Fix: “There’s a problem with Your Game’s Setup” NFS: Hot Pursuit Remastered

If you’re nostalgic about the Need for Speed Series, picking up the remastered versions of NFS Hot Pursuit might give you more headaches than you bargained for. A lot of users installing this game on Windows 10 and Windows 11 are facing the ‘There is a problem with your game’s setup. Please reinstall your game‘ when launching the game.

We’ve investigated this problem thoroughly and we realized that there are actually multiple probable causes why you can expect to deal with this error code on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Here’s a shortlist of scenarios that might produce the “There is a problem with your game’s setup” error:

Now that we went over every potential reason that might ultimately produce this problem, let’s go over every confirmed fix that other affected users have successfully used to launch Need for Speed Hot Pursuit REMASTERED without getting the “There is a problem with your game’s setup” error.

1. Force the game launcher to run as administrator

Before you try any of the other fixes below, you should start by checking if this problem is not rooted in a permission issue. According to some affected users, you might expect to see the “There is a problem with your game’s setup” error in a situation where the Steam or Origin launcher doesn’t have admin rights. 

Note: This is mainly an issue with Windows 10 users that are using aggressive User Account Control (UAC) settings. 

If your operating system denies admin rights to the Origin or Steam installer, you can expect the launch of NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered to crash during startup.

Follow the instructions below to open the Origin or Steam executable with admin rights: 

1. Make sure that the Origin or Steam launcher is closed and not running in the background. Make sure to check your tray-bar menu too.  
2. Right-click on the main Origin or Steam executable (or desktop shortcut) and choose Properties from the context menu that just appeared. 
3. Next, from the insides of the Properties screen, select the Compatibility tab using the horizontal menu at the top. 
4. Next, check the box associated with Run this program as an administrator.  
5. Finally, click on Apply to save the current configuration and close the properties window. 
6. Re-open the Origin or Steam launcher and attempt to launch NFS Hot Pursuit once again to see if the problem is now fixed. 

If the problem is still not fixed, move down to the next potential fix below.

2. Install the missing DirectX dependencies

Keep in mind that legacy games in general (and NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered too) draws from a lot of different DirectX redist. releases that are not necessarily present on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Because of this, you’ll need to ensure that you have every public version of DirectX installed on your PC before trying to launch Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered. 

We found confirmation from other users that we’re also dealing with this particular DirectX-related crash when launching the game and they’ve confirmed that the problem stopped occurring once they run the DirectX End-User Runtime Web installer and install every missing DirectX iteration on their computer.  

You can install this redist. releases separately, but our recommendation is to do it in bulk using the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Start by visiting the download page of the DirectX End-User Runtime environment and selecting the appropriate installer language before clicking on the Download button.

   

2. From the next menu, uncheck every Microsoft bloatware recommendation and then click on No thanks and continue to DirectX End-User Runtime Web installer button.  
3. After the dxwebsetup.exe installer is downloaded, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process of installing every missing DirectX version to the latest. 
   

   

4. Once the installation is complete, reboot your PC and see if the problem is fixed by trying to open Need for Speed HotPursuit Remastered and see if the DirectX error is fixed. 

In case you’re still unable to launch the game as you’re seeing the ‘There is a problem with your game’s setup. Please reinstall your game‘ error, move down to the next method below.

3. Install the missing Visual C++ dependencies

Another reason why you can expect to deal with this issue when attempting to launch Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is a scenario in which some deprecated Visual C++ dependencies are not installed on your Windows computer.

Keep in mind that Windows 11 doesn’t really come with these dependencies installed since only legacy games and apps really use it anymore.

Several users dealing with the ‘There is a problem with your game’s setup’ error have reported that the problem was finally fixed after they installed both the x86 and x64 versions of Visual Studio 2013 redist releases.

You can check that by downloading and installing the latest packages available from the Microsoft official site. 

Here are the steps on how to do this and install the missing Visual C++ dependencies on your computer:

1. Start by accessing the Microsoft official site and download both the Visual C++ x86 and x64 packages.

   

   Note: In case you are doing the download through Chrome, you need to confirm that you give permission to download more than one file.
   

   

2. Once the installers are fully downloaded, double-click on both installers (in any order) and follow the next instructions that appear on your screen to install the missing Visual C++ dependencies. 
3. After the installation is complete, reboot your computer and wait until it boots back, then launch Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered and see if the problem is now resolved. 

In case this method didn’t was effective in your case or you already had all the required Visual C++ dependencies, move down to the next potential fix below.

4. Install pending Windows Updates

If you have pending updates on your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer waiting to get installed, chances are a missing infrastructure update is preventing you from launching Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered.

Not too long ago, Microsoft has released an update that made Windows 11 compatible with a lot of legacy games and applications. If you haven’t installed it yet, chances are that’s the reason why you’re experiencing the “There is a problem with your game’s setup” error.

This update mentioned above will arrive via a  WU Cumulative update.

To make sure you have it installed, follow the instructions below to install every pending update:

1. Start by pressing Windows key + R to open up the Run dialog box.
2. Next, from the text box, type ‘ms-settings:windowsupdate’ and press Enter to open up the Windows Update page of the Settings menu.

   

   Note: This command will work on Windows 10 and Windows 11.  

3. Inside the Windows Update screen, move over to the right-hand side menu and click on Download Now if new updates are available. 

   

   Note: If no updates are appearing when you first get to this window, click on the Check for updates to trigger an update scan.  

4. Once every pending update is installed, reboot your PC and wait until the next startup is complete. 
5. After your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer boots back up and you’re sure you have every pending update installed, launch the legacy game once again and see if the ‘There is a problem with your game’s setup’ error is now fixed. 

If the problem is still ongoing, move down to the next potential fix below.

5. Activate the Windows Media feature pack (for Windows N versions)

With some particular Windows 10 and Windows 11 versions (N versions), the Media Feature Pack isn’t preinstalled and it will not be installed via a Windows update. This is a problem if you’re trying to launch Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered because this game requires certain Media Feature pack dependencies that you just won’t get automatically.

If you’re encountering this issue on an N or KN version of Windows 10 or Windows 11, chances are you will be able to resolve the issue by installing the missing Media Feature Pack.

Here’s a series of step by step instructions that will show you how to do this:

1. Ope your default browser and access the download page of the official Media Feature pack website.
2. Once you’re inside, start by selecting your language and click the Download button to download the Media Feature Pack.

   

3. Next, select the appropriate installation package according to your bit version. Then, hit Next to initiate the download.
   

   

   Note: If you’re running a 32-bit version of Windows 10, download the first one. If not, go for the second one.

4. After the process is complete, open the installation executable and follow the on-screen instructions to install the Media Feature Pack.
5. After the missing Media Feature pack is installed, reboot your PC and see if the issue has been resolved at the next startup. 

In case the same ‘There is a problem with your game’s setup‘ error is still occurring, move down to the next method below.

6. Clear Origin cache (if applicable)

If you had Origin installed on this PC and you get this error suddenly after previously NFS: HP Remastered was running just fine, chances are you’re experiencing this problem due to some corrupted cache files accumulated by the Origin cache.

In this case, this type of problem will originate from the cache folder of Origin (located inside AppData).  

Other users dealing with this problem have confirmed that the issue was finally fixed once they accessed the AppData folder and straight-up deleted the Origin cache folder. After doing this, try launching the game once again and see if you manage to bypass the ‘There is a problem with your game’s setup‘ error.

Here is the step by step instructions on clearing the Origin cache:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box.
2. Next, inside the text box that just appeared, type ‘%AppData%’ and press Enter to open up the hidden app cache folder of your Windows installation. 

   

3. Inside the AppData folder, scroll down through the list of cache folders and locate the one named Origin. 
4. Next, right-click on it and choose Delete from the context menu that just appeared.

   

5. Reboot your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer and wait for the next startup to complete. 
6. Install the latest Origin version from the official download page, then launch the game again and see if the problem is now fixed.

If the problem is still not resolved, move down to the next potential fix below.

7. Repair the game (via Origin or Steam)

As it turns out, another potential reason why you can expect to deal with this problem is a scenario in which the game installation (either carried over via Steam or Origin) has become corrupted to the point where the game is not launchable.

In this case, the best course of action is to simply repair the game installation. Both Origin and Steam have automated utilities that can help you do this.

To make matters easier for you, we’ve put together 2 separate sub-guides that will guide you through the process of repairing NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered on Steam and Origin.

Just follow the sub-guide that’s applicable to your particular scenario.:

Repair the game on Origin

If you got the game through Origin, you can trigger a repair by accessing the Settings gear icon of Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered and deploying a repair process.

Here’s how to do this:

1. First things first, open the Origin app and access the My Game Library.

   

2. Inside your Origin’s library, look for the listing associated with NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered and click on it once to select it.
3. Next, click on the Settings gear icon.
4. From the context menu that just appeared, click on Repair to start the process.

   

5. Wait until the process is finished and the integrity of the files is verified.
   Note: The corrupted files will be replaced with healthy equivalents downloaded on the fly.
6. Once the repair operation is complete, launch NFS: Hot Pursuit Remastered once again and see if the problem is now fixed.

Repair the game on Steam

If you brought the game through Steam, you can fix the game file corruption issue by triggering an integrity check via the Properties menu of NFS: Hot Pursuit remastered.

Here’s how to do this:

1. Open your Steam client and make sure you are signed in with your account credentials.
2. Once the signup process is complete, click on Library and right-click on NFS: HP Remastered from the menu on the left.
3. From the context menu that just appeared, choose Properties.

   

4. Inside the Properties screen, click on Local Files, then click on Verify Integrity of Game Cache.
   

   

5. Once the operation is started, wait for the operation to complete.
   Note: Before starting an integrity check, it’s important to ensure that the game is closed and not running in the background.
6. After the integrity check is complete, launch the legacy game once again and see if the problem is now fixed.

If you already tried repairing the game and you’re still experiencing this issue, follow the final method below to troubleshoot against a potential GPU-induced issue.

8. Install the latest GPU drivers

If none of the suggested methods above have allowed you to fix the ‘There is a problem with your game’s setup.‘ error, one last thing you should investigate is an issue originating from your graphics card drivers.

As it turns out, some affected users are saying that in their case, the reason why they were unable to launch the game is a series of outdated GPU drivers (rendering and physics). But upon installing the latest GPU driver version compatible with their model, the game started normally. 

Follow the instructions below to get rid of your current GPU drivers and install the latest compatible versions:

1. Start by opening up a Run dialog box by pressing Windows key + R.
2. Next, type ‘devmgmt.msc’ and press Enter to open up the Device Manager utility.
3. At the UAC (User Account Control) prompt, click Yes to grant admin access. 

   

4. Inside Device Manager, scroll down through the list of installed devices, then expand the drop-down menu belonging to Display Adapters.  
5. Next, right-click on the graphics card driver that you’re actively using for demanding rendering activities.
6. Next, choose Update driver from the context menu that just appeared. 

   

7. From the next screen, click on Search Automatically for updated driver software. 

   

8. Once the scan is complete, follow the next prompts to finish the installation of the new driver version.
9. Finally, reboot your computer and attempt to launch Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered once again and see if the problem is now fixed. 

Note: In case this method didn’t help you find a new version to replace the current one, try using the proprietary updating software provided by Nvidia, AMD, or Intel to get your drivers up to speed.
GeForce Experience – Nvidia
Adrenalin – AMD
Intel Driver – Intel