature level Marvel Rivals requires. If you only have integrated graphics, you’ll likely hit the DirectX 12 error.

Does Marvel Rivals work on Windows 10?

Yes, but you need Windows 10 version 1909 or later. Older versions are not supported. Windows 11 works with all builds. If you’re on an early Windows 10 build, update through Windows Update before trying to launch.

Marvel Rivals launches but crashes during loading. Is that the same issue?

Not exactly. Launch failures (nothing happens after clicking Play) are usually anti-cheat or system configuration problems. Crashes during loading are more often caused by corrupted game files, insufficient VRAM, or overheating. If you crash during loading, start with Fix 6 (verify game files) and check your GPU temperatures with HWMonitor or MSI Afterburner.

How much storage does Marvel Rivals need?

The game requires approximately 70 GB of storage space. An SSD is strongly recommended — the game loads significantly faster from an SSD, and some players report that running from an HDD causes loading screen timeouts that look like launch failures.