Fix: Paladins is Unable to Find Steam Installation
Paladins: Champions of the Realm is a free-to-play online shooter video game by Hi-Rez Studios. The game was developed by Evil Mojo Games, an internal studio of Hi-Rez, and was released in 2018 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The game takes place in a sci-fi fantasy world.
However, quite recently we have been receiving a lot of reports of a “Paladins is unable to find steam installation” error. This error appears only for the users who installed the game through “Steam” instead of the standalone launcher. It has been a recurring problem and has been seen in many other games from “Hirez studios” as well such as SMITE etc. In this article, we will discuss some of the causes of the problem and provide you with viable solutions that will ensure complete eradication of the problem.
What Causes the “Paladins cannot find Steam Installation” Error?
The major causes for this problem are usually common for many users but there isn’t a single method which can be used to troubleshoot all problems. Still, here is the list of the most common causes:
- Wrong installation directory: Sometimes the installation directory that is set for the game is wrong. This will fool the launcher to think that the game might not be installed at all. This can be fixed using the Hi-Rez troubleshooter.
- Hi-Rez Service: In some cases, the Hi-Rez Service might not be running properly and you should consider uninstalling it manually. It will reinstall after you launch the game and it will hopefully resolve the problem.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the problem we will move on towards the solutions.
Solution 1: Changing the Installation Directory
It’s quite possible that an error on Steam’s or the game’s end has changed the real location where the game is installed. If you installed the game using Steam, it should be in one of the libraries folders you have chosen. Follow the steps below in order to change the game’s installation directory using the Troubleshooter
- Open up your Steam client by double-clicking its icon from the Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu or the round Cortana button ( or the search bar) next to it if you are a Windows 10 user.
Opening Steam via Start menu - Navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window and locate Paladins in the list of games you own in the library.
- Right-click on the game and choose the Play Game entry which will appear at the top of the context menu. If you have the Steam game shortcut on your PC, locate it and double click on it.
- Click the gear-like icon from the bottom left part of the Paladins launcher window to open Settings. Click the Troubleshoot button and wait for the Hi-Rez Game Support Diagnostic Tool to launch.
Locating the Troubleshoot button in Paladins launcher settings - Select “Paladins” in the list of Installed Games and change the Game Installation Directory to the one you used to install “Paladins”. The default path is usually ‘C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Paladins’.
Changing the folder to the folder in which the game was installed - Apply the changes and check to see whether the “Paladins is unable to find Steam installation” error still appears when launching the game.
Solution 2: Re-installing the Hi-Rez Service
Sometimes this service simply doesn’t install properly on people’s computers and they are unable to do anything with their installation of Paladins, leading to this error appearing from the beginning. In other cases, the service appears to be corrupt and you should uninstall and let the game install it itself.
- Since you have installed the game on Steam, open up your Steam client and navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window and locate Paladins in the list of games you own in the library.
- Right-click on the game and choose the Properties entry which will appear at the top of the context menu. Navigate to the Local Files tab in the Properties window and choose the Browse Local Files
Browse Local Files in Steam - Navigate to Binaries >> Redist and double-click to open InstallHiRezService.exe executable. If the service is installed, make sure you choose to uninstall it from within the executable. If it’s not installed, install it before reopening the game again.
The location of the file you need to run - The game should proceed to install the Service before launching so check to see if you are now able to play properly.
Solution 3: Re-run Prerequisites
This is an option which appears after you run the Hi-Rez Game Support Diagnostic Tool by clicking Troubleshoot in the game’s launcher settings. Running it has resolved the problem for many players and you should definitely try it out.
- Open up your Steam client by double-clicking its icon from the Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu or the round Cortana button ( or the search bar) next to it if you are a Windows 10 user.
- Navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window and locate Paladins in the list of games you own in the library.
- Right-click on the game and choose the Play Game entry which will appear at the top of the context menu. If you have the Steam game shortcut on your PC, locate it and double click on it.
- Click the gear-like icon from the bottom left part of the Paladins launcher window to open Settings. Click the Troubleshoot button and wait for the Hi-Rez Game Support Diagnostic Tool to launch.
- Locate the Re-run Prerequisites option at the bottom of the window and click on it. Wait for it to finish and try running the game again to check whether the “Paladins is unable to find Steam installation” error still appears.
Solution 4: Reinstall the Game
Reinstalling the game should be the last thing on the list but the good thing is everything is saved to your Steam account and you won’t have to start all over again. If you have a good Internet connection, the game should be reinstalled in no time and the error should now cease to appear.
- Click on the Start menu button and open Control Panel by searching for it or by locating it in the Start menu (Windows 7 users). Alternatively, you can click on the gear icon in order to open the Settings app if you are using Windows 10 as the operating system on your computer.
- In the Control Panel window, switch to View as Category at the top right corner and click on Uninstall a Program under the Programs section.
- If you are using the Settings on Windows 10, clicking on Apps section from the Settings window should open the list of all installed programs on your computer.
- Locate Paladins in the list either in Settings or Control Panel, click on it once and click the Uninstall button located in the Uninstall a program window. Confirm any dialog choices to uninstall the game, and follow the instructions which will appear on the screen.
Alternative for Steam Users:
- If you have installed the game on Steam, open up your Steam client and navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window and locate Paladins in the list of games you own in the library.
- Right-click on the game and choose the Uninstall button which will appear at the bottom of the context menu which will appear.
- Follow the instructions which will appear on the screen and confirm any dialogs prompting you to confirm your choice to uninstall the game.
You will need to download it again from Steam by locating in the Library and choose the Install button after right-clicking on it. Check to see if the “Paladins is unable to locate Steam installation” message still appears.
