How to fix ‘Game Version Does Not Match Host’ error in Apex Legends

Apex Legends is no stranger to its fair share of error messages and bugs. With an online-only game, though, players will sometimes encounter errors completely in or out of their control, including the “Game version does not match host” issue.

This error message usually appears before players can even get to the main menu. After trying to get past the initial splash, the message will appear, preventing you from accessing any of the online functions. While this might seem unfixable, there are actually some known ways around it that can get you playing again in no time.

What is the “Game version does not match host” error in Apex Legends?

This error can be caused by two different things. The first is you don’t have the correct version of Apex downloaded. If you haven’t updated recently or didn’t install the most recent update correctly, the servers will not recognize your version of the battle royale and you see the error message preventing you from getting online.

The second reason you might see this error is Respawn Entertainment or EA has not updated their servers properly. Obviously, that’s not in your control and something that the developers need to work out on their end. So, it comes down to you needing to update your game or the developers fixing the servers from their side.

Fixing the “Game version does not match host” error in Apex Legends

As you can’t know if you’re at fault or if the developers are, you will need to ensure it’s the latter and not the former. To do that, you want to close out of the Apex application and check for any updates you might have missed. This is done in a variety of different ways depending on your platform, but you should easily be able to see if there is an update ready to be installed for your version.

If your game needs to be updated, do that right away and make sure it fully installs correctly. If you checked and your game is fully up to date, you might want to uninstall and then reinstall Apex. This can make sure all of your game files are installed correctly.

For players on PC using Steam, you can verify the integrity of your game files by right-clicking on the application in your game library, clicking Properties, and then selecting the Installed Files tab. From there, verifying the integrity of your files will scan for any corrupted files that could be causing any trouble.

If you have exhausted all of those avenues, then your last step should be ensuring the Apex servers are fully functioning. We have a previous guide on how to check the server status if you don’t know how. If the game’s servers are malfunctioning, that explains why you’re seeing the “Game version does not match host” error.

However, if the servers are perfectly fine, then the Apex developers likely have an issue on their end, and you simply need to wait for them to fix it soon.