Hi, this is guide for everyone who is seeing an error message when Fall Guys is starting.
You will encounter a message that will tell you that some files are missing and the game will tell you to validate the files.

To do so go to your library, find Fall Guys in the left side list and right click on properties.



A dialog window will open, then go to Local Files and click on verify integrity.



Just wait for the loading bar to finish.

Normally this should do it but there are instances where this might fail to work.
This is because Epic Services is still running, this happens if you attempt to validate the files immediately after seeing the error.

If you still see the original error message regarding file validation then you will need to close down Epic Online Services first as an instance might still be running.

To fix this issue you will need to close down Epic Online services. EOS is an elevated service, which means you will need Admin rights to close it down. If you are on the admin account you might try to close it down from Task Manager.

Open task manager by right clicking on the windows icon from the task bar and then select Task Manager.



Go to the details tab and close all Epic related services from this tab.


Then try to validate the files again and start the game once more.
This should be it for most users.

I, for one, use Process Explorer. You might attempt to close this service down through this application.

If you are not that great with computers, I heavily suggest that you stick with task manager and contact support but if EOS refuses to close down from Task Manager you might attempt this method.

First download Process Explorer:


This is a pretty advanced app published by Microsoft and created by a warlock named Mark Russinovich. His entire suit comprises of white magicks not meant for the mere mortals, usually used for advanced diagnostics.

After downloading Process Explorer, unzip the file on the desired location and run as admin.


After you open Process Explorer, give it a while while it lists all the system processes.
You will see everything that your PC is currently running, I beg you not to touch anything and do as I say:

Scroll down until you see Epic Services, in my case I had two EOS trees running simultaneously when the game refused to work and I merely closed down both instances, re-validated the files and that worked for me.





(*I am aware it says tress instead of trees but I am too lazy to do it again, deal with it).
Close Process Explorer after you are done, re-validate the files for safe measure and open the game once more.

This should be the end of that. You might want to delete Process Explorer or walk the path of the turbo nerd, your choice.

Once more, this worked for me and your case might be different.
You might even need to reinstall the app altogether if this guide does not work for you.

Judging from Process Explorer, the root cause seems to be the implementation of Epic Online Services.

One time I validated the files as suggested and that was the end of the problem, today I had the same issue and re-validating on its own did not work.

I created this guide immediately after fixing the issue, I cannot tell for sure if this is the only cause of this problem and Mediatonic will ultimately have to fix this issue at some point.

Why do I need admin rights?
EOS is an elevated process tree so Task Manager might not be able to end the process on its own unless Task Manager is also elevated with administrator rights.

Do I need process explorer?
You can also end the process through an elevated Windows Terminal if you have the know how.

Do I need to install Epic Launcher?
You do need an Epic Account to play this game, *sigh it is what it is, however I installed Epic Launcher (So you don't have to, you're welcome).

I initially thought it was a credential or connectivity related issue between epic services so it occurred to me that installing and running the launcher prior to running the game might solve the issue but it is unrelated for what I can gather. Epic Launcher was not running when I fixed the problem.

Mediatonic will need to clear this part.

What do I do if I am seeing this issue on ProtonDb?
I am not even sure if this is an issue on ProtonDb.
I have very limited knowledge on anything Linux so you might want to refer to other guides but if it is the same issue, I guess you will need to run PsTree then Sudo Kill the EOS PID...that is a guess, so dunno lol.

I hope this helped someone, at some point and as always
Hail Sat...!



Warning: Do not actually hail the devil...Instead Hail to the king Baby!