Tomb Raider 2013 refuses to launch, PLEASE HELP!

[ResidentMan54]

Hey everyone,

I'm hoping someone in the community might be able to help me with a frustrating issue I'm experiencing with Tomb Raider (2013). I recently purchased the Tomb Raider Definitive Survivor Trilogy on April 10th, 2025 and I simply cannot get Tomb Raider (2013) to launch at all.

When I click "Play," absolutely NOTHING happens.

I've already tried a number of common troubleshooting steps specifically for Tomb Raider (2013), including:

Verifying the integrity of game files (multiple times)

Restarting Steam and my computer

Updating my graphics drivers

Making exceptions for the TombRaider.exe in my firewall and Windows Defender

Running the System File Checker (sfc /scannow) in Command Prompt

Tinkering with compatibility settings for the TombRaider.exe

Has anyone else encountered this issue specifically with Tomb Raider (2013) on a modern system? Does anyone have any specific fixes or less common troubleshooting steps that worked for them with this particular game? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

My system specifications are:

Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5
GPU: GTX 1650
RAM: 16 GB
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

- ResidentMan54

[MASTAN]

Try starting game executable directly. Steam may suppress some error messages.

(Re)install latest MS VC++ redists for both x86 and x64:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170

[ResidentMan54]

Thanks a lot for the tip, but it didn't work. Got any other suggestions by any chance?

[cheshirm]

windows comes with default security settings. neither steam nor the game installer nor the game make any changes nor bypass whatever antivirus, security settings, folder permissions, running programs you have on your system. up to YOU to manage all that for this game and any other game/app you install.

check windows event viewer and also windows reliability history.
might be a game crash event or system related problems.

run the tombraider.exe from the steam game folder.
sometimes an error msg appears not hidden by steam.

store page says you need directx 9 installed. windows 11 does NOT come with all the old libraries. game installer "should have" installed necessary files. check.

if you are technically inclined, run windbg then run the game inside that.
should tell you exactly where it stops. also see if there is a crash dump file in the steam game folder - if so analyze it.

read the benchmark_mode.docx in the steam game file. run the benchmark with the dxdiag option. maybe when it crashes, there might be useful error msgs in the results file

game works without doing anything special on my win 11 version 24H2 nvidia 3060ti.
also still runs on my old 2011 desktop win 10 nvidia 750ti.

[ResidentMan54]

Thanks a lot, but that didn't work either.. I'm not technically inclined and I feel like I shouldn't be an expert programmer just to play a game that I bought with MONEY... Y'know, I work like a dog 7 days a week and when I come back home and attempt to play what I bought I run into crap like this...

[IceLancer]

Are you getting any kind of error?
Check in windows administrator logs for apps. (event viewer)

[underground-x]

As a User of AMD graphic cards I think I cannot help you - BUT!

I remember in 2013 when GeForce graphics card users had a bitter problem. Since TR 9 is apparently an AMD-optimized game, they had to install a special patch (!).

Should that be the problem perhaps (: ?).

But why Steam doesn't apply this patch automatically would puzzle me.

[ResidentMan54]

Because Steam doesn't seem to have a care in the world... They won't even let me write a complaint to an email I just got a message that said "this email is not in use anymore"..

[mrjkelley]

I hope this helps because I was having the same problem with Tomb Raider 2013 not even opening, clicked play and launcher tries to open then closes before you even see the little launcher window. For me, it turns out the problem was that the steam app itself was set to windows 8 compatibility mode and so was the Tomb raider 2013 .exe. I had to right click and navigate to the compatibility tab and uncheck (if its checked) the compatibility mode box for windows 8. Apparently windows 10/11 (especially 11) does not like windows 8 compatibility mode being on. So for anyone else having issues getting Tomb Raider 2013 to even open after clicking play check and see if the game and steam app have windows 8 compatibility checked and if it does uncheck it apply then try starting the game. it worked for me Tomb Raider 2013 plays just fine no issues for me.

right click on your steam app desktop icon> select show more options> then select properties> click on compatibility tab> uncheck the box (if checked) for windows 8 compatibility mode> click apply> then close and try starting the game now.

same for the Tomb raider.exe file: find the .exe file in c:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Tomb Raider look for the .exe file in the tomb raider folder and right click it> select properties> compatibility tab> uncheck box for windows 8 compatibility mode if its checked> click apply> then close and try starting the game.

[cheshirm]

and nothing in the start up log in folder
Documents\Tomb Raider?

[ResidentMan54]

Originally posted by mrjkelley:

I hope this helps because I was having the same problem with Tomb Raider 2013 not even opening, clicked play and launcher tries to open then closes before you even see the little launcher window. For me, it turns out the problem was that the steam app itself was set to windows 8 compatibility mode and so was the Tomb raider 2013 .exe. I had to right click and navigate to the compatibility tab and uncheck (if its checked) the compatibility mode box for windows 8. Apparently windows 10/11 (especially 11) does not like windows 8 compatibility mode being on. So for anyone else having issues getting Tomb Raider 2013 to even open after clicking play check and see if the game and steam app have windows 8 compatibility checked and if it does uncheck it apply then try starting the game. it worked for me Tomb Raider 2013 plays just fine no issues for me.

right click on your steam app desktop icon> select show more options> then select properties> click on compatibility tab> uncheck the box (if checked) for windows 8 compatibility mode> click apply> then close and try starting the game now.

same for the Tomb raider.exe file: find the .exe file in c:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Tomb Raider look for the .exe file in the tomb raider folder and right click it> select properties> compatibility tab> uncheck box for windows 8 compatibility mode if its checked> click apply> then close and try starting the game.

Thanks a lot, this trully was a trick I haven't tried yet, but that didn't work either.. I was going back and forth with SquareEnix/CrystalDynamics customer support email for 2 weeks, untill I just gave up and told them that they can keep the blood sweat and tears that I spent on this Tomb Raider trilogy and I told them to choke on it.