How to Fix Dragon Ball FighterZ Failed to Initialize Network

Dragon Ball FighterZ is a fighting game which was developed by Arc Systems and then later published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game is available on numerous different platforms including Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, etc. The game is highly played and is praised a lot from critics around the world.

Like all other games, Dragon Ball FighterZ is not without its problems. The game experiences several issues which include the error message ‘Dragon Ball FighterZ Failed to Initialize Network’. This error message is a very common issue and can occur on several platforms.

In this article, we will go through all the methods as to why this issue occurs and also the possible solutions which you can carry out to fix the problem.

What causes the Error ‘Dragon Ball FighterZ Failed to Initialize Network’?

After our investigations and combining the user reports, we came to the conclusion that the error was caused by several different culprits. Some of the reasons as to why you might experience this error message are but not limited to:

Before you start with the solutions, make sure that you are logged in as an administrator on your computer or device. Furthermore, you should also have a valid copy of the game installed on your computer or a CD.

Solution 1: Checking your Internet Access

Before we move on to other extensive solutions, we should first check whether the issue is related to your internet access. The error message ‘Failed to Initialize Network’ primarily indicates that there was something wrong in communicating with the network. If you have a limited connection or the speed is low, you will not be able to play the game.

Follow the tips below in order to determine whether your network is working properly. Only after you are one hundred percent sure that the issue isn’t related to your network, you should you proceed with other solutions.

• You should connect another device to the same network which you are using. If the device gives the problems and doesn’t connect to the internet, it probably means the network is facing an outage. Here, you should connect with your ISP. If the internet is working on the other device, proceed with the other solutions.
• Disconnect any type of VPNs or Firewalls. VPNs might be used to access another server based on the timing and location of the VPN which may otherwise be impossible, they still cause issues with the servers when they are communicating.
• Also, disable all type of Proxy Servers or switch to a private internet connection. Proxy servers are known to be used in organizations where the user base is very large such as hospitals and public places. The proxy servers ‘might’ be working with other games but they are known to cause unexpected issues.

Only after you have gone through the above causes and the issue still persists, should you proceed with the other solutions listed below.

Solution 2: Checking Server Status

It also came to our attention that the game’s servers also get a massive downtime every now and then. The downtime is related to either maintenance at the servers or new features being integrated into the system.

According to our research, there were outages according to locations. On some days, the game was inaccessible in the USA region while in some cases, it was down at the Eastern side. Here, you can navigate to the relevant forums such as Reddit and see if other users are experiencing the problem as well. If they are, you should wait for the issue to get resolved on its own.

Note: We also saw several cases where the servers were down for 2-3 days. This is a very common behavior with Dragon Ball FighterZ and you shouldn’t worry about it much.

Solution 3: Power Cycling your System

Before we move on to more advanced workarounds, we recommend that you reboot your router and your entire system completely. Routers and consoles are known to get into an error state with bad configurations. Here in this solution, we will restart the router and if that doesn’t work, we will consider resetting the router to default settings.

1. Turn off your router, computer/console. Now, take our the main power supply and press and hold the power button for around 2-3 minutes.

   

2. Now wait for around 5-8 minutes before you plug the power supply back in and power on your devices. Now, try connecting to the network after it has started transmitting and check if the issue is resolved.

If the power cycling doesn’t work and you still unable to connect properly, you can consider resetting your router completely. You can perform this step after you perform all the other solutions listed down below.

Before we restart the router, we recommend that you note down your router’s configurations set by the ISP as we will be re-entering them after the router is reset. To note down all the settings, you have to navigate to the router’s login page. The address is something like ‘192.168.1.2’ and will probably be present at the back of your router or in its box. If you are unable to find the address, Google your router model and get the information from the web.

1. Search for a button at the back of your router and press it for ~6 seconds until the router turns off and back on signifying the reset.
2. After entering the configurations (if any), connect your console back to the network and check if the failure to initialize network is solved for good.

Solution 4: Updating Windows/Game to the Latest Version

Another thing which should be noted is that Dragon Ball FighterZ is currently in the Beta stage and is still undergoing several changes on a daily basis. Hence, the developers of the game make sure that the game is optimized to the latest version of Windows. We came across several users where they couldn’t play the game if they had Windows 7 or 8. These versions might be able to launch the game through compatibility mode but will still have several issues. In this solution, we will navigate to the update settings of Windows and make sure we update it to the latest build.

Note: You should also make sure that the game is also updated to the latest build. Since it is in a beta stage, the changes come rather quickly.

1. Press Windows + S, type “Update” in the dialogue box and open the Settings application.
2. Select the option Check for updates and let Windows check. Make sure that you have an active internet connection before proceeding.

   

After the update is installed, restart your computer and launch the game again.

Solution 5: Updating Network Drivers (Windows)

If all the above methods fail and you are still unable to solve the problem, this probably means that there is some issue with the network drivers installed on your computer. Outdated or corrupt drivers are the primary reasons why Dragon Ball FighterZ is unable to communicate with the servers. There are primarily two methods you can update your network drivers; either you can update them automatically or manually. In this solution, we will go through both the method.

Before we start updating the drivers right away, we will try installing the default drivers and see if this fixes the problem for us. If it does, well and good. If it doesn’t, we will update them.

1. Press Windows + R to launch the Run application and type “devmgmt.msc” in the dialogue box and press Enter. Once in the device manager, expand the category of Network Adapters, locate the one which you are using, right-click on it and select Uninstall.

   

2. After uninstalling the driver, restart your computer completely. The default driver will probably be installed on your computer automatically. If it doesn’t, navigate back to the device manager, right-click on any empty space and select Scan for hardware changes.
3. After installing the default drivers, try to run the game and check if the issue is resolved.

If the default drivers don’t do the trick, we will update the drivers to the latest build. Follow the steps below:

There are two options. Either you can let Windows install the latest drivers for you or you can navigate to the manufacturer’s website and download the drivers manually and install them. Both methods prove to be useful so choose whichever you prefer.

1. We will take a look at installing manually. Right-click on your hardware and select “Update driver”. Select the first option “Search automatically for updated driver software”. Choose the second option if you are updating manually and select “Browse for driver” and navigate to the location where you downloaded.
2. Restart your computer after installing the drivers, launch Dragon Ball FighterZ and check if this solves the problem.

Solution 6: Checking the CD/Installation Files

We also came across several cases where the game was not working properly in consoles because the CD was either corrupt or had missing data in it. This is a very common scenario especially in consoles where the installation files are not correct.

First, you should use your CD in another console and see if it works. If the CD works there and there is no ‘Failed to Initialize Network’ error, you can be sure that the CD is fine and there is some issue with your network. However, if the CD doesn’t work in that console as well, try another fresh CD. If the fresh one works and your CD doesn’t, it rules out the fact that your installation file on your CD is corrupt. You can get a new CD and see if this works for you.