Do You Have to Uninstall Battlefield 6 or Valorant – Explained
Have you been trying to play Battlefield 6 and got a weird notification telling you to uninstall Valorant? This strange error has been confusing players during the game’s open beta, making it look like EA is trying to kick other games off your computer. But the truth is way simpler than that. Keep on reading to find out what’s happening and the answer to this question: Do you have to uninstall Battlefield 6 or Valorant?
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What’s Actually Happening with Battlefield 6 and Valorant?
When you try to startBattlefield 6 Open Betawhile Valorant is running, you might see anerror messagethat says something like this:
“The application has failed to start due to a general software incompatibility. Please uninstall the conflicting software, or adjust its settings: Valorant.”
It sounds dramatic, but don’t panic. You don’t actually need to delete Valorant from your computer. The problem happens because both games use super-protective anti-cheat systems that can’t work together.
Why Does This Notification Show Up?
So basically, both Battlefield 6 and Valorant use what is called the “kernel-level anticheat” software. When you have both the game, this software works like two security guards who both think they’re the only ones allowed to watch the same door at the same time. Of course, they will end up getting in each other’s way even though they’re trying to do the same job.
I sure am glad that kernel-level anticheat has reached the point where they’re all starting to conflict with each otherFuture of gaming herepic.twitter.com/VtIq0i6OLS
Battlefield 6 uses something calledJavelin anti-cheat, while Valorant usesRiot Vanguard. Both of these programs dig deep into your computer’s memory to catch cheaters, and they both want to protect the same areas of your system. That’s why this notification pops up.
Do You Have to Uninstall Battlefield 6 or Valorant?
The good news is that Riot cleared up the confusion quickly.Phillip Koskinas, Riot’s Head of Anti-Cheat, posted on X to explain what’s really happening:
Vanguard is compatible with Javelin, and you don’t need to uninstall one anti-cheat to use the other.However, BF6 does not currently allow the VALORANT client to be running simultaneously, because both drivers race to protect regions of game memory with the same technique.
He said both programs“race to protect regions of game memory with the same technique.”Basically, they’re stepping on each other’s toes. So there you have it, straight from the source.You don’t have to uninstall either game. The anti-cheat programs can actually work together on your computer just fine.
The real issue is thatyou can’t run both games at the same time. When Valorant is open and running, its Vanguard system takes control of certain memory areas. Then, when you try to start Battlefield 6, Javelin sees Vanguard already there and throws up that error message. The fix is actually pretty simple:
Will This Issue Get Fixed?
Honestly? Don’t expect either company to change how their anti-cheat works anytime soon. Both EA and Riot think their system are necessary to fight cheaters, and they probably won’t modify them just because a small number of players want to run both games together. What I think is that most people don’t attempt to play two competitive shooters at the exact same time anyway. So this conflict, while annoying, doesn’t affect that many players.
So for now, you don’t need to choose between Battlefield 6 and Valorant permanently. Just close one before opening the other, and you will be fine. It’s way better than actually having to uninstall games you enjoy. This whole issue is just another example of how complicated modern gaming has become with all these anti-cheat requirements. But at least now you know what’s really going on when that error message pops up.
Shida Aruya
Shida is a gaming writer at TechWiser who loves getting comfy with a good book. When she is not writing, you’ll catch her growing crops in Stardew Valley and Fields of Mistria, or exploring Fortnite. For Shida, nothing beats a day split between reading books and playing games.
