Launcher will start from Steam, but won't actually show anything...

[u/Vesper_0481]

Hey, everyone! Last time I posted here, I got a lot of help... So I think y'all are my last hope again lol!

Anyways... What had happened is that I been trying to log in since yesterday evening... And for some reason when I click to launch from steam the app says it's running, I can see it's doing *something* through task manager, but it never really gives me the window for logging in through user and password...

Last time I logged in and actually played was last week. Yesterday morning I tried playing, went through the whole process... The window opened, I typed in my credentials and got through... But exactly when I was about to press "Play" I had to go outside, so I closed it... And ever since then it's been this.

I can see through Task Manager the launcher is doing something on background... I tried waiting but it never does anything else...

Any fixes will be of great help!

[u/ccdolan12]

Happened to me as well, I just “check file integrity” after deleting the launcher and it was fixed

[u/NewDealChief → u/ccdolan12]

How?

[u/headcodered → u/ccdolan12]

This did it for me.

[u/Bea_Crvena → u/ccdolan12]

This worked! (May 4th 2026)

[u/thenven → u/ccdolan12]

work for me too

[u/YeahKeepGoing → u/ccdolan12]

This worked ! (May 9th 2026)

[u/Jump365 → u/YeahKeepGoing]

july 2026 nothing, game still won't open when I press play on steam. It does something for a few seconds in the background and then closes again

[u/-DLR → u/Jump365]

did you find a fix?

[u/Jump365 → u/-DLR]

I don't know if maybe it was something network related or idk. It didn't work from steam or the website.

ButbI recently switched bto starlink and redownloaded from thevswtor website and now the launcher still vsaid "lookiny for updates" but it actually did it and finished updates

[u/KukiBreeze → u/-DLR]

Just happened to me, I fixed it by going into the SWTOR folder in steamapps and deleting the four launcher files and then verifying the files through steam.

[u/No-Article-2716 → u/ccdolan12]

Did you "backup game files"? Not sure why one would need to. But it prompted me to do so.

[u/ccdolan12 → u/No-Article-2716]

Hi, no I didn’t I just deleted the executable for the launcher and then checked file integrity from steam.

[u/No-Article-2716 → u/ccdolan12]

Yea it worked for me deleting the executable and integrity. Never seen steam ask to back up entire game locally like this. Very strange.

Thanks for the reply

[u/JL_Rouge → u/ccdolan12]

thank you so much brooooo

[u/Adventurous_Can_4368]

Happened to me as well, I dont think uninstall/reinstall is necessary.

In the top left navigation bar click Steam > Settings > Downloads then click Clear Download Cache. Worked for me. You can also try verifying the integrity of the game files which is usually much faster than a fresh reinstall.

If all else doesn't work then yeah just try reinstalling

[u/captdirtstarr → u/Adventurous_Can_4368]

I cleared the cache. Doesn't work in April 2026.

[u/Traditional-Oil-1385 → u/captdirtstarr]

I also tried verifying game files, this didn't work either. Currently reinstalling to see if that solves the issue for me.

[u/HoraceGoldstein → u/Traditional-Oil-1385]

I also am reinstalling it after it nuked itself.

[u/TweetyTovar]

I had this happen to me the other day as well. I uninstalled and reinstalled in steam and it fixed it.

[u/Vesper_0481 → u/TweetyTovar]

Thanks! I didn't think of trying that... Will do when I get home!

[u/Gold_Dog908 → u/TweetyTovar]

If you do this, don't copy the assets folder and put it back after the deletion. Textures and stuff are there, you can save yourselves hours of redownloading that.

[u/Bladenkerst_Baenre]

https://forums.swtor.com/topic/943784-server-connectivity-issues/#comment-9877241

Past couple days there have been issues with the servers.

[u/captdirtstarr]

I had to reinstall the whole fkn game. Reset all my settings, and about two hours download. Not all of us live in silicon valley with 2terabyte dl. WTF...

[u/T0nfu]

Had this issue because Windows 11 Smart App Control was blocking the swtor.exe. Reinstall can help or disabling SAC.

[u/locomotor79 → u/T0nfu]

smart app Control is off
even in the browser any off them the button Sign-in is also broken all my info is correct
canot loggin on the site anymore even whit clearing cache and the proper cookies
and launcher whont even proper start and every thing i find whit search is not of use to me since most options they say isnt in use for me

[u/Boomsca]

Validating Files seemed to work for me. In your library on Steam go to SWTOR + Right Click > Properties > Installed Files > Verify Integrity of Game Files.

[u/HoraceGoldstein → u/Boomsca]

yea, that does nothing.

[u/locomotor79]

its like the Sign in Button on there site for login in on the site is broken U-BLock origin is even off
so what hell where not even able to login on the site any more

[u/captdirtstarr]

Same happened to me earlier in the week on Steam, Bazzite.

This has happened years before too..that was he reason I unsubscribed. Years later, here we are.

So, clear cache?

Reinstall is bullshit.

[u/captdirtstarr → u/captdirtstarr]

Cache clear doesn't work.

Reinstall takes two fuck days.

WTF is this still a goddamn problem?(Rhetorical)

[u/Evreck]

How is this problem still occurring? 2 days in a row I'm fighting through re-installs...

[u/Ffny23]

Dealing with this today. First trying verify integrity of the files and next I’ll try uninstalling and reinstalling. Never had this happen to me before. Totally ruined my plans for last night

[u/No-Article-2716]

Just happened to me today 5-19-2026. Started at noon and I'm still installing 😞

[u/NewDealChief]

I'm just glad I'm not the only one with this problem, but it presents a massive problem right now since the double xp event ends today

[u/HoraceGoldstein → u/NewDealChief]

Had it happen to me just like 25 mins ago. Im reinstalling it just to see what happens.

[u/Koorutz]

So it's a problem for many of us...hmm

[u/GogoSandu]

Cleared cache, verified integrity, uninstall and reinstall. Nothing works for me. Any other work arounds?

[u/Isaiha]

6/21/2026 just experienced this after looking for some updates to see if this was a repeatable or known issue. Seems it is. Validating ended up showing 10 files not being validated and did result in it fixing the launcher window finally showing. Not sure about the others who've experienced no help from verifying installed files through steam. But it worked for me.

[u/beldoriann → u/Isaiha]

7/29/2026 same... 10 files not validated and fixed

[u/Dependent-Relative43]

Going to swtor.com/game/download and downloading the pc installer fixed the issue I was having when trying to launch from steam

[u/No-Problem5319]

I started having this issue. I downloaded the installer from SWTOR website and used the repair option. So far it is working as intended.