Doom: The Dark Ages is finally out for everyone now, and chances are that you too have gotten your copy of the game. But like with every new release, not everything goes smoothly, and Doom: The Dark Ages is no different. This is because for some players, the game has been failing to launch completely while the audio keeps playing in the background. This has left many like yourself scratching their heads for a fix. So, is there a fix available? Well, we are here to answer just that.
To talk more about the issue, players have said that after they hit the “Play” button on Steam, they’re met with a driver update prompt and then only hear the game’s music playing in the background. All this happens without the actual game window ever opening. Waiting it out does not yield anything, and the issue persists with just the soundtrack and no way to interact with menus or settings. So, how to fix it? Here’s everything you need to know.
Doom The Dark Ages Game Not Launching But Audio Working Issue: Is there any fix yet
As of writing this, the devs have not addressed this particular issue, likely because the game has just had its full release. Anyway, players facing this have come together in discussion forums to discuss and suggest some potential fixes. We have scoured through these forums and listed the most likely fixes to try.
Check minimum requirements
Just to be on the safer side, make sure your system meets the minimum requirements of the game. This is particularly true for the GPU model that you are using. Make sure that your GPU can support Ray Tracing. Many players have pointed out that a ray-tracing-enabled GPU is a must for the game to run. Along with it, also check that you meet the requirements for CPU and RAM.
Multiple Monitors?
If you have a multi-monitor setup, one workaround is to temporarily unplug your primary monitor before launching Doom: The Dark Ages. For some reason, the game tries to open on the secondary display and ends up not showing anything. By unplugging the main monitor, the system forces the game to launch on the active screen. Once the game is visible and running, you can plug the primary monitor back in and continue playing normally.
Launch Options
Here is a launch option fix that might help. To use this command, head to Steam, right-click the game, go to Properties, and in the General tab, enter the following command in the Launch Options textbox:
- +com_skipIntroVideo 1 +r_mode -1 +r_customWidth 1280 +r_customHeight 720 +r_fullscreen 0
Launch the game and see if this fixes the issue. If it does, adjust the video settings to your liking, close the game, remove the launch options, and restart it normally.
AMD GPU fixes
If you’re running an AMD setup (with an AMD CPU) with Adrenalin Software, it might also be installing conflicting GPU drivers. The fix? Go to Device Manager, uninstall the AMD GPU driver manually, and launch the game. Keep in mind, though, Windows may reinstall the driver on reboot, so this step might need repeating until an official patch arrives.
NVIDIA Control Panel
Resetting the NVIDIA Control Panel settings can do the trick if you are using an NVIDIA GPU. To do this, just head to NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings, and click on “Restore” to reset everything to default.
Launcher.cfg
For this workaround, you will have to tweak a config file. To do this, go to SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\DOOMTheDarkAges\launcherData\base\configs, open the “launcher.cfg” file with a text editor. Next up, change the line “rgl_showNvidiaStartupWarning 1” to “rgl_showNvidiaStartupWarning 0”. Save the file and launch the game, and see if this fixes the issue.
And those are the most effective workarounds we have for now to launch the game along with the audio without any issues. Now, since we are talking about Doom: The Dark Ages, click here to find out where the saved game files for the game are located on your PC. Finally, keep visiting DigiStatement for daily gaming content like this.
