ERR_GFX_INIT error when launching Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC
Last Updated: June 12, 2024
Question: Whenever I launch Red Dead Redemption 2, I receive the following error message:
ERR_GFX_INIT: Failed to initialize graphics device. Please reboot or reinstall latest drivers.
How do I fix this?
Answer: To resolve this issue, you can make sure you have the latest graphics drivers installed, delete your Red Dead Redemption 2 settings files to reset your game settings, or change your Advanced Graphics settings in the system.xml file.
Update your Graphics Drivers
Make sure you have the latest graphics drivers installed
The latest drivers for NVIDIA cards are available here:
The latest drivers for AMD cards are available here:
Delete your Red Dead Redemption 2 Settings files
Close Red Dead Redemption 2 and the Rockstar Games Launcher
Navigate to the Red Dead Redemption 2 settings folder
Default: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\Documents\Rockstar Games\Red Dead Redemption 2\Settings
Delete all files except the system.xml file
Relaunch the Rockstar Games Launcher
Attempt to relaunch Red Dead Redemption 2
Change your Advanced Graphics Settings
You can change your graphics API from Vulkan to DirectX 12 (or vice versa) in the game’s advanced graphics settings of the system.xml file. You can change this setting by performing these steps:
Navigate to Documents/Rockstar Games/Red Dead Redemption 2/Settings
Open the file system.xml in Notepad and scroll down until you find this section:
In the line kSettingAPI_Vulkan, change Vulkan to DX12 as follows
kSettingAPI_DX12
Save the file changes
In the folder Documents\Rockstar Games\Red Dead Redemption 2\Settings, delete every file that starts with “sga_” if they are present
Examples include: ‘sga_vulkan_final_init.vkPipelineCacheHeaderWindows’ ‘sga_vulkan_final_init.vkWarmupCacheWindows’
Launch Red Dead Redemption 2