AstroBob

Hi Folks, Just to close off this thread, we've just released the hotfix release 13.26 to address a lot of these issues.

Version 13.26 - Released February 10th 2026 Release Summary Release Summary: https://feedback.launchbox.gg/changelog/launchbox-for-windows-1326 Full Changelog: https://www.launchbox-app.com/about/changelog New Features: Added full FinalBurn Neo arcade ROM import support across both the Single Platform Import wizard and drag and drop imports, making it easier to bring FBNeo based arcade collections into LaunchBox Added a new Big Box option that lets video audio play alongside background music, giving you more control over how your setup sounds with proper music priority behavior Improvements: Smarter auto play behavior for thumbnails so videos only auto play when a game has music and background music resumes properly when it does not Optimized music playback in LaunchBox to run off the main thread and reuse the same VLC session, improving overall performance and playback stability Improved background rendering safety so image and video backgrounds are handled correctly across views without images being treated like videos Hardened video volume handling to prevent rare errors when video players are shut down or reloaded Improved image caching reliability to better handle file system edge cases and ensure cached images are written successfully Reduced memory usage in Carousel and Media List views by ensuring image resources are properly released to help prevent memory leaks over long sessions Addressed multiple reported issues related to music playback reliability and session management Fixed: Background and game music now loop properly in Big Box and LaunchBox instead of stopping at the end of a track Background music no longer restarts or skips the current track when the screensaver activates Game music no longer continues into the screensaver when it should stop Game music priority and audio mixing inside the screensaver now behave correctly when the relevant option is enabled Background music reliability in Big Box with better playback tracking to prevent music from stopping early or behaving inconsistently at the end of a track Platform videos in LaunchBox now stop playing correctly when the platform details pane was closed Restored video playback on Platform Hybrid views where videos were previously not playing RetroAchievements scanning for 7zip compressed games by extracting ROMs to a temporary location before scanning, allowing compatibility checks to work correctly for archived files Arcade imports no longer incorrectly reject files that are not listed in Metadata.xml when force metadata is not enabled, improving support for non MAME Arcade files such as Hypseus Singe A problem that could cause the Single Platform and drag and drop import wizards to become unresponsive near the end of the import process should no longer occur Resolved an issue where the left sidebar could fail to show or hide correctly

Hiya, we've had reports where Microsoft's Smart App Control in Windows 11 could be causing conflicts here. We've just pushed out another signed version of the installer that should the specific file yours is failing on. Can you delete the installer, and re-download it again through LaunchBox and let it run the update. Let us know if that goes through this time Cheers,

Hi Folks, sorry for the delayed response here and thanks for taking the time to report these. We really appreciate the feedback here and it's totally valid, we know we slipped up with the 13.25 release, a lot of things slipped through that shouldn't have and apologies for any issues caused there. We outlined a bit around that in our 13.25 known issues post here: However, a new beta for 13.26 that directly addresses most of the issues reported in 13.25 has just gone live, include issues you mentioned such as: Missing backgrounds in Big Box Vertical wheel issues Issues with music and screensaver mode in Big Box Soundtrack priority issues We understand not everything may be addressed (i.e we know there are still issues with Steam trailers which requires a bigger re-write), but we're aiming to focus this next release on as many fixes as possible. If anyones comfortable giving it a whirl, you can find the full details here: Apologies for any issues caused with this latest release, we appreciate it's been a bit rocky but hoping to get things back on track with 13.26. Please do keep us posted with any issues still outstanding on this latest beta and we'll do our best to try and get them sorted

Hi Everyone, We have just released 13.26 beta-1, which contains a ton of fixes from the 13.25 release, as well as some additional quality of life improvements. You can see the full list of changes here: It would be great if folks experiencing any of the listed issues could give this a spin to see if that solves them. For any outstanding issues, please jot them down on the new beta post so we can continue to investigate. We're aiming for this next release to be a much shorter release cycle focused mainly on fixes, so do let us know if there's any issues still affecting you here. Thanks for bearing with us while we got this hotfix out.

Hi Everyone, We have just released 13.26 beta-1, which addresses everything mentioned here (except for Steam Trailers, since that requires a bigger rework. It also includes a bunch of fixes around music in Big Box, and much more. You can see the full list of changes here: It would be great if folks experiencing any of the listed issues could give this a spin to see if that solves them. For any outstanding issues, please jot them down on the new beta post so we can continue to investigate. We're aiming for this next release to be a much shorter release cycle focused mainly on fixes, so do let us know if there's any issues still affecting you here. Thanks for bearing with us while we got this hotfix out.

Thanks for this report, we've confirmed this and already fixed it up, it's pending the upcoming hotfix release. You can upvote the known issue report for it here to know when it goes live. Also it lists a temporary workaround if you're stuck without a sidebar currently: 🔗 https://feedback.launchbox.gg/p/section-sidebar-cannot-be-shown-or-hidden

I've just updated the post with a new known issue that was discovered with the sidebar. This has already been fixed and is pending the next hotfix release. We've also done some work on the music side but those may not be ready for the first hotfix, but we'll keep you posted. Thanks for the other reports, unfortunately we haven't managed to tie any of these back to the release just yet, but we'll continue to update this post and of course once the hotfix is ready for release

Okay, thanks for that. The fact a new install exhibits the same issue and the fact that that error is pointing to a .dll makes me thinking Windows has a lock on one of the core files needed for LaunchBox to run. Can you run this command in powershell on your LaunchBox directory. This will bulk unblock files via powershell To be safe, run it on the new test install that you created first to see if it helps. Keep me posted

Hiya, thanks for the report here. Let's try a few things to get you sorted: - Regarding plugins, if you navigate to your LaunchBox directory and then temporarily move your Plugins directory to a different location, does that allow LaunchBox to load?

Hi there, thanks for the reports and apologies for any issues caused here. We've identified 2 issues with Big Box, and already have a fix for the black screen issues mentioned. We've published more details in a known issues post here: You can also follow the known issue posts here to be notified once this is available: https://feedback.launchbox.gg/p/big-box-background-images-not-appearing-in-platform-view https://feedback.launchbox.gg/p/big-box-platform-wheel-not-rendering-until-scrolling We'll keep those posts updated once we have a hot-fix ready. Appreciate you bearing with us here and apologies once again for the issues here

Hi there, thanks for the reports and apologies for any issues caused here. We've identified 2 issues with Big Box, and already have a fix for the background images issue you're experiencing. We've published more details in a known issues post here: You can also follow the known issue post here to be notified once this is available: https://feedback.launchbox.gg/p/big-box-background-images-not-appearing-in-platform-view We'll keep that post updated once we have a hot-fix ready. Appreciate you bearing with us here and apologies once again for the issues here

Hi Folks, thanks for the reports and apologies for any issues caused here. We've identified 2 issues with Big Box, and already have a fix for the background images issue you're experiencing. We've published more details in a known issues post here: We'll keep that post updated once we have a hot-fix ready. I totally understand the frustration as these we're not present in beta-3, and we've elaborated on this in the above post. Thanks for bearing with us there, I'll keep y'all posted as we get these fixed up.

Value really loves keeping us on our toes... turns out although the original change that was made to Steam trailers was addressed in beta-3, and NEW change was introduced with how Steam handles trailers right around the time of release, which renders them unusable again. We've gone ahead and documented the current known issues here, in it we elaborate on the new changes made to Steam and how that manifests For anyone seeing issues with Big Box (particularly vertical wheels and background images), we've identified those issues too and are working on a hotfix. Details are outlined in that post. You can also follow the individual known issue reports to be notified once those are ready. Thanks for bearing with us there, and appreciate the reports

⚠️ Known Issues in LaunchBox 13.25 Thanks again to everyone who’s been reporting issues since the 13.25 release. We want to be transparent about some reported issues, why it happened, and what we’re doing next. There are three confirmed issues we’re currently tracking, and we will continue to add new ones as they are discovered. We also suggest upvoting the known issue reports, since that will subscribe you to updates, where you can stay informed on their progress If you are aware of any other changes introduced in 13.25 that are either not working as expected or were not present in 13.25 beta-3, please let us know and we'll be sure to look into these ASAP. ──────────────────────────── 🎬 Steam Trailers Not Downloading Known Issue Report Steam Trailers Unavailable Due to New Steam API Changes Steam trailers are currently unavailable to download in LaunchBox. Earlier this year, Steam made changes to how trailers were exposed via their API. We addressed that change during the 13.25 beta cycle (around Beta 3), and at the time, everything was working as expected. Unfortunately, Steam has since made additional sweeping changes, fully removing direct trailer video files and replacing them with streaming based formats (DASH/HLS and microtrailers). This happened very close to release and after beta testing had wrapped up. What this means: LaunchBox no longer finds any downloadable trailers via Steam because Steam doesn’t have them available anymore Steam Trailers may not appear as an available media type Bulk imports may still show the option, but nothing will download This one is largely bad timing, not a regression introduced by new LaunchBox code. 🔧 Next steps: Supporting Steam trailers again will require a larger overhaul of how we retrieve and process them. This won’t be part of a small hotfix. ──────────────────────────── 🖼️ Big Box Background Images Not Appearing (Older Themes) Known Issue Report Big Box Background Images Not Appearing in Platform View Some Big Box themes on the Platform View that rely on a specific background element, may show nothing in the background where images should appear. The element contains a number of media type priorities depending on user settings including Platform Theme Videos, Random Game Videos, Platform Background Fanart images Random Game Background Fanart images. Important details: Background videos still work Background images do not Modern themes will still be affected when using this element, but are hit less hard if using multiple background layers with their own fallbacks Older themes that rely on this single background element are hit hardest 🔧 Next steps: A fix has already been identified and is being tested for a hotfix. ──────────────────────────── 🎡 Big Box Platform Wheel Missing or Not Rendering Known Issue Report Big Box Platform Wheel Not Rendering Until Scrolling Some users may see the platform wheel missing when entering a view, only appearing after scrolling. What we know: Only affects old vertical coverflow style wheels Horizontal wheels are unaffected The new-styled coverflow wheels are unaffected 🔧 Next steps: We’re actively testing a fix and expect this to be addressed alongside the background image issue. ──────────────────────────── 🧭 Section Sidebar Cannot Be Shown or Hidden Some users have reported that the section sidebar can no longer be toggled on or off after updating to LaunchBox 13.25. In this state: • The menu option to show or hide the section sidebar does nothing • The Ctrl + S shortcut has no effect • Users who previously had the sidebar hidden may now be unable to turn it back on • Users who always had the sidebar enabled may not notice the issue Other UI toggles (such as enabling the Game Details pane) continue to work as expected. This issue does not occur in 13.25 Beta 3 and was introduced in the final release due to an internal logic error during code cleanup. 🔧 Next steps: The issue has already been fixed internally and is going through review. The fix will be included in an upcoming hotfix or hotfix beta. ──────────────────────────── Why These Issues Slipped Through We want to clarify this part, as we’ve seen some understandable frustration around why these issues weren’t caught during Beta 3. In December, prior to the holiday break, we made a set of internal code cleanup changes. These were intended to be low risk, focusing on modernising syntax, improving formatting, and updating some internal disposal logic, rather than changing behaviour or adding new functionality. Because these changes were not expected to affect runtime behaviour, and after running internal testing, we were comfortable letting them ship as part of 13.25. In hindsight, that was the mistake. What this release has shown us is that even changes that look purely internal can still have unintended side effects, particularly in older Big Box themes that rely on legacy elements. Going forward, we’re committing to the following: Any changes touching rendering or lifecycle logic will go through beta testing, regardless of perceived risk Internal refactors will be treated with the same caution as user-facing changes This may slow release cycles slightly, but it’s the right trade-off for stability That’s on us, and we appreciate everyone’s patience while we get things back on track. ──────────────────────────── What’s Next A hotfix release is being prioritised to address: Background images not appearing Platform wheel rendering issues Steam trailer support will require a longer term solution due to Steam’s API changes We’ll keep this thread updated as fixes are confirmed and scheduled Thanks for sticking with us and for the detailed reports, they genuinely help us move faster on this stuff.