News: If you love poker, get ready for “Balatro”, developed by “LocalThunk” and published by “Playstack”. The game is being played by players on various platforms such as PC or Steam Deck. Since the game has been released and is available on the Steam Store, many users have started playing Balatro and unfortunately have so many questions and issues, and have reported that the game is crashing, freezing, or not launching on start-up on PC or Steam Deck. Various questions have been asked on Reddit and related forums that users are facing when starting to play Balatro.
If you are also facing such issues with Balatro, then stick with this guide – here you will know why this is happening and how to fix it.
Why is “Balatro” crashing, freezing, or not launching/opening on StartUp?
Several culprits can be considered, including–
- A Temporary Glitch: A temporary glitch is enough to prevent Balatro from starting, restarting the entire setup may help in this case.
- Some missing or corrupted game files: During the installation of Balatro, some game files may become missing or corrupted, resulting in startup or launching issues.
- Software conflict: Programs running in the background may conflict with Balatro, finding the culprit and closing that software/program/app may help resolve the problem.
- Poor/Unstable Internet.
- Pending updates for your PC (Device).
- An older version of the graphics driver.
- Some missing or corrupted system drivers.
- Lack of administrative(Windows) rights.
- Security software such as firewall or antivirus.
- An unknown bug: There may be some unknown bug in the installed Balatro patch that is causing the problem and preventing the game from starting or launching, the next patch may fix this problem.
Fix the Balatro Crashing, Freezing, Not Launching, or Startup Issues
Close and Relaunch Balatro
If Balatro is crashing, freezing, or not launching on startup then this is the first step you should try: Simply close the game, restart your device whatever you are trying to play the game. and relaunch the game – sometimes the problem isn’t too severe, it’s temporary and simply requires a fresh start.
Make Sure you Have a Stable and Strong Internet
Check if Balatro requires an internet connection to play- make sure you have a stable and strong internet to play the game without getting stuck.
Ensure Your Gaming Device Is Not Overheating
Overheating your gaming device might cause issues with Balatro and may result in crashing, freezing, or start-up problems- keep your device in a well-ventilated area during gameplay.
Update Your Device’s Firmware
Pending updates to your device’s software- whether it is a PC or Steam Deck, may cause compatibility issues with the newly installed game – “Balatro“, and may prevent the game from opening or launching upon start-up.
Make sure your device doesn’t have any pending updates for its software, from the updates section, download and install all updates for your device’s software to prevent compatibility issues with Balatro.
Disable Windows Firewall (PC)
Due to the nature of Windows Firewall, it may block certain game files resulting in a fatal error when starting the Balatro game – disabling the Firewall before launching the game can prevent such issues.
Disable Antivirus Software (PC)
Antivirus software is designed to scan malware and viruses to protect your system from serious problems and due to this nature, it may block certain game files and result in Balatro crashing or freezing- disable your antivirus (Windows PC) if you have one (e.g. Norton, McAfee, etc).
Check If Your Device Meets the Minimum Requirements
To prevent crashes or startup problems with Balatro, it is essential to run the game on a system with at least the minimum requirements– try to play the game with the recommended requirements to get a great experience.
Minimum Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS *: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 x64
- Processor: Intel Core i3
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 2.1 compatible graphics card, integrated graphics
- Storage: 50 MB available space
Update Your PC (Windows)
If you are trying to play Balatro on your Windows PC then make sure that your PC is updated: pending updates for your PC can be another possible reason for Balatro to crash or freeze.
- Open Windows Settings.
- On the Settings screen, click on “Windows Update” and then “Check for Updates.”
- Follow the instructions to install all the available and pending updates.
- Relaunch Balatro and see if it starts without the previous issues.
Read: How to download a Windows update manually.
Launch Balatro as an Administrator
Some Balatro game files cannot run unless they get administrator rights, in that case, running the game as administrator may help:
- Access your Steam library and right-click Balatro > select Properties > Installed Files.
- Click the “Browse” button.
- Next, right-click on the .exe file of the Balatro game and select “Properties.”
- Go to Compatibility > tick the checkbox next to the option- “Run this program as an administrator”.
- Click on “Apply” and launch Balatro.
Verify Game Files (Steam Client)
The installed patch of Balatro may have some missing or corrupted game files due to that, you may face loading, launching, crashing, or opening problems with the game– verify and repair such files to prevent such problems.
- Open your Steam Library > right-click Balatro and click on “Properties” from the options.
- Go to Local Files > select the “Verify integrity of game files…” option.
- Wait to complete the process and after that, launch Balatro again.
Disable Steam Overlay
- Open your Steam Library and Right-click on Balatro.
- Select Properties and Go to the General section.
- Uncheck the “Enable Steam Overlay while in-game” checkbox.
- Return to your game Library and relaunch Balatro to check for the not launching issue.
Launch the Game in Windowed Mode (Steam)
- Open the Steam Library > right-click on Balatro and Select Properties.
- Go to General > click on Set Launch Options.
- Copy & paste the following command-line argument:
-windowed -noborder - Next, save the changes and launch the Balatro again.
Close Background Programs (Windows)
Running multiple programs in the background may consume more resources, preventing Balatro from launching smoothly– closing such interfering programs might help resolve freezing or startup issues with the game. Identify and close the interfering programs one by one and launch the game to see which one is causing the issue with the “Balatro”.
- Open Task Manager and click a task that you want to close.
- Once selected, click on End Task.
- Launch Balatro to see if that program was the culprit.
Note: Perform the same three steps with another program to check if that is the culprit.
Perform A Clean Boot
By doing this, you set a minimum set of drivers and services to your Windows PC: by performing a clean boot, you can identify if any background programs were interfering with Balatro and causing the crashing issue.
Once you’ve identified the culprit, you can close that program to see if the startup problems with Balatro are resolved.
Delete Balatro and Install it Again
If all of the above methods are not able to make any changes to the situation, the problem may be with the installed game files– delete Balatro and download & reinstall it from the Steam Store, this should solve the problems with the game.
Verify Game Servers
If the load on the game’s servers reaches its peak, users may face crashing or freezing issues with Balatro– confirm the exact situation, wait, and try again after some time.
Wait for the New Update
The installed version of Balatro can contain some unknown bugs or issues. If this is the case, you may see a new patch note from the developers of Balatro: with this new patch, known issues and bugs like crashes, loading, or fatal errors might be resolved.
Keep your eyes on Balatro’s official social media pages or contact game support.
