If your Gothic 2 doesn't work, this is usually no reason to worry. An outdated graphics card driver can be the cause. This problem can be solved in just a few steps, as we will show you.
Gothic 2 won’t start – how to solve the problem
Most of the time, there is a simple error behind it if you cannot start your Gothic 2. We present the most common solutions here:
- In order for the game to run on your PC, you must have the latest driver for your graphics card installed. You can find this out using Windows Update or the information on the manufacturer's website.
- You will also need DirectX from Microsoft to run the game. More specifically, Gothic 2 uses DirectX 8.1. If you are using a newer version of DirectX, you should make sure that it is backwards compatible.
- Before you install or start the game, you should make sure that your PC really meets the system requirements of Gothic 2.
- Attention: Since the game is already a bit older, we will explain in another article how you can play Gothic 2 on newer versions of Windows.
- Many users report that in some cases they have to delete the file “GameOverlayRenderer.dll” from the Steam folder (C:\Program Files\Steam) because it is faulty. When the game is restarted, the file is automatically recreated.
- It often helps if you start the game as an administrator. To do this, right-click on the shortcut (.exe) and select “Run as administrator”.
- If that doesn't help, your firewall/antivirus program could be blocking the game. Try disabling your firewall and antivirus program as a test.
- By the way: The remake of Gothic 1 is scheduled to be released in 2024. So if you can't get Gothic 2 to work at all, you won't have to wait long before you can slip into the role of the nameless hero again.
Make Gothic 2 run more stable with community patches
Community patches can work wonders to ensure Gothic 2 runs smoothly and without problems on modern systems. These updates, developed by fans, not only fix many of the original bugs, but also optimize the game for newer hardware:
- Search online for the latest community patch for Gothic 2's performance. This will fix many known bugs and improve compatibility with current Windows versions.
- In addition to patches, there are also mods that improve the performance of the game, for example by optimizing the graphics settings.
- Also, right-click the Gothic 2 shortcut, select Properties, and then select Compatibility Mode for Windows XP or another older version of Windows.
- If the game still stutters, reduce the graphics settings in the game to achieve better performance. Also make sure that no other resource-intensive programs are running in the background while you play, which could affect performance.