How to run Fallout 3 on Windows 10 in 2021

What you have to do

As we all know by now Fallout 3 is a pain to run on Windows 10 but i found a solution to fix that problem and so far the game runs fine for me and i had no crashes.(Except when i was tabbing out of the game)

To make the game run on Windows 10 you have to download the following things:

Games for Windows Live: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n1dLMOfGrLZPXg0AQGJotUF0K6RAzXMZ/view
Fallout 3 Win 7/8 Fix: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/20371

After you have downloaded the stuff from the mentioned links its time to fix that crashing mess.

First of all download and extract the archive with winrar or 7-Zip after that is done you can go on with installing games for Windows Live .(Note that you have to install gfwlivesetup.exe after you installed all the other things that are in the archive)

Here is also a youtube video to show you how you have to do it if you are unsure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS06ZhVNyBc

After the installation is finished you can close the Games for Windows Live Marketplace Window. (If it's popping up.)

After that is done extract the Fallout 3 Win 7/8 Fix Zip and go inside the extracted folder.
Inside of it you find a file called d3d9.dll which we have to move into the Steam Fallout 3 folder.(C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 3 goty) or (C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 3) if its not the Game of the Year Edition

Now we move to the final step go into the Fallout 3 Steam folder. There you can see the following two executables:
-Fallout 3.exe
-FalloutLauncher.exe

Do for the mentioned executables the following:
Right-click and click on properties
Go to the compatibility tab and tick the box that says: Run this programm in compatibility mode for.
After it's ticked choose Windows XP Service Pack 3.
After that is done you only have to tick the box that says: run this program as an administrator and click apply after that the game should run just fine.

For a much better and bug free experience i also recommend to install the updated unoffical fallout 3 patch.

Download link for the patch: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/19122

I hope that i could help getting your game running and please excuse me if my grammar or explaining was not perfect I'm German and this is my first ever written Guide on steam.

(Also a big thanks to stijsiger for the comment on how to make Games for Windows working again)

[stijsiger]

Looks like Bethesda after more than 7 years since the discontinuation of games for windows live decided to patch the game. I have mixed feelings on one hand I am grateful that it had been patched on the other hand it took way too long and should have been done in 2014 already.

Unfortunately if you have a modded install you have to wipe the game completely and re-install.

So for every one who heavily modded the game I feel your frustration but at least the biggest problem has been fixed and the game works out of the box as it should.

Thank you very much for keeping the game accessible over the years and hopefully we will not find that the patch causes more problems than it fixes.

[Fallout]

@kittyhawk I got my game to run on the newest version of windows 10 the other day just fine, can even mod it to hell. If you or anyone else needs help lmk.

[SMOKED ⭐]

fuck nexus mods, dogshit page was back in the day 500000000x better

[kittyhawk]

Unfortunately, this solution doesn't work for my Fallout 3 GOTY. I dunno why. I tried several times, but "Games for Windows" was still active. I used only Nexus mod "Games for Windows LIVE Disabler" and it worked without any issues

[ProGi]

thx you!

[ckviper]

Worked like a charm! Thanks! :D

[stijsiger]

@ John_Moireibh
The original DVD version has "Games for Windows" branding which is not the same as Games for Windows Live and released directly to steam which is only mentioned on the miniscule tiny print on the back at least for the version I own

for those who are interested:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_for_Windows

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_for_Windows_%E2%80%93_Live

[˞˞˞˞˞˞˞˞˞˞˞˞˞˞˞]

@ stijsiger Actually, for New Vegas... I think if you bought the dvd version it came with GFW. I have a copy somewhere. If I find it, I'll report back, but don't count on it.

[NukaChemist 2]

For some reason, whenever I try and open the game launcher and click play, the game tries to boot up, but stops. I followed all the instructions, idk if I did anything wrong.

[Dr. Seltsam]

Worked fine for me. Although registering at nexus was a bit one step to much... maybe just keep the files at googledrive or so...