When the update is finished, restart your computer and check if Steam must be running to play this game error still appears on your computer. If there is a new version available, you can follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest version on your PC. Click the Steam button on the top menu bar and then select Check for Steam Clients Updates from the drop-down menu. Launch the Steam client and input your passwords to log in. Some users reported that after updating Steam to the latest version, they removed the “Steam must be running to play this game (steamapi_init() failed)” error message. Update the Steam Client to the Latest Version However, if this method doesn't work, try the next solutions. If this fixes the error, you can play the game now. After restarting, run the game that you encounter “Steam must be running to play this game” again. When the installation is finished, restart your computer. Run the executable file and follow the on-screen prompts to finish the Steam client installation on your PC. Visit Steam client download page and click the Install Steam Now button to download Steam’s installation executable. If you have already installed Steam on your computer, you can try the next method directly. If you haven’t installed the Steam client, you can follow the steps below to install it.

Nowadays, many PC games will require you to have Steam installed on your PC. If you always play games on PC, it is important for you to install the Steam client on your computer. You can try the following solutions one by one. How to fix it?Īfter analyzing several posts on how to fix the “Steam must be running to play this game” error, I have summarized some effective solutions. Recently, many users reported that came across “Steam must be running to play this game” error message on their PC. Well, you are not the only one who encounters this error. Steam must be running to play this game (steamapi_init() failed). When you try to open a game on your computer, it may prompt up the following error message: Log out Your Steam Account and Log Back In

Combat arms steam initialization failed