Firaxis released an updated Civilization V version more than two and a half months ago.
Firaxis released an updated Civilization V version more than two and a half months ago.
The issue with Firaxis/2k not being able to replicate it was noted. If they can't handle it, fixing the problem becomes significantly more difficult.
Ahh gotcha, I misunderstood. At a minimum they should just roll the patch back until they figure it out. But it seems like Firaxis has decided to kick the can down the road until after Civ VII launches, are entirely disinterested in fixing it and consider the game deprecated (just buy Civ VI/VII!), or one hand isn't talking to the other. I made an edit that I'll test a bunch of different servers to see if that's the problem.
The most probable situation is that the older launcher was 32-bit and continued using MSIE11 as the webview. The files on my machine date from 2014 to 2018 for it. When I launch launcher.exe, it opens a window and then clicking play dx11 just closes without the game running. If I let Steam handle it, nothing happens and it exits after 15 seconds. I noticed in the news that the "2k launcher" was released after these file dates (November 20, 2018). I plan to run an integrity check to see if anything has changed, since it seems the 2K launcher wasn't installed for me. Heh... last time it worked, though it now thinks Windows 11 is Windows 8. Three files failed validation, confirming the files have definitely changed. The game does launch (it doesn't appear to be hi-dpi aware).
Focus on "webview" applications. Many games still rely on cloud methods to enforce restrictions, DLC, and copy protection through always-online accounts. MSIE remains a pain for people even 10 years after it was Microsoft's built-in browser. Meanwhile, EA’s Origin launcher has been phased out and now serves as a mediocre second-stage launcher for titles like Mass Effect. The future will see Chromium Embedded Framework face a major split, likely due to Google refusing to let its own interests steer Chromium and Chrome development.
It seems like they're bypassing Steam entirely to release these updates, which is what's leading to the problem. They should simply add the new patches through Steam. It's actually free for them to do so. Just include the updated versions as a patch and everything should work.
2K took the launcher out of all their titles last year. I’m not used to a 2K launcher that lets you choose different games. I’m talking about the small, standalone versions that came with the games and in Civ 5, offering options like DX9/11/Touch. That seems positive since the launcher had caused issues before. It looks like they released an update on January 22, which might have fixed the problem. I’ll watch the next few weeks to see if others get theirs working after a new install. I downloaded mine from Toronto, and I still think it’s worth noting if their support encourages people to buy the newer titles. It’s unclear whether they’ve fully resolved it, partially fixed it, or if I just happened to get a working copy. I’ll try their CS later and check what they say. If it’s their “solution,” it could be pretty shady. I had my first crash again, but maybe just a coincidence. I got a pirated older Steam version and will compare it to the new one over the coming weeks, looking for any differences. Edited February 1, 2025 by Stryke
All processes are handled through Steam. The remaining non-Steam elements (the 2K launcher) were discontinued last year and replaced with a built-in Steam launcher. Any issues are fixed exclusively via Steam.
You were referring to a tool similar to the Stardock Launcher. I haven't played Civ5 recently, so I don't recall it well. I have it installed, but I'm not keen on removing it right now.