With the increasing popularity of battle royale games, many developers tried their hands on this genre. Fortnite by Epic Game Studios is one of the most popular battle royale games, with the game nominated for and winning multiple critics awards. Fortnite still sees one of the most player logins for any online multiplayer game.
Some Windows 10 Fortnite users have reported an issue, which is the Fortnite error code 20006. The Fortnite launch error 20006 prevents users from opening the game, and users cannot open the game or play the battle royale game on their Windows 10 device.
Why Do I Get The Launch Error 20006 In Fortnite?
The Fortnite error code 20006 is related to the anti-cheat service that is used to prevent users from gaining an unfair advantage over others using malicious means. Epic Games prevents users from logging into the game without checking for anti-cheat mechanisms.
There is also a chance that the game files themselves might have gone corrupt or missing. This usually leads to the game not being able to verify the anti-cheat module, although the module is present on your device.
How To Solve The Fortnite Error Code 20006 On Windows 10?
Now that you know why you may be facing the Fortnite error code 20006, here are some solutions that users reported solved the launch error 20006 on their devices.
Solution 1: Set EasyAntiCheat Service To Automatic
One of the easiest solutions that you can attempt to solve the Fortnite error is to set the EasyAntiCheat service status to Automatic. This enables the service to start automatically and verify the game files. Some recent app installation or Windows Update may have changed the startup status for the service.
To change the startup type of the service, follow these steps:
- Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
- Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter to launch the Services console.
- In the list of available services, locate the EasyAntiCheat service.
- Double click on the EasyAntiCheat service to launch the Properties for the service.
- Under the Startup type, change the value to Automatic from the drop-down box if previously set to Manual.
Now, launch your game again. Fortnite should be able to run normally on your device now.
Solution 2: Verify The Location Of The EasyAntiCheat On Your Computer
Another solution that was posted on the Steam forum is related to the Epic games launcher misdiagnosing the architecture of the CPU, therefore leading to incorrect installation of the EasyAntiCheat application. This can be fairly easy to resolve, as you need to copy the EasyAntiCheat.exe file to the correct location on your computer.
To do so, simply follow these steps:
- Open the File Explorer. You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + E.
- Navigate to the following folder:
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ - Here, locate the EasyAntiCheat.exe file, and copy the file.
- Navigate to the following folder next:
C:\Windows\System32 - Here, paste the EasyAntiCheat.exe file that you just copied.
- Restart your computer.
This should solve the Fortnite error code 20006 on your Windows 10 device, and you should be able to play the game normally on your device.
Solution 3: Repair The EasyAntiCheat Service
The EasyAntiCheat service is used by Epic Games and many other stores to detect hackers and cheaters on the platform. This is done to prevent users from gaining an unfair advantage over others using malicious means. The service can get broken at times, and you need to repair the said service to solve the Fortnite launch error 20006.
To repair the EasyAntiCheat service, follow these steps:
- Open Windows Search. You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + S.
- Type Fortnite in the input field.
- In the right pane, you will notice the additional settings. Here, click on Open file location.
Usually, the default location is C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite - Once you are inside the Fortnite folder, navigate the following path:
FortniteGame > Binaries > Win64/Win32 (depending on your OS) > EasyAntiCheat - Inside this, you should see the EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe file. Right-click on this folder, and select Run as administrator from the context menu.
- Select Yes on any user account control prompt.
- Make sure that the option next to Fortnite is checked. Click on the Repair Service button.
- Wait for the installer to finish repairing the EasyAntiCheat service. You should see an ‘Installed Successfully’ message that indicates that the service has been repaired.
Now launch the Fortnite game again to check if you are able to play the game. The Fortnite error code 20006 should now be solved.
Solution 4: Verify The Game Installation
Most of the online stores have a game verification option. This feature is used in order to check for any broken or missing game files. If the scanner finds such broken files, the latest version of these files is downloaded from the appropriate servers.
Steam has this feature built into the store. Epic Games also has this feature in the Fortnite launcher, and you can use this feature to check for any broken or missing game files on your computer. To check for missing files using the built-in Verify feature, follow these steps:
- Open Fortnite’s main executable file. You should find the shortcut on your desktop, or you can find the option in the start menu as well.
- Next to the Launch button, you will find a cog icon. Click on this cog icon to reveal a hidden context menu.
- From the context menu, click Verify to check for any missing game files.
Wait for the process to complete. You should see the process downloading any missing or corrupt files from the Epic Games server again. The complete process should take about 10 minutes to finish verifying your game files.
Launch the game once the verification is complete. Your Fortnite error code 20006 should now be solved.
Solution 5: An Experimental Workaround
This solution involves renaming the driver’s name, which will prompt the game to download the appropriate files again from the servers. This is similar to the solution provided earlier but is more directed to the Anti-cheat service file. Simply follow these steps for the same:
- Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
- Type %windir%\System32 and press Enter to launch the System32 folder in your Windows directory.
- Go to the Drivers folder.
- Inside the Drivers folder, locate and click on the EasyAntiCheat.sys file.
- Press F2 to rename the file.
- Rename the EasyAntiCheat.sys file to something else like EasyAntiCheat.old.sys and press the Enter key to confirm the changes.
- Reboot your computer, and launch Fortnite.
Upon launching the Fortnite client again, the EasyAntiCheat file will be downloaded again from the Epic Games servers. The Fortnite launch error 20006 should now be resolved.
Wrapping Up
If you regularly play Fortnite, you will be very annoyed when you see the launch errors on your computer. Now you know how to solve the Fortnite error code 20006 using the solutions provided above. Comment below if you found this useful, and to discuss further the same.