How to Fix Valorant Crashing on Startup in 2026 — 9 Proven Solutions

Valorant crashes right when you launch it, and all you see is a brief loading screen before the game slams shut. No error code, no crash log — just back to your desktop. This has been one of the most persistent issues since Riot overhauled Vanguard’s kernel-level checks in Season 2026, and it’s gotten worse after Patch 12.03.

You’re not alone. Thousands of players hit this exact problem after updating their game or drivers. The good news: almost every startup crash ties back to one of a few specific causes, and every single one has a fix.

Here’s how to get Valorant running again.

What Causes Valorant to Crash on Startup?

Valorant crashes on startup for one core reason: something on your system is blocking or conflicting with Riot Vanguard, the kernel-level anti-cheat that loads before the game even opens.

Since Patch 12.00 kicked off Season 2026, Vanguard got stricter about what it allows to run alongside it. Specifically, these are the most common triggers:

• Outdated or corrupt GPU drivers — The number one cause. NVIDIA’s 580.x branch had known conflicts with Vanguard. You need 591.86 or newer.
• Vanguard service not running — If Vanguard didn’t start with Windows, the game instantly closes.
• Secure Boot disabled in BIOS — Vanguard requires Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 since their security update. If either is off, the game won’t launch.
• Conflicting background software — Certain apps hook into the Windows kernel the same way Vanguard does: RGB controllers (iCUE, Armoury Crate), fan controllers (MSI Afterburner’s RTSS), and some antivirus programs.
• Corrupted game files — Post-update file corruption happens more often than you’d think.
• Overclocked hardware — Unstable CPU or RAM overclocks can cause crashes before the game even renders a frame.

Let’s fix each one.

Fix 1: Update Your GPU Driver (Clean Install)

This fixes the problem for roughly 40% of players. Outdated drivers are the single biggest reason Valorant crashes on launch.

For NVIDIA users:

1. Download the latest Game Ready Driver (591.86 WHQL as of January 2026) from nvidia.com/drivers
2. During installation, check “Custom (Advanced)”
3. Check the box for “Perform a clean installation” — this is critical
4. Let the installer finish and restart your PC
5. Launch Valorant

For AMD users:

1. Download AMD Adrenalin Edition 25.1.1 or newer from AMD’s support page
2. During install, select “Factory Reset” to clean out old driver remnants
3. Restart and test Valorant

Why a clean install matters: Regular driver updates install on top of old files. Corrupt remnants from previous drivers can conflict with Vanguard’s kernel checks. A clean install wipes everything and starts fresh.

If you want to be thorough, use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) before installing the new driver. Boot into Safe Mode, run DDU, select your GPU brand, click “Clean and restart,” then install the fresh driver.

Fix 2: Restart Vanguard Anti-Cheat Service

Vanguard runs as a Windows service that starts at boot. If it failed to start — or if you disabled it to troubleshoot something else — Valorant will crash immediately.

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, hit Enter
2. Scroll down to “vgc” (that’s Vanguard’s service name)
3. Check the Status column:

– If it says Stopped, right-click → Start

– If Startup Type is anything other than Automatic, right-click → Properties → set Startup type to Automatic

4. Restart your PC (Vanguard needs a clean boot to fully initialize)
5. Launch Valorant

Still not working? Look for the Vanguard tray icon (a small shield near your clock). If it’s missing entirely, Vanguard may need a reinstall — skip to Fix 5.

Fix 3: Enable Secure Boot and TPM 2.0

Riot made Secure Boot mandatory for Vanguard. If you built your own PC or changed BIOS settings recently, this could be turned off without you realizing it.

How to check without entering BIOS:

1. Press Win + R, type msinfo32, hit Enter
2. Look for “Secure Boot State” — it should say On
3. Also check “BIOS Mode” — it should say UEFI (not Legacy)

If Secure Boot is off, enable it:

1. Restart your PC and enter BIOS (usually Del, F2, or F12 during boot — depends on your motherboard)
2. Navigate to Boot or Security tab
3. Find Secure Boot and set it to Enabled
4. Also find CSM (Compatibility Support Module) and set it to Disabled — Secure Boot won’t work with CSM enabled
5. Save and exit BIOS (usually F10)
6. Windows will boot normally. Launch Valorant.

Important: If you installed Windows in Legacy/MBR mode, enabling Secure Boot might prevent Windows from booting. You’d need to convert your drive from MBR to GPT first using mbr2gpt /convert /allowFullOS in an elevated Command Prompt. Only do this if you’re comfortable with disk management.

Fix 4: Close Conflicting Background Software

Certain programs hook into Windows at a kernel level, which conflicts with Vanguard. Riot has acknowledged this problem but hasn’t published a complete blocklist.

Known conflict programs — close or uninstall these before launching Valorant:

Software	Why It Conflicts
MSI Afterburner + RTSS	Overlay hooks into game process
ASUS Armoury Crate	Kernel-level hardware control
Corsair iCUE (older versions)	USB driver conflicts with Vanguard
Razer Synapse 3 (pre-2026 builds)	Background service conflicts
Faceit Anti-Cheat	Two kernel anti-cheats can’t coexist
Bitdefender/Avast (aggressive mode)	Blocks Vanguard’s kernel driver
Citrix Workspace	Virtual display driver conflicts
VMware/VirtualBox	Hypervisor conflicts with Vanguard

Quick way to test:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
2. Go to the Startup tab
3. Disable everything except essential Microsoft services and your GPU driver
4. Restart your PC
5. Launch Valorant

If the game works, re-enable startup items one by one to find the specific culprit.

Fix 5: Reinstall Vanguard

If Vanguard itself got corrupted — which happens after Windows updates, power outages during game updates, or incomplete patches — you need to reinstall it from scratch.

1. Press Win + I → Apps → Installed apps
2. Search for “Riot Vanguard” and uninstall it
3. Restart your PC (this step is mandatory — Vanguard’s kernel driver needs to fully unload)
4. Launch the Riot Client — it will automatically detect that Vanguard is missing and reinstall it
5. Restart your PC again after the reinstall completes
6. Launch Valorant

If the Riot Client doesn’t reinstall Vanguard automatically, uninstall the Riot Client too, download a fresh installer from playvalorant.com, and install everything from scratch.

Fix 6: Verify and Repair Game Files

Corrupted game files won’t always show an error — sometimes the game just silently crashes.

1. Open the Riot Client
2. Click your profile icon (top right)
3. Go to Settings → Valorant
4. Click “Repair”
5. Wait for the process to finish (usually takes 5-10 minutes)
6. Launch Valorant

This checks every game file against Riot’s servers and redownloads anything that doesn’t match.

Fix 7: Disable Overclocks

If you’ve overclocked your CPU, GPU, or RAM, that instability might only show up in specific games. Valorant and Vanguard together are surprisingly sensitive to even mild instability.

Test this:

1. Open your BIOS and load “Optimized Defaults” or “Default Settings”
2. If you use XMP/EXPO for RAM, temporarily disable it
3. If you use MSI Afterburner or similar GPU OC tools, reset clocks to stock
4. Boot into Windows and test Valorant

If the crash stops, your overclock is unstable even if it passed stress tests. Prime95 and FurMark don’t test the same workload patterns as a live game with an anti-cheat scanning memory.

Fix 8: Run the Riot Client Repair Tool

Riot provides a built-in repair tool that fixes both the client and the game launcher.

1. Fully close the Riot Client (check system tray)
2. Navigate to C:\Riot Games\Riot Client\
3. Run “RiotClientServices.exe” with the command line flag: --repair
4. Or simply open the Riot Client, click the gear icon, and select “Repair installation”
5. After the repair completes, restart your PC and launch Valorant

Fix 9: Full Reinstall (Nuclear Option)

If nothing else works, a complete removal and fresh install guarantees a clean slate.

1. Uninstall Valorant from Apps & Features
2. Uninstall Riot Vanguard from Apps & Features
3. Uninstall the Riot Client from Apps & Features
4. Restart your PC
5. Delete leftover folders:

– C:\Riot Games\

– C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard\

– C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Riot Games\

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

6. Restart again
7. Download a fresh installer from playvalorant.com
8. Install, restart when prompted, and launch

This fixes virtually every crash scenario, including corrupted registry entries and leftover Vanguard drivers that partial uninstalls miss.

How to Prevent Valorant Crashes in the Future

Once you’ve fixed the crash, keep things running smooth:

• Keep your GPU drivers up to date — But wait 2-3 days after a new driver drops before installing. Day-one drivers sometimes introduce new game-specific bugs.
• Don’t hibernate or sleep your PC if you plan to play Valorant next. Vanguard doesn’t always reinitialize properly after sleep. Use a full restart instead.
• Update Windows regularly — Vanguard’s kernel driver depends on specific Windows security features. Falling behind on updates can cause compatibility gaps.
• Monitor your temps — If your GPU runs above 85°C or CPU above 90°C, thermal throttling can cause crashes. Clean your fans and reapply thermal paste if needed.
• Disable unnecessary startup programs — The fewer things running alongside Vanguard, the fewer potential conflicts.

FAQ

Why does Valorant crash with no error message?

Most Valorant startup crashes happen before the game engine fully loads, so the normal error reporting system never initializes. The crash is usually at the Vanguard level, not the game level. Check Windows Event Viewer (Win + X → Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application) for entries from “vgc” or “VALORANT” around the time of your crash.

Can Valorant crash because of Windows 11?

Yes — specifically if you updated to a newer Windows 11 build that changed kernel security policies. After major Windows updates (like the 24H2 feature update), Vanguard sometimes needs a reinstall to re-register its kernel driver. Follow Fix 5 after any major Windows update.

Does Valorant need TPM 2.0?

Yes. Riot requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot for Vanguard to function. If your motherboard doesn’t support TPM 2.0 (most boards from 2016 and older), you cannot play Valorant on that system. Check with tpm.msc in the Run dialog to verify your TPM version.

Will reinstalling Valorant delete my settings?

No. Your in-game settings (crosshair, keybinds, video settings) are stored on Riot’s servers and tied to your account. When you reinstall and log back in, everything restores automatically. Your local settings file at %LocalAppData%\VALORANT\Saved\Config\ is regenerated from server data.

My Valorant crashes mid-game, not on startup. Is it the same issue?

Not always. Mid-game crashes are more often caused by overheating, unstable overclocks, or insufficient VRAM. Startup crashes are almost always Vanguard or driver-related. If you crash mid-match, focus on temperature monitoring and reducing your graphics settings first.

Related