Having problems with the launcher? Try this!

[Avanya]

If you're experiencing issues with your launcher when you try and run a game from Steam please try the following solutions:

• Make sure steam.exe and the cities.exe file are on the allowed list for both Windows Defender and your anti virus program
  
• Check your anti virus programs quarantine section as we've found that occasionally the bootstrapper file gets falsely flagged as a virus. If it's in your quarantined list please restore the file and try again.
  
• Make sure that both Steam and the game is installed on the same partition, preferably your C:

If none of the above first steps work please try the following:

1. Exit Steam and start it as Administrator (right click Steam.exe > Run as administrator)
   
2. Run the cities.exe file directly from the installation directory (this will circumvent the launcher all together)
   
3. Exit Steam and remove the Paradox Launcher from the Add/Remove programs menu (Windows) and then start the game again. This will trigger a fresh re-installation of the launcher and hopefully solve it.
   
4. If this still doesn't solve it this rather long and elaborate removal of the launcher should do the trick:

Step 1: Remove game-specific files created by the launcher

For each game that uses the launcher, you will need to delete the following files or folders, if they exist, from the game’s data directory (e.g., C:\Users\YOURUSER\AppData\Local\Colossal Order\Cities_Skylines):

.launcher-cache
content_load.json or dlc_load.json (depending on game)
game_data.json
newsfeed

Step 2: Uninstall the launcher and remove its settings files

On Windows:

1. Go to Add or Remove Programs and uninstall “Paradox Launcher v2”
   
2. Delete the following files or folders, if they still exist:
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Paradox Interactive\launcher-v2
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Paradox Interactive\launcherpath (should be gone)
   C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Paradox Interactive\launcher-v2 (should only contain logs)

On Mac:
Remove the following files and folders from ~/Library/Application Support/Paradox Interactive/:

• .cpatch (hidden by default)
  
• launcher-v2 (all of the folders and versions)
  
• bootstrapper-v2
  
• ThirdPartyLicenses.txt

On Linux:
Remove the following files and folders:

• ~/.paradoxlauncher
  
• ~/.local/share/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2
  
• ~/.local/share/Paradox Interactive/launcherpath

Step 3: Launch the game

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If it didn't help

If none of these steps have solved it please open a ticket[paradox.zendesk.com] with the following:

Windows:

- Close the game
- Attach ALL files Found here

%LocalAppData%\Paradox Interactive\launcher-v2

- Attach ALL files Found here

%AppData%\Paradox Interactive\launcher-v2

Mac:
- Close the game
- Attach ALL files Found here

~/Library/Application Support/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2

Linux:
- Close the game
- Attach ALL files Found here

$XDG_DATA_HOME/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2

(if

$XDG_DATA_HOME

is set)
OR

~/.local/share/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2

(if it was not set)

If you could also provide a screenshot of the error that would be much appreciated.

[Avanya]

Tasslar eredeti hozzászólása:

this didnt do anything!

How about giving an actuall solution ?!

I'm not made of magic, sorry. I'm not a programmer nor support staff. I'm just another player passing on information that helps in some cases. I'm sorry it didn't work for you, it sucks not being able to play. :/

[TheHellhound❤]

Avanya eredeti hozzászólása:

Tasslar eredeti hozzászólása:

this didnt do anything!

How about giving an actuall solution ?!

I'm not made of magic, sorry. I'm not a programmer nor support staff. I'm just another player passing on information that helps in some cases. I'm sorry it didn't work for you, it sucks not being able to play. :/

Alright. im sorry. thought you where
been trying to contact them in any sort of way without a reply. so soon i might travel to their offices ( 1 hour away ) and personally complain.

it feels so terrible as the game has been working fine for years and then a launcher that we ddint decide on to have broke the game.

[aerosims]

Avanya eredeti hozzászólása:

If you want to complain about the launcher, THIS IS THE WRONG PLACE and your complaint will be deleted

I'm a player like you, just passing on helpful information I came across. I don't work for Paradox, I'm just a moderator here.
If you want to complain about the launcher, there are several posts full of feedback, that you should add yours to. Use this one or one of the others here in General discussions. Don't waste your time typing stuff to me - it's as efficient as yelling at yourself in the mirror. ;)


Note that the launcher is really slow for some people and can take several minutes to load! So just let it do it's thing if it opens. (They are working on fixing this)

For Windows

- exit the Steam app entirely
- uninstall Paradox Launcher v2 from the Windows "Apps and features" utility, if still present.

Delete the following folders if still present:

- C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Local/Programs/Paradox Interactive/
- C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Local/Paradox Interactive/
- C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Roaming/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2/
To see the AppData folder you'll need to enable View Hidden Items in File Explorer.

- run steam.exe as the Windows Admin user
- run CSL from the PLAY button in Steam

For Mac

Delete the Paradox Interactive folder found in ~/Library/Application Support/

To see it go to the Finder, hit command-shift-G (ie Go To) and paste in ~/Library/Application Support/

More help

If none of this works for you, then I suggest posting in the support forums[forum.paradoxplaza.com] and including the files mentioned in this post[forum.paradoxplaza.com]. Including the files will give you the best help and let the support staff narrow down any bugs they need to fix.

This update is really frustrating i tried since 25th January after the update but wont start the launcher. I have taken the stpes mentioned but to no avail.

[Avanya]

aerosims eredeti hozzászólása:

This update is really frustrating i tried since 25th January after the update but wont start the launcher. I have taken the stpes mentioned but to no avail.

There's a hotfix in the works, but ofc that doesn't help right now. Hopefully we'll see it quickly next week so everyone can get back to playing the game. It really sucks that people are having issues that stop them from playing the game. :/

[19951788015]

Thanks, worked for me. (Windows)

[Magon]

Пробовал, проблема не решена

Avanya eredeti hozzászólása:

If you want to complain about the launcher, THIS IS THE WRONG PLACE and your complaint will be deleted

I'm a player like you, just passing on helpful information I came across. I don't work for Paradox, I'm just a moderator here.
If you want to complain about the launcher, there are several posts full of feedback, that you should add yours to. Use this one or one of the others here in General discussions. Don't waste your time typing stuff to me - it's as efficient as yelling at yourself in the mirror. ;)


Note that the launcher is really slow for some people and can take several minutes to load! So just let it do it's thing if it opens. (They are working on fixing this)

For Mac

Delete the Paradox Interactive folder found in ~/Library/Application Support/

To see it go to the Finder, hit command-shift-G (ie Go To) and paste in ~/Library/Application Support/

For Windows

- exit the Steam app entirely
- uninstall Paradox Launcher v2 from the Windows "Apps and features" utility, if still present.

Delete the following folders if still present:

- C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Local/Programs/Paradox Interactive/
- C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Local/Paradox Interactive/
- C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Roaming/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2/
To see the AppData folder you'll need to enable View Hidden Items in File Explorer.

- run steam.exe as the Windows Admin user
- run CSL from the PLAY button in Steam


If the above doesn't work, go to C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Paradox Interactive, right click on bootstrapper-v2.exe and select Properties. In the window that opens go to the Compatibility tab and check "Run this program as an administrator", then click OK. Now launch Steam as administrator as well and launch Cities: Skylines like normal.

More help

If none of this works for you, then I suggest posting in the support forums[forum.paradoxplaza.com] and including the files mentioned in this post[forum.paradoxplaza.com]. Including the files will give you the best help and let the support staff narrow down any bugs they need to fix.

Сделал так, но положительного результата не достиг. Ждем обновление.

[[RIP] Cypher]

For me the bootstrapper-v2.exe worked, but I still didnt download the launcher through CSL. I started another paradox game (hoi4) and then it downloaded the launcher and then I could start CSL normaly.

[你好imO]

no work

[wake me up before you doto]

Avanya eredeti hozzászólása:

MadeByFaker eredeti hozzászólása:

diesen ordner gibts bei mir nicht finde nicht mal den ordner appdata

It's a hidden folder by default. You need to enable View Hidden in File Explorer to see it.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028316/windows-view-hidden-files-and-folders-in-windows-10

Why is your launcher installed there and not in the game directory?

[Avanya]

wake me up before u doto eredeti hozzászólása:

Avanya eredeti hozzászólása:

It's a hidden folder by default. You need to enable View Hidden in File Explorer to see it.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028316/windows-view-hidden-files-and-folders-in-windows-10

Why is your launcher installed there and not in the game directory?

Not a programmer, but I'll take a guess. Considering the launcher is used by many Paradox games, it doesn't make sense to have it installed with CS. It's also messy to have 2 different programs installed in the same folder and would probably result in accidentally removing the wrong files when needing to do a clean install of one of them.

[mxdanger]

Having problems with the launcher? Try this: Follow the guide to uninstall the pointless launcher.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1976349559

[577809046]

brasilin2006 eredeti hozzászólása:

the game won't boot up for me at all, i updated to the latest steam and now when I hit play, the play button changes for a bit, and then changes back to read "Play"

the game doesn't start. I've tried everything, different launch option commands, uninstalling, reinstalling, both steam and cities skylines.

yes me too

[Avanya]

577809046 eredeti hozzászólása:

brasilin2006 eredeti hozzászólása:

the game won't boot up for me at all, i updated to the latest steam and now when I hit play, the play button changes for a bit, and then changes back to read "Play"

the game doesn't start. I've tried everything, different launch option commands, uninstalling, reinstalling, both steam and cities skylines.

yes me too

Then please make a bug report on the official forums (link in the OP). It can't be fixed if it isn't reported.

[Omegafate83]

my question is why didnt they run a general configuration R&D before the launch in the first place?

none the less its awesome someone has helped with a work around

[jharbelaez]

Thanks.. works good..!!!