This error message is usually associated with your graphics drivers and how they are unable to provide resources to StarCraft because of technical issues which we will discuss below. This is a very common error message and has also been acknowledged by StarCraft engineers in the official website.
What causes the Graphics Device to not be available on StarCraft II?
This error message mostly relates to the graphics drivers installed on your computer. However, there might also be other reasons which might vary from computer to computer depending on the hardware and configuration. Some of the reasons are: Before we move on with the solutions, make sure that you have an active internet connection and are logged in as an administrator on your computer. Note: You should also make sure that StarCraft is updated to the latest version. Bugs like these are fixed by Blizzard through their patches regularly.
Solution 1: Updating your Graphics Drivers
Although this is the advice of almost anyone on the internet whenever you have issues with your graphics drivers, it works for the majority of the cases. Graphics card drivers are updated to resolve issues and have compatibility with other games and applications. If they are broken or outdated, they might not be able to connect properly with the game. You can check our article Civilization 5 won’t Launch and navigate to Solution 3 where all the detailed steps are written on how to first remove your existing Graphics drivers and then reinstalling the latest ones.
Solution 2: Disabling Xbox DVR
Xbox DVR is a new feature introduced in Windows which allows users to record their gameplay and audio. Even though this is a nifty feature, it causes issues with several games including StarCraft. Below are the steps to disable Xbox DVR recording. If you have a newer version, refer to the second half of the solution to disable the recording from settings. If you are using a newer version of Windows, the Xbox application will not have this feature. Follow the listed steps instead.
Solution 3: Selecting Preferred Graphics Card
If you have a dedicated graphics card installed on your computer, chances are that the game is utilizing the in-built Intel HD graphics instead of the dedicated one. This can be the reason why you are experiencing the error message. Here we will navigate to your Graphics card settings and set the preferred card accordingly.
Solution 4: Adding Command Line Argument
If all the above methods don’t work, we can try adding a new command line argument in the Blizzard application for changing the display mode. This was a valid workaround according to several users and will probably work until Blizzard launches a patch to fix the issue.
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