Fix Broken Arrow Not Working on Windows [2025 Guide]

Broken Arrow is a newly released large-scale modern warfare RTS developed by Steel Balalaika, known for its ambitious real-time battles. Despite its popularity and thousands of players, many Windows users report that Broken Arrow simply does not work correctly on their PC.

In some cases, the game fails to launch or gets stuck on a black loading screen (with only background music playing), while others experience crashes to desktop with no error message. These issues are frustrating early adopters of the release, preventing them from playing even on high-end Windows 10/11 rigs.

Who is affected? Any PC gamer trying to play Broken Arrow on Windows could encounter these problems, especially right after release, when bugs and server stress are common. Players on unsupported operating systems (e.g. Windows 7 or 8) are particularly at risk, since Broken Arrow requires Windows 10 64-bit as a minimum. Even if your PC exceeds the game’s recommended specs, you might still run into launch failures or crashes due to software conflicts or missing components.

Possible causes for Broken Arrow not working

Several factors can trigger launch and gameplay issues in Broken Arrow on Windows PCs. Here are the most common causes:

• Outdated drivers or OS: Old GPU drivers or missing Windows updates can cause crashes or black screens.
  
• Missing libraries: If DirectX 12 or Visual C++ redistributables aren’t installed or are corrupted, the game may fail to start.
  
• Software conflicts: Overlays or background apps (Discord, OBS, RivaTuner, vJoy, etc.) can cause black screens or crashes.
  
• Antivirus/firewall interference: Security tools might block the game from launching or connecting to servers.
  
• Server or network problems: Server outages or unstable internet may result in infinite loading or unresponsiveness.

How to fix Broken Arrow not working on Windows PC

If you’re struggling to play Broken Arrow on your PC, work through the fixes below. We’ll start with simple tips and then move on to more complex solutions. Each fix includes a brief explanation and step-by-step instructions. By the end, you should be back on the battlefield!

1. Restart Steam and check Broken Arrow’s server status

Before changing any settings, ensure the issue isn’t just a temporary glitch or server outage. Many launch problems are resolved by simply restarting the game or Steam, especially if the game was updated or stuck. Also, Broken Arrow’s online nature means server issues can prevent it from working. Verifying the server status will tell you if the problem is on your end or the game’s servers.

Steps to follow:

1. Exit Broken Arrow and Steam completely. If the game is frozen or stuck, close it (you might need to use Task Manager to end the BrokenArrow.exe process). Then right-click the Steam icon in your system tray and choose Exit to shut down the launcher fully. Ensure no Broken Arrow or Steam processes are running in the background.
   
2. Check Broken Arrow server status. Visit the official Broken Arrow social channels (such as the Steel Balalaika Twitter/X or the game’s Discord server) for any maintenance announcements and other news.

You can also check community hubs or a site like Downdetector for player reports of server outages. If servers are down, the game won’t work – you’ll have to wait for the developers to fix the server issues before playing.

3. Relaunch Steam and Broken Arrow. Open Steam again and log in. Click Play on Broken Arrow to start the game fresh. A clean restart can clear minor glitches – for example, some players found that completely restarting Steam allowed their game to launch properly.
   
4. Reboot your PC if needed. If the game still doesn’t launch after restarting Steam, try restarting your computer entirely. This clears any lingering processes or locks. After the reboot, open Steam and launch Broken Arrow again.
   

2. Run the game as an administrator and close background apps

Running Broken Arrow with administrator privileges can bypass permission issues that might be blocking the game. It ensures the game has full access to necessary files and system resources. 

Additionally, you should close unnecessary background programs – especially ones with in-game overlays or high CPU/GPU usage (e.g. Discord, GeForce Experience, OBS) – as they can conflict with Broken Arrow or its anti-cheat processes. By closing these apps and running as an admin, you minimize interference from other software.

Steps to follow:

1. Close unnecessary programs. Save your work and exit any applications you don’t need while gaming. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and look at the Processes or Startup tabs. End tasks for screen recorders, hardware monitoring tools, RGB software, or overlay apps that could be hooking into games. 

This frees up resources and prevents conflicts.

2. Run Broken Arrow as administrator. Locate the Broken Arrow game icon or .exe file. If you’re using Steam, find Broken Arrow in your Library, right-click it, and go to Manage > Browse local files to open the installation folder. Right-click BrokenArrow.exe (or the application file) and select Run as administrator. 

Confirm the UAC prompt if it appears. This gives the game elevated rights to avoid any file access restrictions.

3. (Optional) Run Steam as admin. If launching the game as admin alone didn’t help, try closing Steam and reopening Steam itself with admin rights. Right-click your Steam shortcut and choose Run as administrator, then launch Broken Arrow from Steam. This can sometimes help if Steam lacked permission to initiate certain game services.
   
4. Launch the game again. With background apps closed and admin mode enabled, start Broken Arrow and see if it passes the point where it was getting stuck. Many players report that running games as admin and disabling overlays resolved black screen freezes and crashes in new titles.
   

3. Update your graphics card drivers (and Windows OS)

Broken Arrow is a new, graphics-intensive game, so having the latest GPU drivers is crucial. Developers often optimize games for the newest drivers, and outdated drivers are a common cause of crashes or visual glitches for new games. By updating your Nvidia, AMD, or Intel graphics drivers, you can fix issues like black screens, low FPS, or startup crashes caused by driver bugs. Likewise, make sure your Windows 10/11 is fully updated – system updates can improve compatibility with new games.

Steps to follow:

1. Identify your GPU. Determine whether you have an NVIDIA GeForce, AMD Radeon, or Intel graphics card. On laptops, you might have both integrated and dedicated GPUs – usually the game will use the dedicated GPU (e.g. NVIDIA). Open Device manager from Search Bar on your Windows PC and check as in the screenshot below:

2. Download the latest driver. Go to your GPU manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) and download the newest driver for your graphics card model. For NVIDIA users, you can also use the GeForce Experience app to automatically fetch driver updates; AMD users can use the Adrenalin software. 

Ensure you get a driver dated June 2025 or later (since Broken Arrow’s release) for best results. Tip: NVIDIA released new Game Ready drivers around Broken Arrow’s launch to address stability, so installing those is highly recommended.

3. Install the graphics driver update. Run the downloaded driver installer and follow the prompts. You can choose an “Express” installation for simplicity. If using GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin, just hit the Update button and let it install. Wait for the installation to finish – your screen may flicker during the process.
   
4. Reboot your PC. After updating the driver, restart your computer. This ensures the new driver is fully applied and any old driver components are cleared from memory.
   
5. Run Windows Update. It’s also wise to update Windows. Press Windows + I to open Settings, go to Update & Security (Windows Update on Windows 11), and click Check for updates.

Install any pending updates for Windows and restart if prompted. Having the latest Windows patches can fix compatibility issues with games.

6. Launch Broken Arrow. Try running the game again with updated drivers and OS. With the newest graphics drivers, Broken Arrow is less likely to crash or show a black screen during startup. Many early crashing issues are resolved simply by driver updates.
   

4. Install the latest Visual C++ redistributables and DirectX components

One common reason games won’t launch is missing runtime libraries that the game depends on. Broken Arrow, like many PC games, requires Microsoft’s Visual C++ Redistributables and up-to-date DirectX 12 support. 

If these components aren’t present on your system (or if they’re corrupted), the game may fail to open without any clear error. Ensuring you have all the necessary Visual C++ packages installed, as well as the proper DirectX files, can resolve instant crash or no-launch scenarios. In fact, players often find that installing these libraries and rebooting fixes the problem where the game doesn’t start at all.

Steps to follow:

1. Download Visual C++ Redistributables. Go to Microsoft’s official download page for Visual C++ Redistributable packages. Download the latest supported versions (VC++ 2015-2022) for both x64 and x86 – Broken Arrow is a 64-bit game, but some components might need the 32-bit packages too. Microsoft often provides a unified installer or separate files for each architecture.
   
2. Run the VC++ installers. Double-click the downloaded .exe files (for example, VC_redist.x64.exe and VC_redist.x86.exe). If you already have these installed, you might see options to Repair or Uninstall – choose Repair to fix any missing elements. 

Otherwise, follow the prompts to install the redistributables. Accept the license terms and finish the setup for both 64-bit and 32-bit packages.

3. Update DirectX (if needed). Broken Arrow uses DirectX 12, which comes with Windows 10/11. Typically, if your Windows is updated, you already have the necessary DirectX components, but you might want to install the Latest DirectX to be sure.

However, it doesn’t hurt to run the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer from Microsoft, which can refresh older DirectX 9.0c/June 2010 components that some games still call on. Download the installer from Microsoft’s site and run it to ensure no DirectX libraries are missing.

4. Reboot your PC. After installing Visual C++ and any DirectX updates, restart your computer. This ensures all new library files are registered with the system.
   
5. Launch the game. Try starting Broken Arrow again. If missing runtime libraries were the issue, the game should now launch properly instead of immediately closing. You won’t see a specific “missing .dll” error in many cases – the game just won’t open – so installing these packages preemptively covers that base.
   

5. Verify the integrity of Broken Arrow’s game files

If Broken Arrow still isn’t working, the installation itself might be faulty – perhaps some game files are missing or got corrupted during download. Steam has a built-in feature to verify the integrity of game files, which will scan your Broken Arrow installation and replace any broken or missing files. Running this scan can fix issues where the game crashes or won’t load because a critical file is damaged.

Steps to follow:

1. Open Steam Library. Launch the Steam client and go to your Library tab. Find Broken Arrow in the list of games on the left.
   
2. Open Properties. Right-click on Broken Arrow and select Properties from the context menu.
   
3. Go to Local/Installed Files. In the Properties window, click on the Local Files tab (in newer Steam versions this may be called Installed Files). This section has options for managing the game’s files.
   
4. Run “Verify Integrity of Game Files”. Click the button that says Verify Integrity of Game Files. Steam will begin comparing each of Broken Arrow’s files on your PC with the files on the Steam servers.
   
5. Wait for validation to complete. This process may take a few minutes. If Steam finds any file that’s missing or different from the official version, it will automatically re-download that file. You’ll see a message when the validation is 100% finished, and it will note if any files were reacquired.
   
6. Launch Broken Arrow again. Once the verification finishes (and any replacements are downloaded), click Play to start the game. If corrupted game data was causing the issue, Steam’s repair should allow the game to run properly now without errors or missing content. For example, players stuck on certain missions or loading screens found that verifying files replaced the bad data so the game could proceed.
   

6. Temporarily disable your antivirus/firewall

Sometimes, new games are blocked by antivirus programs or the Windows Defender Firewall due to false positives or overly strict security settings. Broken Arrow uses online features and possibly anti-cheat, which can appear suspicious to some security tools.

If the game isn’t launching at all, or if it’s stuck while connecting, your security software might be interfering. Temporarily disabling your antivirus and firewall can help determine if that’s the cause. Just remember to turn them back on afterward (and add exceptions for Broken Arrow) to stay protected.

Steps to follow:

1. Turn off real-time antivirus protection. If you use Windows Security (Windows Defender), click the Start menu and type “Windows Security” to open it.

 Go to Virus & threat protection > Manage settings (under Virus & threat protection settings). 

Toggle Real-time protection to Off for now (you’ll turn it back on later). For third-party antivirus software, right-click its icon in the system tray and look for an option to pause or disable protection (for example, disable for 10 minutes or until reboot).

2. Disable the firewall temporarily:

Open Control Panel and navigate to Windows Defender Firewall or search “firewall & network protection” in Settings. Select your active network (e.g. Private Network) and switch the Firewall setting to Off.

 If you have a third-party firewall or security suite, disable that firewall similarly. (Note: As an alternative to turning it off entirely, you could go to “Allow an app through firewall” and ensure Broken Arrow is allowed, but disabling briefly is a quick test.)

3. Launch Broken Arrow with protections off. Try starting the game while your antivirus and firewall are disabled. If Broken Arrow runs normally now (when it didn’t before), then it was indeed being blocked by your security software. This tells us the antivirus/firewall saw the game as a threat or unknown application and prevented it from fully launching or connecting.
   
4. Add Broken Arrow to your security exceptions. Now that you’ve identified the issue, go into your antivirus settings and add an exclusion for Broken Arrow’s installation folder or the game’s .exe file. In Windows Security, for example, you’d go to Virus & threat protection > Manage settings > Exclusions (Add or remove exclusions) and add the Broken Arrow folder. 

Do the equivalent in your third-party AV if needed. Also, add a firewall exception to allow Broken Arrow’s network traffic (you can allow it when Windows Firewall prompts, or manually add a new rule to allow BrokenArrow.exe).

5. Re-enable antivirus and firewall. Turn your real-time protection and firewall back On now. With the game whitelisted, your security software should no longer block it.
   
6. Run the game again. Open Broken Arrow one more time with your protections active. It should launch and function normally if the security blocks have been removed. If the game still doesn’t start even when antivirus/firewall were off, then security software wasn’t the culprit – be sure to keep your protections enabled and proceed to other fixes.
   

7. Flush DNS and reset network settings (for online issues)

If Broken Arrow launches but gets stuck on an infinite loading screen or fails to connect to multiplayer matches, the problem might be with your network configuration rather than the game files. Connection glitches can make it seem like the game is “not working.”

Flushing your DNS cache and resetting network settings can resolve weird connectivity issues, especially if you see messages like “not all players are connected” or endless matchmaking queues. This fix is mainly for online connection problems that prevent gameplay. We’ll also set a public DNS to rule out DNS resolution issues.

Steps to follow:

1. Open Command Prompt as admin: 

• Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter to launch the Command Prompt. (For best results, you can run it as administrator: click Start, type “cmd”, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator).
  
• Flush DNS cache. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and hit Enter: ipconfig /flushdns

This will clear your DNS resolver cache, removing any incorrect DNS entries.

2. Reset the network Winsock: 

Next, type this command and press Enter:

netsh winsock reset

This resets the Windows network socket to default settings, which can fix networking bugs or conflicts.

3. Reboot your PC. Restart your computer to apply the network reset. After rebooting, your network adapters will reinitialize.

(Optional) Change to a public DNS. Using a reliable DNS server can help with connection stability. You can switch to Google DNS: Press Win + R, type ncpa.cpl and Enter to open Network Connections. Right-click your active network (Ethernet or Wi-Fi) and select Properties. Click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then Properties. Set the DNS to Use the following DNS server addresses and enter 8.8.8.8 as Preferred and 8.8.4.4 as Alternate. Click OK to save.

4. Power cycle your router (if possible). It’s also a good idea to restart your modem/router. Unplug the power for 30 seconds, then plug it back in. This clears any router-side caches or hiccups.

5. Launch Broken Arrow and test online play. Start the game and try to play an online match or connect to the servers. With your DNS flushed and reset, and using a fast public DNS, you should be able to connect if the issue was on your end. Many players have reported that doing a DNS flush and network reset resolved infinite loading screens and connection errors in new online games.

If none of the above fixes worked: 

Consider reinstalling Broken Arrow as a last resort. Uninstall the game via Steam, then navigate to C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\BrokenArrow (if it exists) and delete any leftover files. Reboot, then download and install Broken Arrow fresh. 

A clean install can fix any persistent file corruption or misconfiguration. Also, keep an eye out for official patches – the developers may release post-launch updates to address known bugs and stability issues. 

For example, they’ve already acknowledged and are fixing certain mission load bugs and server problems in early updates. With patience and the steps above, you should be able to enjoy Broken Arrow on your Windows PC without further issues.

FAQ

🔧Why is Broken Arrow not launching on my PC?

The game may fail to launch due to missing components (DirectX 12, Visual C++), outdated GPU drivers, or blocked access from antivirus/firewall software. Update drivers and install the latest runtime libraries to fix it.

⏳ Why is Broken Arrow stuck on the loading screen?

This usually points to network issues or server downtime. Check server status on Twitter or Discord, flush your DNS, reset network settings, and make sure the firewall isn’t blocking the game.

💥 Why does Broken Arrow keep crashing?

 Crashes often come from old graphics or audio drivers, background app conflicts (like overlays), or hardware not meeting system requirements. Update drivers, close unnecessary apps, and lower in-game settings.

🌐 How can I check if Broken Arrow servers are down?

Check the game’s official Twitter/X or Discord for outage notices. You can also visit Downdetector or Steam forums to see if other users report similar problems. If servers are down, you’ll need to wait.