SWTOR Not Launching After Pressing Play: Causes and Fixes

Are you unable to play Star Wars the Old Republic on your PC despite having it installed? Several users have shared how the game has stopped launching after pressing play. Some believe it to be an error related to the game’s installed copy, while others know it to be a Windows error.

So, what is the real issue here? Why is SWTOR not launching after pressing play? More importantly, the key point we will discuss in this post is what can be done to fix the error. So, without further ado, let’s begin by identifying the causes behind SWTOR won’t launch issue.

Let’s begin!

SWTOR Not Launching on Windows: Causes

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a multiplayer online game that requires a stable internet connection and a decent GPU processor. Since it is an online game, it keeps updating as per the requirements. Therefore, it should be updated regularly.

If we take a look at issues that several users have come across while trying to launch SWTOR, a few common causes appear to be –

The computer is not connecting to the SWTOR server properly.
Outdated game version that you are trying to run
Defender Firewall stopping the game from connecting to the server
GPU Drivers not functioning properly
Game-OS incompatibility

Either way, there are multiple reasons why you may not be able to use the game. The clear sign of it not working is the SWTOR not launching after pressing play. Some users launch the game via Steam and can log in. However, as soon as they click on play, the button grayed out, and you have no option but to restart it.

Fortunately, these causes are resolvable as all the listed issues can be fixed. Check out the next section to find appropriate solutions!

SWTOR Not Launching After Pressing Play: Fixes

Fix 1 – Run the Game in Compatibility Mode

Step 1 – Go to the game files on your PC. You may find the installation path via Steam or the shortcut you used to launch the game.
Step 2 – Select the SWTOR.exe and right-click on it to bring up the context menu.
Step 3 – In the context menu, click on properties.
Step 4 – Navigate to the compatibility tab after opening the properties popup.

Step 5 – In the compatibility tab, click on Run this program in compatibility mode and select the OS you want to run accordingly.

Fix 2 – Allow Your Game Through Windows Firewall

Step 1 – Go to the Start menu and look up Windows Defender Firewall.

Step 2 – Open the relevant search outcome to find the solution.
Step 3 – After selecting the same, check the left panel to find the allow an application through the Windows firewall option. Step 4 – Click on it to open. You may find a Change Settings button above the table of apps. Click on it to enable editing in the selected apps.

Step 5 – From the bottom, choose the Add another app option to bring up the Windows browser.
Step 6 – Navigate to the SWTOR launch file and select it.
Step 7 – After adding the application file, save the changes and try relaunching the app.

Fix 3 – Update Windows to Latest Available Release

Step 1 – Press Win+I to open the Windows system settings.

Step 2 – From the left pane, click on Windows Updates.
Step 3 – Use the Check for Updates button to look for available updates.

Step 4 – Download and install the pending updates if any are available.

Step 5 – From the menu go to advanced options to find the Optional Updates section
Step 6 – Check if any optional updates are pending. These are mostly application-based and driver-related updates. Check if an important update is pending if it is, install it too.
Step 7 – After installing anything, restart the PC for it to take effect perfectly.

Fix 4 – Update Graphics Drivers on Your PC

Step 1 – Download the Advanced Driver Updater on Your PC.

Step 2 – After installing the app, go to the home screen and click on Start Scan Now.

Step 3 – Let the scan run. It will highlight all the outdated drivers on your PC.
Step 4 – Check if the graphics drivers are available in the scan results list.

Step 5 – Click on Update All to initialize the update process for your devices.

Fix 5 – Switch to Steam/ Reinstall the Game

Step 1 – Press Win+R to open the Run search utility.
Step 2 – In the Run search, use the command Control Appwiz.cpl and hit enter.

Step 3 – From the opened list of programs, select the SWTOR and double-click on it to uninstall.
Step 4 – After uninstalling the game, download the Steam client from the official website.
Step 5 – Now install the SWTOR via Steam client and try running it

Tip – if you are already using the Steam client, remove it from your PC and try downloading the game directly from the source instead of the client. This has worked for several users, so you might try it, too.

SWTOR is Now WORKING on your PC

After trying all the fixes, you can easily get rid of the errors that are causing the SWTOR not to launch after pressing the play error on your PC. Needless to say, you can make the most of your PC and games when your drivers are updated. Download the Advanced Driver Updater for better performance.

Hope all these fixes help. Thanks for reading, good luck!

Dishank Sharma

A creative tech-writer who loves to explore latest tech-trends & convey them to his readers in the simplest way possible. He loves to blend the crispness of technology with a pinch of creativity while curating best practices for the readers. In his free time, he likes to scribble poetry, listen to rap & travel.