If you’ve launched DmC: Devil May Cry on Steam (or tried to run the game’s executable directly) and encountered the message “Steam must be running to play this,” the game won’t start until Steam is active and running under your user account. This is a common DRM/launcher check many older and some newer PC games include. Below is a detailed explanation of why this happens, how to troubleshoot and fix it, and a set of best practices so the message doesn’t interrupt your sessions again.
: Fully close Steam and then right-click the Steam icon to select Run as Administrator . Attempt to launch the game again.
It sounds simple, but never underestimate the power of a full restart. Minimizing Steam to the system tray is not enough. You must completely kill the process. Dmc Devil May Cry Steam Must Be Running To Play This
The "Steam must be running to play this game" error in DmC: Devil May Cry
To fix the "Steam must be running to play this game" error for , try these troubleshooting steps: Immediate Fixes If you’ve launched DmC: Devil May Cry on
If the file was completely destroyed by your security suite or corrupted during an update, Steam can automatically scan and redownload the target assets.
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The most frequent cause is a Windows permission error. If Steam is running with standard privileges but the game tries to launch with higher privileges (or vice versa), Windows blocks the communication.