Rockstar Games Error Code 18

Last Updated: May 28, 2024

Question: What can I do about the following error when trying to launch Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC?

  • Rockstar Games failed to initialize graphics device. Error Code: 18

Answer: This error occurs whenever there’s an issue with your Graphics API settings.

You can resolve Error Code 18 by editing the Red Dead Redemption 2 Settings.xml file and forcing the use of the default DirectX graphics API, which you can do by following the steps below:

  1. Close Red Dead Redemption 2

  2. Open the following file location in Windows Explorer:

    • C:\Users\[USERNAME]\Documents\Rockstar Games\Red Dead Redemption 2

  3. Open the Setting.xml file for Red Dead Redemption 2 in Notepad or your preferred text editor

  4. Locate the settings detail “kSettingAPI_Vulcan” 

  5. Change the settings detail to “kSettingAPI_DX12”    

  6. Save the changes

  7. Restart Red Dead Redemption 2

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