Could not validate game ownership - unable to authenticate with Rockstar Games Services

What is the issue you’re having?

When I launch FiveM, it opens Rockstar Games Launcher and asks me to log in. After logging in, FiveM shows the error: “Could not validate game ownership! If you are running this as administrator, please launch it as regular user.”

Error from log file: “Could not validate game ownership! If you are running this as administrator, please launch it as regular user.”

System: Windows 11, GTA V on Rockstar Games Launcher, Administrator account.

What have you tried already to fix the issue?

  • Reinstalled FiveM and Rockstar Games Launcher
  • Cleared FiveM cache
  • Deleted Rockstar Games registry keys (HKLM and HKCU)
  • Removed all Rockstar appdata folders
  • Disabled compatibility mode on FiveM and Launcher
  • Running both without administrator privileges
  • Time sync, DNS flush, winsock reset
  • Rockstar Launcher works fine on its own

Windows version

Windows 11

System specifications

Windows 11, GTA V on Rockstar Games Launcher, Administrator account

Antivirus software

Windows Defender

CitizenFX crash zip file (‘Save information’ on a crash)

CitizenFX_log_2026-04-06T122949.log (1.75 KB)

Additional comments

Rockstar Games Launcher works fine on its own. Issue only occurs when FiveM tries to authenticate. My Windows account is an Administrator account.

1 Like

What you have to do is go to your Date/Time settings and make sure they align or they differ from each other. My time zone wasn’t set to change automatically and I checked the box for it to update automatically and it fixed it.