Shopping Product Reviews

Fortnite – "Failed to initialize Battleye service – generic error" Fix (2018) Windows 10

Tea “Failed to initialize BattlEye service: generic error“The problem is caused by the anti-cheat service BattlEye (used by several popular games).

While BattlEye ships with products like Fortnite, PUBG, etc., most people have no idea what it is or why it shows an error.

It is basically a piece of software that prevents piracy in games. Because games are connected to the Internet, gaming PCs are often targeted by malware distributors, hackers, and spammers, many of whom try to infect your PC with malicious software.

Despite remaining somewhat hidden, the BattlEye service is essential for Fortnite to run. If you see errors with it, the software may not have been installed correctly.

Causes

The error message shows the following:

Failed to initialize BattlEye service: generic error

The reason it is displayed is because of the “BattlEye” service.

In Windows, a “service” is basically an application that runs constantly in the background, allowing other programs to read and write to various deeper aspects of the operating system.

While the error doesn’t have a specific cause, with Fortnite, it’s almost always the result of the BattlEye service not installing properly, preventing the game from loading the files necessary for it to run.

To fix the problem, you must be able to fix any of the major issues that will prevent it from initializing.

Solution

The steps to correct the error are relatively simple (and extensively documented): reinstall BattlEye, make sure Fortnite is running properly, and then Windows can read all the files it requires …

1. Reinstall BattlEye

The most important step is to reinstall BattlEye.

This is done by navigating to the Fortnite folder and clicking on the uninstall BAT file:

  • Press the “Windows” + “E” keys on your keyboard

  • Go to “C: / Program Files / Epic Games / Fortnite / FortniteGame / Binaries / BattlEye”

  • Click on the file “Uninstall_BattlEye.bat”

  • Let the CMD script run

This will * remove * the service from your system.

  • After doing this, load the Epic Games Launcher and click on the Fortnite tab.

  • Next to the green “start” button, you will see a small “gear” icon. Click on the.

  • In the drop-down menu, select “Verify”.

  • Let the game update / verify as needed

The verification process should reinstall the BattlEye service for you.

Once it completes, try the game again; if it works, you will want

2. Run Fortnite as administrator

Second, the next step is to run Fortnite as an administrator.

This is a standard Windows process that is extremely simple:

  • Right click on the game executable on your Windows desktop (Epic Games Launcher)

  • Select “Properties”

  • On the top tabs, select “Compatibility”.

  • Scroll down to the bottom area and select “Run as administrator”

  • After doing this, click “OK”

  • Try the game again

While this is unlikely to solve the problem you are experiencing, the process should give Windows all the capabilities to read the file that it requires.

3. Whitelist BattlEye in your antivirus

Another major cause of the problem is the anti-virus tool blocking BattlEye.

This could be considered “expected behavior”, as most antivirus applications are designed to block programs that run continuously in the background (as BattlEye does).

Obviously, fixing this requires specific fixes for your specific antivirus application; I’ll just list a general list of steps to follow:

  • general
  • Click on the icon of your antivirus application (bottom right of the taskbar)

  • Select “settings” / “options” or similar

  • From the user interface, look for “exclusions” or “exceptions” (all antivirus will have one)

  • Add the following folder: “C: / Program Files / Epic Games / Fortnite / FortniteGame / Binaries / BattlEye” + “C: Program Files (x86) Common FilesBattlEye”

  • Windows Defender (Windows 10)
  • Press the “Windows” + “I” keys on your keyboard (load “Settings”)

  • Click on “Update and Security”

  • In the left sidebar, select “Windows Security”

  • Click on the top button “Open Windows Defender Security Center”

  • Click on “Virus and threat protection” (left sidebar)

  • Select “Virus and threat protection settings”

  • Scroll down to “Exclusions” and select “Add or Remove Exclusions.”

  • Add the following folders: “C: / Program Files / Epic Games / Fortnite / FortniteGame / Binaries / BattlEye” + “C: Program Files (x86) Common FilesBattlEye”

This should give you the ability to allow the BattlEye service in your game.

4. Use Steam “Verify game files”

If you got Fortnite through Steam, you’ll want to see the “Verify game files” option that has:

  • Open the Steam client, log in, then click on “Library”

  • Right click on Fortnite and select “Properties”

  • Click on the “Local Files” tab.

  • Click the “Verify integrity of game files” button.

  • Wait for the process to complete and press “Close”

After doing this, reload Fortnite and see if the error persists.

5. (Optional) Clean the Windows registry

The “registry” is a database within Windows that stores all of your system settings.

While “registry cleaners” have been promoted a lot in the past, they have only one benefit for a system: they clean this database and allow your system to run relatively smoothly again.

At the time of writing, CCleaner is the only registry tool you should trust; it’s free and has been downloaded over a billion times …

  • Download a “registration tool” you trust

  • Let it scan your system registry

  • For any bugs you find, let it clean up.

  • Once completed, restart your PC

  • Try running Fortnite again

If you find that none of the steps above work, it means you have a problem deeper within your system.

Obviously the restrictions of an internet article mean that I cannot see the details of what it is dealing with.

Therefore, it is highly recommended that you contact someone who has the ability to obtain specific information about what you are facing. The best way to do this is through one of the online “support” communities: Reddit, Super User, and Microsoft Answers are among the most popular. You may also want to contact Epic Games directly (via their forum, Twitter, or Facebook), but they don’t really have to help you be honest.

You also have the other option of contacting a dedicated support person. This is likely to cost money, but it should fix the problem. There are several people on Fiverr who can do this.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *