The Callisto Protocol is the newest next-gen horror title that shares the same aesthetics as Dead Space. Made by Visceral Studios, it has action-based gameplay packed with horror elements that will keep you on your toes and spook you with sudden jumpscares. Sadly the game wasn’t up to playable state at launch and is filled with various issues. The random crashes, freezing, and black screen issue constantly haunt players, and are frustrated with it. Thankfully there are fixes that the community discovered that helped them get into the game. You can try them out until the devs patch the game permanently. Continue reading the article to know how to fix The Callisto Protocol UE4 crashes, freezing, black screen, and other issues.
The Callisto Protocol Not Launching, UE4 Crashing, Freezing & Black Screen Issue on PC: How to fix it
Currently, the game is in an awful state, however, the devs promised they’ll fix it with patch updates. If you can’t wait that long and prefer taking matters into your own hands, the fixes below will help you play the game. Without further ado, let’s dive into the details.
Restart the computer
Restarting is the most generic fix that works most of the time for many games so try restarting your PC and see if it helps. If not, see the next fix below.
Start Oculus app
Many players in the community confirmed that starting the oculus app has helped them play the game. If you don’t have the app on your computer, don’t worry as you can download it through this link. After downloading, launch the app and then start The Callisto Protocol. This will fix the UE4 crash issue.
Edit the Engine.ini file
If the game is refusing to launch, you can make a few changes to the engine.ini file of the game. Head to this location – C:/Users/User folder name/Appdata/Local/CallistoProtocol/Saved/Config/WindowsNoEditor folder. In the WindowsNoEditor folder, you’ll see the Engine.ini file. Open it via Notepad and add the following command at the very end of it- “[/script/engine.renderersettings]r.CreateShadersOnLoad=1”. Save the changes and launch the game.
Run the game as Administrator
Administrator mode can grant access to many features and windows sometimes refuse access to certain functions when games ask to. Running The Callisto Protocol using Administrator mode can fix that. Follow the steps below to do so.
- Launch Steam and right-click on The Callisto Protocol, select “Manage” and select Browse local files.
- Once you’re in the installation directory, right-click on the .exe file of the game and select “Run as Administrator”.
- Repeat the same with another .exe file. It is located in the following path- CallistoProtocol folder/Binaries/Win64/TheCallistoProtocol-Win64-shipping.exe.
Run the game in compatibility mode
If you’re using Windows 11 or 10 and are unable to start The Callisto Protocol, applying Compatibility settings can solve that. Follow the steps on how to do it.
- Go to the game installation folder and locate the .exe file of the Callisto Protocol. Right-click on it and select “Properties”, then click on the Compatibility tab, and in the section, select your preferred operating system like 8.1 or 10.
- Click on Apply and then Ok. Again open the Callisto Protocol folder/Binaries/Win64. Right-click on TheCallistoProtocolwin64-shipping.exe file and repeat the same steps for this as well.
Remove Savegames Folder
Deleting the save game file sometimes also fix the general issues that the game has and it works for The Callisto Protocol as well. Keep in mind that this will remove your progress and you’ll have to start from scratch. Visit here for more information on the save file location of the game.
Update Windows
Installing the latest Windows update can solve a whole lot of launch issues if Callisto Protocol is throwing all types of errors and refusing to launch. Follow the steps below to update Windows.
- Type “Settings” in the windows search box and go to “Update & Security”.
- After that, click on the “Check for Updates” button and let windows search for the latest updates.
- If there are, install them and restart your PC.
Change in-game settings for better performance
If you have an underpowered PC and are getting low FPS when playing the game, we have mentioned the best settings that you can change to get better framerates. Check out the settings mentioned below.
- Screen Mode – Borderless Fullscreen/Windowed Mode
- Graphics Preset – High/Medium
- V-Sync – Off
- Lighting Quality – Standard/Low
- Shadow Quality – Medium
- Volumetrics Quality – Medium
- Particle Quality – Medium
- Ray-Traced Shadows – Disabled
- Ray-Traced Reflections – Disabled
- FSR 2 Quality Mode – Performance
- Mesh Quality – Medium
- Texture Quality – Medium
- Motion Blur – Off
- Depth of Field – Off
- Upscaling – AMD FSR 2 or Temporal
- Texture Filter Quality – Medium
- Quality Mode – Performance/Balanced
- HDR – Disabled
Add the game to the exception list of Antivirus/Windows Security/Windows Defender
Most of the time, Antiviruses, and Windows Firewall often block a few files of the game and the game crashes or doesn’t launch. If you have installed any third-party antivirus software, add the game’s .exe file to the exception list. As for Windows Defender settings, follow the steps to grant permission to the game.
- Type Settings in the start menu search box and click on it.
- Click on “Update & Security”, on the left side, click on Windows Security and click on “Virus & Threat Protection”.
- Scroll down and click on “manage ransomware protection” and then “Allow an app through controlled folder access”
- Click on Yes to allow and then click on the “Add an allowed app” button and “Browse all apps”.
- Head to the install directory of Callisto Protocol, once again open the Callisto Protocol folder/BInaries/Win64 and select the .exe file and click on “Add”.
- Launch the game now.
To whitelist the game on Windows Firewall, follow these steps
- Access the Control Panel.
- Go to System and Security and then go to Windows Firewall.
- On the left side of the window, click on “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall”.
- Click on the “Change Settings” button and “Allow another app” and click on “Browse”.
- Navigate to where the game is installed and select the .exe file and click on Open and click on “Add”.
- Once again click on Browse and open Callisto Protocol folder/Binaries/Win64/and select the .exe file in there. Once both .exe files are added, click on “Ok” and launch the game.
Do a clean installation of the graphics card drivers
Doing a clean installation of your GPU drivers is recommended by many in the community and can fix major issues in The Callisto Protocol. Follow the steps below on how to perform a clean installation of GPU Drivers.
- First, you have to go to NVIDIA or AMD Website and download the latest drivers of your GPU.
- After downloading the driver, and if you’re using NVIDIA GPU, open the file and click on “Agreed and Continue”.
- Click on the “Custom” tab and click on “Next”.
- Check the “Perform Clean Installation” checkbox and click on “Next”.
- After this, reboot your PC.
Install Media Feature Pack
If you have the N versions of Windows 10 or 11 installed on our system, then you need to install the Media Feature Pack first. You can get it through this link. After installing, open “Settings”, go to Apps and click on “Optional Features” and then “Add a Feature”. In the search box, type “media feature pack”, and you’ll see a list of the media pack, tick the box and click on “Install”. Once it’s completed, restart your PC and The Callisto Protocol should be up and running.
Roll back GPU Drivers
Sometimes the latest drivers often do more harm than good when it comes to performance. There have been cases like that for The Callisto Protocol. If you’re someone going through this, it’s best to roll back drivers of previous versions. Follow the steps below to do so.
- Again, head to NVIDIA or AMD website and download the previous version of drivers for your GPU.
- Once downloaded, perform the clean installation and then launch the game.
Verify the game files
- If you bought The Callisto Protocol on Steam and facing problems, head to Library, and on the left side, right-click on the game and select “Properties”.
- Click on the “Local files” tab and then select “Verify the Integrity of Game Files”.
- Let it complete and launch the game and see if there is any improvement or not.
Run the game on a Dedicated graphics card
This is a workaround specifically for gaming laptops with dual graphics cards. If you are unable to play The Callisto Protocol at a higher FPS, then chances are it’s using the Integrated graphics. Here’s how to fix it-
- Type Graphics Settings in the windows search box and click on it.
- Click on Browse and navigate to the path where the game is installed. Once you found it, select the .exe file of The Callisto Protocol and click on Add button.
- After adding the game, click on the Options button and select “High Performance”, and click on Save.
- Repeat the second step and in the game’s directory, open Callisto Protocol/Binaries/Win64/and select the .exe file in it. Click on Add and repeat the third step for it as well.
Perform a Clean Boot
- Type System Configuration in the search box and click on it.
- Go to the Services tab and click on the “Hide all Microsoft services” and “Disable All” button
- Click on Apply and Ok and then restart your PC and launch the game.
Turn off Steam Overlay and close all overlay apps
Disabling Steam Overlay and other overlay apps like Discord, and Geforce Experience can also help you improve the performance of the game.
Increase the Virtual Memory
- Type “View Advanced Settings” in the search box and click on it.
- Click on the Setting button in the performance tab and click on “Advanced” and then click on “Change”.
- Untick the “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” and tick the “Custom Size”.
- If you have 8GB of RAM, calculate 8 x 1024 = 8,192, and multiply it by 1.5 = 12,288. If you have 16GB RAM or higher, calculate it and put it in the Initial size (MB). The minimum is 1.5x and the maximum is 3x so calculate it and put the corresponding values.
- Once you’re done, apply the changes and then start the game.
Install the latest C++ files
Having the latest C++ files is mandatory if you wish to run any PC games without any problems whatsoever. You can get the latest C++ files from here. Download the x86 and x64 versions of Visual C++ files and install them. If you have already installed them, click on the “Repair” option.
Disconnect external devices
Right now the game is bugged to the point where a random thing can cause problems with it like the Oculus software. If you have several external devices connected to your PC like monitors, USB devices, and gamepads, unplug them and see if that helps. Also, close every third-party application except for Steam and the game itself. If you have an undervolted CPU/GPU, make sure to remove it as well.
If all of the fixes above don’t work, then you can install the game to a different drive or try using Windowed mode. We hope that you enjoyed reading this article. Stay tuned for more updates about The Callisto Protocol, guides, news, and more at Digistatement.
