Having trouble playing games straight from the Game Pass on your PC? Seems like as long as you’re logged in and have the right permissions, everything should run smoothly. But sometimes, even with an active subscription, games refuse to launch, or they crash unexpectedly. Usually, it’s a mix of licensing hiccups, clock desync, corrupted files, or disabled services causing the drama. This guide walks through some common fixes that’ve helped over the years, though of course, Windows never makes it entirely straightforward. Just remember, some solutions might take a few tries before they stick.
How to Fix Xbox Game Pass Game Launch Problems on Windows
Fix 1 – Stop the License Manager (sometimes it just gets stuck)
This little trick tends to nudge the license system into behaving again. The license manager handles all those digital rights, so if it’s acting up, games might refuse to launch. Running this command resets it, hopefully clearing whatever deadlock it’s in.
- Open Search (hit Windows + S) and type
CMD. Right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator. If UAC pops up, give it permission. - In the terminal window, just paste
sc.exe stop licensemanagerand hit Enter. - Close the console, then try to launch your game again. Sometimes, this needs a reboot, but often it’s enough.
That command stops the license manager service — if it’s hung or stuck, restarting it can sometimes fix weird licensing errors preventing game launches. On some setups, it fails the first time, then works after a reboot — Windows loves to make things more complicated than necessary.
Fix 2 – Sync your clock (clock errors can mess up DRM)
Yeah, it’s kinda weird — but if your system’s date/time isn’t correct, Win might throw a fit when trying to verify your license or connect to Xbox servers. Set the clock to sync automatically, and it might just make that error vanish.
- Go to Settings (hit Windows + I) and jump into Time & Language.
- Select Date & time from the sidebar.
- Ensure Set time automatically is toggled to On.
- Also, toggle Set time zone automatically to On — this is optional but helps if you’re traveling or your region changed.
Once done, close settings and relaunch your game. Worked on some machines that wouldn’t even get past the initial login until their clock was spot-on. Go figure.
Fix 3 – Verify and repair game files (corrupted data destroys everything)
If only one game is acting up, chances are the files are corrupted or missing. The Xbox app has a built-in way to check and fix this, which can save hours of uninstalling and reinstalling.
- Open the Xbox app (or Xbox Game Bar if you prefer).
- Head over to My Library and find that problematic game.
- Right-click the game and select Manage.
- Switch to the Files tab, and click on Verify and repair. The app will scan the game files for issues and attempt repairs if needed.
Give it some time; depending on the size of the game and your drive speed, this can take a bit. After that, try launching again. Sometimes, it’s just a corrupt file that needs a gentle nudging back into place.
Fix 4 – Make sure Xbox services are enabled and running (these services are the backbone)
Some stat-critical Xbox services need to be active for games to work from Game Pass. If they’re disabled or not set to start automatically, the whole thing can fall apart.
- Type services into the search bar and select Services to open it.
- Locate the following services: IP Helper, Gaming Services, Xbox Live Auth Manager, Xbox Live Game Save, and Xbox Live Networking Service.
- Double-click each one to bring up its properties page.
- Set Startup type to Automatic.
- Click Start if the service isn’t running already.(You might hit a “Could not start the service” message once or twice — just retry or restart Windows if needed.)
- Hit Apply and OK.
- Repeat for all the services listed, then restart your PC for good measure.
This might seem tedious, but on some setups, these services are turned off or delayed, which causes Game Pass titles to glitch out or refuse to launch. On one machine it worked immediately, on another, a reboot was needed before everything kicked in.
Hopefully, one of these fixes gets your games running. The biggest pain points tend to be licensing, clock issues, corrupted files, or disabled services. Sometimes it’s a combo of all four.
Summary
- Reset the license manager with
sc.exe stop licensemanager - Ensure your system clock is syncing automatically
- Verify and repair game files via Xbox app
- Make sure Xbox services are set to start automatically and are running
Wrap-up
These are some of the tried-and-true methods to fix the common headaches with Game Pass on PC. It’s kinda a pain how many different things can go sideways, especially with updates and Windows quirks. If none of these work, sometimes the next step is to reinstall the Xbox app or even Windows itself — but hopefully, one of these fixes gets you back to gaming without more fuss.
Just something that worked for multiple setups — fingers crossed it helps.