PlayStation (PC) closes automatically or won't launch – How to fix this? ¦ Solved

August 18, 2021 Robert Radford

Updated on / dernière mise à jour : 12/09/2023

* PS Now ceased to exist on June 13th, 2022 (North America). More information on this PlayStation update can be read via this CNET article.

** Sony did indeed update my PlayStation Now (PC) subscription to the new PlayStation Plus, which is great, but I did have some problems regarding this transition. Once the new update automatically replaced my PS Now software, it did run but an error message was shown stating a network problem. I did have access to the new platform though and I could see all of the featured games but none could be played and the gamepad was not detected. So, here's what I did : I uninstalled the software, cleaned the registry (you can use Jetclean or CCleaner for such a task) and reinstalled it. I did have a hard time finding the software for this brand new PlayStation Plus for PC on their website though. After some research, I found it here. Once reinstalled, everything ran smoothly and the gamepad was detected. I hope this information can be useful if you find yourself in the same situation.

*** I also decided to try an equivalent of the PS Plus, Microsoft's XBOX Game Pass – which is also available for PC – and I must say both platforms have their pros and cons. For the PS Plus, the main reason to opt-in is the great quality of their cloud gaming in terms of speed, graphics and ease of play. PS Plus should be your #1 choice if you want to play on the cloud most of the time. The downside regards PS Plus' limited access to their newest games. On the other hand, XBOX Game Pass has fewer titles but you will have access to numerous recent games, including access to EA's catalog of truly great games. This being said, cloud gaming in Game Pass is still in beta phase (July 2022) and it shows: games may lag and the overall quality of the games played via cloud is often less than desirable. Let's hope Microsoft is able to upgrade their cloud gaming platform so it can perform better in the future. Hence, if you want to play online most of the time through cloud gaming and avoid downloading games, go with PS Plus but if you want to have access to the newest games and don't mind downloading and installing them on your PC or on your console, then you should really consider the XBOX/PC Game Pass. Both platforms are interesting but it's also important to take into account your real needs. Have fun!

Problem:

You installed PlayStation Now on PC and when you run it, it starts normally but – after a few seconds (usually between 10 and 30 seconds) – it closes automatically and you just can't log on or play with any of the games. Even if you try to run PS Now again, you'll see the splash screen and you may even see the logon screen but, again, the program closes. If you look at your computer's Task Manager, you might even see PS Now running in the background even though its screen closed automatically each and every time you tried to run it.

How to fix this:

1- First, you need to uninstall PlayStation Now on PC from your computer.

2- Once uninstalled, you might want to clean your registry; for such a task, you can easily use free programs such as CCleaner or Glary Utilities.

3- Now, go back to PS Now on PC's website to download the program. It may be a good idea to download the program in a language that is similar to your Windows environment. Hence, if your computer runs the French Canadian version of Windows, then visit PS Now's French Canadian website for the download: https://www.playstation.com/fr-ca/ps-now/ps-now-on-pc/. On this web page, you can also select the proper country or region for your PS Now (PC) platform if you're not sure if it is available or not. The root of the problem may lie with the program being unable to run properly because of a different language environment (that's only a guess though).

4- Once downloaded, run the program on your PC and follow the instructions. The program will ask you where you want to install the files… this is where the problem can probably be fixed: instead of using the program's usual location for the files, create a new folder where you'd like to install the program, change the name (do not use the same name as initially proposed by the program… you may call your folder "PSNow" or "PSforMyPC", for example) and continue the installation from there.

5- Once the program is installed, run it. You should now be able to log on to PS Now on PC without the screen disappearing abruptly after a few seconds.

6- If you're still experiencing problems, then visit PlayStation's Support web page: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/.

P.S.: If you are using a VPN (i.e.: Surfshark, NordVPN, etc.), it is also a good idea not to use it while running PS Now on PC. When the VPN is activated, many times the DualShock controller is not detected by the platform. Hence, you may want to disable your VPN for the time being. I also tried with PS Now on PC, Steam and GeForce included to the VPN's whitelist but no luck there so just disable it temporarily.

Regards.