PC startup troubleshooting: shaders and crashes
Separate shader compilation from crashes, verify installed files and prepare a useful support report.
Quick answer
Identify download, compilation or desktop exit. Watch compilation progress; for repeated crashes, record the error, finish updates and verify files before reporting reproducible failures.
On this page
Identify the stage first
Download stalls, slow shader compilation and crashes need different checks. Record the message, build and stage before changing anything.
Long shader compilation: is it frozen?
Original PC testing confirms a lengthy shader-compilation step before gameplay. Duration varies by hardware; another PC’s timing is not a timeout rule. Watch for changing progress. If the game exits to desktop, use the crash checks below. Repeated restarts make it harder to tell whether compilation can finish.
Crash at startup or during compilation
- Compare the PC requirements, including SSD installation.
- Finish pending client updates, retry and note whether the same stage fails.
- Steam: Library → right-click the game → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files. Wait for completion, then retry. Other stores have their own checks.
- If it repeats, send the error capture and reproduction steps to official support.
Verification checks installed files; it cannot guarantee a fix for every crash. A universal shader-crash fix is not established.
Make the report reproducible
Include store, build, CPU/GPU, VRAM/RAM, driver, Windows version, failure stage, exact error and checks already tried. Change one item at a time and record the result. “Still will not open” is less useful than a reproducible sequence.
Continue reading
Sources
Checked October 30, 2026. Based on original screenshots, hands-on reporting and platform support; not an in-house playthrough.
Could not initialize steamAPI
Fully exit the Steam client, reopen it online and complete its update, then verify the game files and launch from the library. Record whether the error appears before the game window. A community report links this exact error to a custom steam.cfg in the Steam installation root; that is a reported workaround, not a proven cause for every crash. If you created such a file, preserve a copy and temporarily rename it before letting Steam update, then compare the result. Do not change unrelated files or treat shader compilation as the same error.