Fixed: Failed to Initialize BattlEye Service Generic Error

The error “failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Generic Error” is common to see on the games that have the BattlEye anti-cheat service, including PUBG, Fortnite, etc. It usually happens when the game is unable to launch the BattlEye Service due to some generic errors. How to fix failed to initialize BattlEye Service Generic Error? You can try the following fixes.

Fix 1: Run Your Game as an Administrator

When you receive the message “failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Generic Error” while opening a game, you should exit the game and then run it as an administrator. Here are the detailed steps.

Step 1: Exit the game and right-click the shortcut for your game on desktop. Then select Properties.

Step 2: In the pop-up window, go to Compatibility tab, check Run this program as an administrator.

Step 3: Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Step 4: Double-click the shortcut to launch the game.

If you still get the message “failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Generic Error”, you need to move on to the next fix.

Fix 2: Kill Other Game Processes

If you have multiple games, you’d better avoid running them at the same time. If a game tries to access the service that has already being accessed by another game, you might get the mentioned error message, as some games more or less use the same framework.

Therefore, you should check the running processes and end other game services running in the background. You just need to press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager quickly. Then select each game process and click End Task. After end all the related processes, you can restart the game you want to play and check if it works properly.

Fix 3: Verify the Integrity of Game Files

You could also encounter failed to initialize BattlEye Service error if your game files are corrupted. To check it, you can verify the games files on Steam. And you need to:

Step 1: Launch Steam and go to LIBRARY.

Step 2: Right-click the game where you encounter the error and select Properties.

Step 3: Go to LOCAL FILES tab and click VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES.

Wait until the process is completed and then click CLOSE. After that, you can run your game and check if the error disappears.

Fix 4: Update Device Drivers

The message “failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Generic Error” might also appear because of corrupted or outdated device drivers. In this case, you need to update your device drivers.

If you don’t know how to do that, you can refer to our previous post: How to Update Device Drivers Windows 10 (2 Ways). You can also use a professional and reliable third-party program to update your device drivers. After updating your device drivers, you can relaunch your game and check if the problem has been fixed.

Fix 5: Run the BattlEye Installer Manually

Normally, BattlEye will be installed automatically when you install a game. But in some cases, it might not be installed properly, which leads to “failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Generic Error” eventually. You can try running the BattlEye installer by yourself to solve the problem.

Step 1: Press Win + E to open File Explorer, and then go to the BE Service directory. It is located in C:Program Files (x86)Common FilesBattlEye by default.

Step 2: Run install_BattlEye.bat or install_BattlEye to install the BattlEye Service.

Then you can launch your game and check if it helps to solve the problem.

Fix 6: Disable Antivirus Software Temporarily

It is a good choice to protect your PC from being attacked with an antivirus program. However, it could also lead to some problems.

As video games usually start with various services which might consume a lot of resources, your antivirus application might regard some services as a threat and block the access. It could also be a reason why you encounter “failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Generic Error”.

To solve the problem, you can disable your antivirus temporarily and then run your game to check if it works properly.

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