In the event that a player finds themself receiving numerous errors upon attempting to start the game, if they are running any mod programs or similar applications that may alter the game files of Star Citizen, it may be due to Easy Anti-Cheat taking action to prevent exploitative programs from affecting the game.
What is Easy Anti-Cheat?
Easy Anti-Cheat or EAC is an anti-cheat service used by numerous popular games (many which you've probably played!), countering cheating and the use of unauthorized third party software in multiplayer PC games.
You can find more info about EAC here: https://www.easy.ac
Our announcement about the implementation of EAC can be found here: Spectrum - Easy Anti-Cheat
EAC and Operating System Compatibility
For the purpose of playing and running Star Citizen, EAC is compatible with the latest service packs for Windows 10 and 11. These versions of the Windows operating system (OS) are also the only OS versions that Star Citizen supports as earlier versions of Windows are no longer supported by Microsoft.
Players that are using an earlier version of Windows will receive an error upon attempting to play. As this is an operating system conflict which is hard coded into EAC, it is not something that RSI Support Agents can address. To resolve this sort of error, you will need to upgrade your operating system to a current, compatible version.
I Can't Login Due to Windows and Launcher Errors
Depending what the errors read, it may be due to EAC detecting game file discrepancies and blocking the login attempt. If you are running any sort of program that alters or interferes with the Star Citizen game files, no matter how innocent it might seem to you, then this program will stop the login in its tracks.
Generally, players will receive two types of errors if this is the cause: Windows errors referencing specific file names or a general RSI Launcher error stating that the game stopped running unexpectedly. Examples of these are below.
How to Fix the Errors
To resume being able to play the game, you will need to follow these steps:
- Exit the game and the RSI Launcher
- Remove any modded files.
- Reinstall the game.
- Re-launch the game with no modded files or third-party programs running.
If the above still does not help, you can try to fully delete the game files first and then re-install after you are certain all game files are gone.
Easy Anti-Cheat and CPU Priority
For many gamers, ensuring that their games take the highest priority with their computer's processing resources and thus getting better gaming performance is of great importance. This is done by setting their games to run with high priority.
Unfortunately, games with EAC enabled may in some cases counteract this or cause undue lag and crashes when this is attempted. To counteract this, you will need to follow these steps to make some registry edits.
- Open the Registry Editor by typing "regedit" (no quotes) into the Windows search bar
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options
- Right click on this folder and create a new key called "StarCitizen.exe" (no quotes)
- Right click on the new StarCitizen.exe folder and create a key called "PerfOptions" (no quotes)
- Right click on the new PerfOptions folder and create a new DWORD (32 bit) called "CpuPriorityClass" (no quotes)
- Double click on CpuPriorityClass in the value window change the value to 3
IMPORTANT! Making registry edits is a touchy process and should not be done on a whim. If you are planning to attempt this fix then you should not make any other changes other than what is indicated here.
Error 0 / Code 0
This is an issue related to Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) and we are investigating the cause. In the meantime, to correct this, follow these steps:
- Delete the EAC folder located in the Roberts Space Industries\StarCitize\LIVE folder.
- Fully close the RSI Launcher. Use the task bar and/or the task manager to ensure the process is killed if need be.
- Re-open the RSI Launcher
- Click the SETTINGS option
- Press the VERIFY button next to "Analyze game files".
Allow this process to finish. If this does not correct the issue, consider totally uninstalling the game and all related files for a fresh install to ensure all files are correct.
Error 70k
The various error codes with numbers starting with 70k (such as 70004) are related to EAC. Usually this means some sort of check has failed with regards to EAC. Generally these can be resolved by following the various troubleshooting instructions above.
Memory Management Blue Screen Errors
This issue is related to an issue with Windows 11 version 24H2 and an incompatibility with EAC. Microsoft is attempting to work with EAC to address the issue. If you experience this, some people have reported enabling Memory Integrity under the Core Isolation > Device Security > Windows Security settings.
Be aware that enabling this may impact your PC's Performance. This setting is generally enabled by default on Windows 11 machines.
Feedback on Easy Anti-Cheat
If you have constructive feedback on the implementation of EAC within Star Citizen, head over to Spectrum to discuss.
Should you encounter any problems such as EAC totally preventing the game from working despite following the above troubleshooting steps, please head to the Issue Council to add your experience so our teams can investigate. Make sure to mention "Easy Anti-Cheat" somewhere in your report.