How to Fix Fortnite Error 20006

It is the year 2020. I am settled in for a Fortnite session, one of my favorite games of the past few years. It’s like an old friend at this point, though one I admittedly hate at times.

I click Launch. What’s this? Error 20006? Oh, another old friend. What do I do?

Fornite Error 20006 occurs when trying to launch Fortnite and has occasionally plagued players since 2018. When opening the game’s executable file, the game fails to launch and an error message reads: “Couldn’t start the game. Error code: 20006 (Cannot create service (StartService failed: 193)).”

It mentions that something called “Easy Anti-Cheat” can check online to solve the problem, but in my experience, complying with that didn’t solve anything.

The cause of Error 20006 is an issue with the Easy Anti-Cheat service that Epic Games, Fortnite’s creators, uses to recognize and police hacking and cheating. Were you trying to cheat or did something unintended happen to your EasyAntiCheat.exe?

If you’re trying to cheat, I have to admit that I’m judging you for it, but that’s okay. I don’t actually know and am going to help you anyway.

The Easiest Fix Fortnite Error 20006: Repairing Easy Anti-Cheat

The first thing to try is to verify your installation of Fortnite. Simply click the Settings icon next to the Launch button in the Epic Games launcher, choose Verify and cross your fingers.

It may take a significant amount of time, up to a few minutes, so bear with it.

Once that process is complete, open your Fortnite installation folder. For Windows users, this is usually C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite.

Once you’re there, open the following folders sequentially: Binaries, Win64, EasyAntiCheat. Open EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe and click Repair Service.

While this has seemed to work for most Fortnite players, I know plenty of people who had to find additional workarounds. If you tried repairing it and still couldn’t get the game to launch, it gets very slightly more technical.

The Second Easiest Fix Fortnite Error 20006: Uninstalling Easy Anti-Cheat

Technically, this fix is easier than the previous one, but it entails trying to run the game without Easy Anti-Cheat, which can feel either liberating or like you’re trying to get away with some bad stuff, so go ahead and feel your feelings and try it.

Follow the previous steps for repairing Easy Anti-Cheat, but simply click Uninstall after opening the executable file. You would think that this would prevent you from launching the game, and it really ought to, but it works for many people.

So much for proper anti-cheating safeguards.

Intermediate Difficulty: Deleting EasyAntiCheat.sys

Assuming the game has launched and you’re reading this instead of losing to a 12-year-old hacker with a particularly bad taste in character skins, you may need to dig just a little deeper.

First, double-check that you’re logged onto an administrator account in Windows. To make sure, click the Windows button, then Settings, then Accounts.

If you’re already an administrator, skip to the next paragraph. If you lack administrator privileges, click Family & other users.

Select the account that needs the privileges, then Change account type, then choose Administrator in the drop-down menu.

To delete EasyAntiCheat.sys, open the folder C:\Windows\System32\Drivers. Again, remember that you need administrator privileges to do so.

If you’re not comfortable completely deleting it, you can simply rename it for the same effect. If this gives you trouble when trying to launch the game, you may need to rename the file or do a fresh installation of the game.

Conclusion

If this guide didn’t pinpoint your exact issue with Error 200006 and you’re not a fan of searching for yourself on Google or YouTube, check out Kevin’s article about Fortnite Error Code 20006.