Rising World Launch Issues (RW Won't Launch Steam API)

Steam API Initialization Failure When Launching "Rising World" on Windows 11:

When attempting to launch Rising World directly from the desktop shortcut or executable, the following error occurs:

Steam Error:

"Could not initialize Steam API. In most cases you can fix this issue by restarting your Steam client."

This issue only occurs when Steam is not already running in the background. If Steam is launched manually prior to launching the game, the game runs without issue.

However, Steam is designed to auto-launch in the background when starting a game, so this behavior is abnormal.

Furthermore I am asking if anyone else has had this error at some point, and how the issue was resolved.

The following steps were attempted to resolve the issue, but the error persists:

1. Verified integrity of game files via Steam.
2. Cleared Steam download cache.
3. Restarted the Steam client and the PC.
4. Added both Steam.exe and RisingWorld.exe to the Windows Firewall allow list for both public and private networks.
5. Temporarily disabled third-party antivirus/firewall software to test interference.
6. Ran both Steam and the game executable as Administrator.
7. Disabled compatibility mode on both Steam and the game executables.
8. Removed all Steam launch options for the game.
9. Opted out of all beta programs for Rising World.
10. Recreated the desktop shortcut through Steam to ensure proper linkage.
11. Uninstalled and reinstalled the game, including deleting any leftover installation folders.

Environment

Operating System: Windows 11

Steam Version: Latest as of July 2025

Game: Rising World (Steam version)

System Specs

Graphics Card: NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 12GB

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 6 Core | 12 Threads

Memory: T-Create 32GB