Sonic Frontiers Won’t Launch? – Here’s How to Fix

Sonic frontiers won’t be able to launch properly when Visual C++ Runtime libraries that are needed in order to run applications and games are missing from your Windows. This can also happen due to a lack of administrator privileges, in such an instance the application can not access the required folder thus failing to launch.

The following guide will show you how to fix the Sonic Frontiers not launching properly.

1. Provide administrator privileges

Sonic Frontiers will not launch properly if the game does not have the required administrator privileges to access the game files required to run the game. In Windows OS an application with limited administrator privileges will not be able to perform actions that require elevated permissions. In this case, we will need to launch the game as an administrator. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Locate the Sonic Frontiers application icon on your computer and right-click on it
2. From the right-click context menu, select the “Properties” option.
   

   

3. In the Properties window, click on the “Compatibility” tab.
4. Under the Privilege level, check the box beside the Run this program as an administrator text.
5. Click “Apply” and then “OK” to save the changes.

Now, whenever you open Sonic Frontiers using this shortcut, it will run with administrator privileges automatically.

2. Verify game files

While downloading or installing the game it is possible that some of the game files get lost or corrupted thus causing the game not to launch properly. Steam comes built-in with a tool to assist users in verifying the game files. This tool compares the game files stored on your computer with the latest version stored on the game servers.

If it senses some discrepancies, it replaces or adds any files. Follow these steps to verify the game file integrity of Sonic Frontiers.

1. Open the Steam client and navigate to the Library section.
2. Right-click on the Sonic Frontiers in your library and select Properties from the context menu as shown in the image below.

   

3. In the Properties window, click on the “Local Files” tab on the left side of the window.
4. Click on the Verify the Integrity of Game Files button and wait for a while.

   

5. This will launch a verification process to check the game files for any problems, with Steam attempting to repair or download any missing or damaged files.

If the verification process does not fix the issue, you may need to try uninstalling and reinstalling the game. You can do this by clicking the “Uninstall” button in the Local Files tab, and then installing the game again from your Steam library.

3. Run the game on a Dedicated Graphics card (if applicable)

If your computer has a dedicated graphics card, it is important to ensure the Windows OS utilizes it properly. In certain instances, the game automatically runs on the internal graphics card, which is comparatively underpowered, therefore it won’t be able to launch the game. Follow these steps to run your game on a dedicated Graphics Card:

1. Press the Windows key to open the start menu, and in the Windows start menu search bar type “Graphics Settings“.
2. Click on the Browse button.
3. Now, Navigate to the Sonic Frontier installation folder. For simplicity, here is the default path:

   C:\steam\steamapps\common\SonicFrontiers

4. Select the  SonicFrontiers.exe application file and click on the “Add” button.

   

5. After that, in the list of applications and games, locate sonic frontiers and click on the “Options” button.

   

6. Now, Select your dedicated graphics card.
7. Click on the “Save” button.

   

   Note: If you do not see a Graphic card model under the High-performance text, it means that your computer is not equipped with a dedicated graphics card.

4. Whitelist the game in the Windows Defender Firewall

Windows Defender Firewall can sometimes blacklist games or applications if it deems them to be a threat to the computer’s security. Usually, it is a false threat, in such an instance, the users are manually required to add the game to the whitelist. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Windows start menu, and search for “Windows Defender Firewall”.
2. Click on the “Windows Defender Firewall” to open the firewall settings window.
3. In the menu on the left-hand side, Click on  Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.

   

4. Click the “Change settings” button.
5. Click on the “Add another app” button.

   

6. Click on the “Browse” button.
7. Navigate to the Sonic frontier installation folder, here is the default install location for your ease of discovery: 

   C:\steam\steamapps\common\SonicFrontiers

8. Select the SonicFrontier.exe application file and click on the Open button.

   

9. Now, locate sonic frontiers in the list and Check the boxes next to the network types (private and/or public) where you want to allow Sonic Frontiers through the firewall.

   

10. Click the “OK” button to save your changes.

Once done, Try launching the game. If the problem persists continue to the next step.

5. Install Visual C++ Redistributables

Visual C++ Redistributables are runtime libraries which are a necessary component for applications and games built inside of a visual studio environment. These libraries perform key functions such as memory allocation, input/output operations, etc. If these runtime libraries are not available on your computer it may lead to issues such as the game not launching properly. Follow these steps to install the Visual C++ redistributable:

1. Visit the Visual C++ redistributable download catalogue.
2. Under the “Visual Studio 2015,2017,2019, and 2022” heading download both the x86 and x64 versions by clicking on the permalinks beside them.

   

3. Open the x84 downloaded file.
4. Click on the Run button in the dialogue box.
5. Now, Click on the Install button as shown in the image below.

   

6. Once installed, repeat the procedure and download the x64 version.
7. Restart your computer to apply the settings.

Upon restart, try launching the game. If the same problem continues, jump to the next step.

6. Install the Media Feature Pack

This method is only for users that are using the “N” version of Windows. If you’re using an “N” version of Windows it is important to know that your operating system is missing certain media-related components that are sometimes necessary for some games and applications, such as Sonic frontier.

In this case, you can either Switch to a non “N” version of Windows or install the media feature pack which contains the missing components in the “N” version. Here are the steps to do so:

6.1 Check the Windows version

To check the version of Windows, follow these straightforward steps:

1. Press the Windows key to open the start menu. 
2. In the search bar “About your PC”
   

   

3. Under the “Windows Specifications” heading check the “Edition”

   

Continue to the next method if you’re using an “N” edition of the Windows

6.2 Windows 10 

Here are the steps to download and install the media feature pack on Windows 10

1. Download the media feature pack from the Microsoft website.
2. Select the latest edition of the media feature pack indicated by the release year.
3. Click on Confirm and wait for it to validate the download.

   

4. Now, Click on the 64-Bit Download button and wait for the download to complete. 

   

5. Once completed, open the downloaded file. Follow the prompts to install the Media Feature pack
6. Restart your computer after the installation is complete. 

After installing the media feature pack, you should have access to the media-related technologies that were not included in the “N” version of Windows.

6.3 Windows 11

Here are the steps to download and install the Media Feature pack on Windows 11:

1. Press the Windows + I keys simultaneously to open the settings application.
2. On the left-hand side, Click on Apps and navigate to Optional features > View features
   Opening “Optional features” inside of the windows settings
3. Click on the “View features” button and in the search box type “Media Feature Pack”

   

4. Select the “Media Feature Pack” and click on the Next button.
5. Once installed, Restart your computer.

7. Perform a Clean Installation of the graphic drivers 

Graphic drivers are necessary if you want to utilize the full functionality of your graphic card. If your computer’s graphic drivers are outdated or corrupt it could make your computer incompatible with newer games such as Sonic Frontiers. Performing a clean installation of the graphics driver will help you achieve an overall better performance comparatively. Here are the steps to Perform a clean installation of the graphic drivers:

1. Download the latest version of DDU (Display driver uninstaller) by clicking here. It is a third-party tool that’ll help us remove the existing display drivers installed on your computer.

   

2. Once Downloaded, proceed with the straightforward installation procedure. 
3. Restart your computer in “Safe mode“. To do this, Restart your computer and press the F8 key repeatedly until the “Advanced Boot Options” screen appears. Select “Safe mode” from the list and press Enter.
4. Launch the Display driver uninstaller. Select your graphic card vendor on the right side of the window as shown in the image

   

5. Click on the “Clean and Restart” button. This will remove the graphics drivers and associated software from your computer. 
6. Once the process is complete, Restart your computer in “Normal Mode” and connect to the internet.
7. Now visit your manufacturer’s website to download the latest version of your card’s graphics driver. 
8. Follow the prompts to complete the installation of the driver.

Once you are done with the installation of fresh graphic drivers, try launching the game. If it still does not work, continue to the next step.

8. Perform a clean boot

If there is any program or application interfering with the processing of your game or causing it to crash, performing a clean boot will help you with that, Performing a clean boot will start the windows with a minimal set of drivers and non-essential applications which will help you identify the application causing the problem. 

1. Press the Windows key + R simultaneously to open the Run dialogue box
2. Inside the text field, Type “MSConfig” and press the Enter key. This will open the System Configuration window.

   

3. Go to the “Services” tab.
4. Check the box next to “Hide all Microsoft services” as shown in the image below to hide the Microsoft services.

   

5. Click on the “Disable all” button to disable all non-essential services.
6. Go to the “Startup” tab.
7. Click the “Open Task Manager” button.
8. In the Task Manager window, go to the “Startup” tab.
9. Select each startup item and in the right-click menu, click the “Disable” button to disable it.

   

10. Close the Task Manager and click “OK” in the System Configuration window.
11. Restart your computer.
12. When the system restarts, only essential programs and services will be running. This will help you identify if a non-essential program or service is causing the issue you are experiencing.

Keep in mind that performing a clean boot may cause some programs to not function as expected, so you should only use this technique as a troubleshooting step and remember to revert the changes once you have finished troubleshooting.

9. Uninstall and reinstall the game 

If following the above-mentioned steps did not fix the issue for you, it is advised to uninstall and reinstall the game as it can help resolve technical issues with the game, such as crashes, freezes, or performance problems. By uninstalling the game, any corrupted or damaged files are removed, and then by reinstalling the game, fresh, clean files are added to the device. This can often fix many common issues with the game. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Open Steam and go to the “Library” tab.
2. Right-click on the Sonic Frontiers game. Click on Manage and click on the uninstall button.

   

3. Click “Uninstall” in the confirmation window to begin the uninstall process.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstallation.

Once done uninstalling, Simply, Reinstall the game as you did previously. This may fix the problem you’re facing.