ERROR CODE ( FAILED TO INITIALIZE GRAPHICS DEVICE)

[SoulSkaterSky2077]

(failed to initialize graphics device) please reboot or update drivers. every time i try to open the game i get this error code and the game does not open???

[AyameNezumichi]

It might be that the driver for your graphics is outdated. I would recommend using Driver Easy to download outdated drivers individually and then manually install them using your Device Manager, if you haven't already.

I got this error message too and once I updated my drivers I didn't get it anymore (instead i got the famous Err_GFX_State), however it might fix the problem for you entirely.

[SoulSkaterSky2077]

ok

[SoulSkaterSky2077]

i will try

[NightLotus]

I had this exact problem a few days ago, here's what i did. I installed all the available Windows updates, I uninstalled a whole bunch of of old software on my PC that I didn't use anymore, and I uninstalled and reinstalled Rockstar game launcher. I'm not sure which one of these things fixed the problem, but the game launched after I did all these things. Hope this helps.

[SoulSkaterSky2077]

no luck i still cant get the game to open through steam

[SoulSkaterSky2077]

i have now officially tried everything. Nothing has worked.

[BoganVogue]

MY proble was game would freeze on startup i was getting the white bar then nothing.
So i tried this
make exceptions in firewall for rockstar icons, and same for any rdr2 icons,
then via properties for all rdr2 & Rockstar icons run in compatability mode win 8, disable full screen optimisation, check box run as administrator,
then click on change settings for all user, do the same again. Must be done on each icon via properties.
next run steam as admin and do the same for rockstar luancher log in on both.
Then use steam to launch RDR2 and hopefully it should work, has done for me and i havent had a problem since. Good luck!

[SoulSkaterSky2077]

i have done all of that. sadly still no luck my dood :(

[HBKc99]

Originally posted by Hero2Zero#1:

i have done all of that. sadly still no luck my dood :(

is that still failed to open bro?

[Bonuskortti]

Did you ever fix it?

[HelpMeImAlive]

Here is the fix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InchNaSMkyY

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Just delete the System.XML file and new one will get created again.

If you have Win10/11 then click StartMenu > type Graphics > click on Graphics Settings. Add PlayRDR2.exe and RDR2.exe to this listing and set their options to high performance GPU.

Ensure Drivers are up to date, and not through Windows Updates.

If you need to check for latest drivers, can do so here.
For INTEL > https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/detect.html
For AMD > https://www.amd.com/en/support
For NVIDIA > https://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx

If you have problems installing or updating a Driver, namely ones for GPU. Then it might be because you are already using a Driver supplied to your PC via Windows Updates. First uninstall that one and reboot, then run the installer for the one you downloaded from the branded source website.

Be sure not to have game clients configured for OS Startup or Start with Windows. As this won't allow them to run with proper admin level privileges. Once you OS has loaded up, then can right click game client (such as Steam and also Rockstar Launcher) and click Run As Admin.

Best means to launch RDR2 (Steam Version) would be...
Launch Steam Client via Run As Admin (right click the shortcut to access that)
Launch Rockstar Launcher via Run As Admin
Launch RDR2 from the Rockstar Launcher
Wait approx 60-90 secs for the game to actually come up on-screen.

[Sampo888]

Originally posted by HelpMeImAlive:

Here is the fix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InchNaSMkyY

Thanks. That worked for me

[Wondernut]

Originally posted by HelpMeImAlive:

Here is the fix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InchNaSMkyY

This solved it for me as well thanks for posting this!

[Bad 💀 Motha]

It helps also that if you have two GPUs, go to Windows Graphics Settings and add the game EXEs there and change their options to High Performance GPU so it doesn't attempt to load said game with onboard low end gpu