How to fix ‘Anticheat Failed to Start’ error in Gray Zone Warfare

The Gray Zone Warfare Anticheat Failed to Start error is not only a problem for the developer with crucial software not working, but it also means many players aren’t getting a chance to enter the jungle.

Gray Zone Warfare officially launched on April 30, 2024, and the heavily wish-listed entity was instantly snapped up and downloaded by tons of players. With many editions to choose from and Factions to consider at the beginning of GZW, there’s a lot to keep you occupied.

Unfortunately, many players have struggled to get anywhere near the actual gameplay itself due to the Anticheat Failed to Start error. Let’s see what we can do.

How do you fix the “Anticheat Failed to Start” error in Gray Zone Warfare?

Gray Zone Warfare players have reportedly fixed the Anticheat Failed to Start error by either rebooting the PC, restarting the game, turning off their firewall, verifying/deleting the Anticheat folder for GZW, or with sheer persistence.

Anticheat folder

The universal solution seen on the Gray Zone Warfare Discord is to interact with the Anticheat folder. First of all, let’s go through the verification method because it’s safer than straight-up deleting anything:

1. Open Steam.
2. Go to your Library and find Gray Zone Warfare.
3. Right-click on it and select Properties.
4. Now choose Installed Files.
5. Then press on “Verify integrity of game files.”
6. When it asks if you want to make changes, press Yes.
7. It will conduct a check of the Anticheat files and, hopefully, inform you all files have been validated.

Other players have gone one step further and deleted the GZW Anticheat folder altogether. I wouldn’t recommend this option and would save it as a last resort.

Rebooting and restart everything

Like with most electronic devices in life, try closing down GZW (or Steam) and booting it up again. Or failing this, restart the whole computer and see if this magically fixes things. Most times there isn’t a science behind this, but it works.

Persistence is key

Another simple and easy solution that has proven effective is to persevere and keep booting up GZW over and over until it eventually lets you in. We don’t know why it’s a solution—even the universe doesn’t—but it is one, so give it a whirl as it might work for you.

Turn off the firewall

Another slightly risk action is to disable your firewall, which could be preventing you from playing Gray Zone Warfare. To do this, follow the steps we used ourselves to test this:

1. Go to your system’s internal search bar—usually in the main Start menu.
2. Type in Firewall.
3. Click on Firewall & network protection.
4. Choose your Firewall protection (if you have any).
5. Then switch it off.

This is a more extreme solution as it exposes your computer to unwanted, outside threats.

I wish you the best and hope that at least one of these solutions lets you in. If it does, you can now check how to change your Faction in Gray Zone Warfare and learn how to use VOIP (voice chat).