Try to run it with administrator privilege. Sometimes normal running of steam service results in this issue. Suppose if you are getting this error for a genuine version of the game, you need to run the steam service as mentioned in the error message. Steam Fatal Error Solution for games with valid activation It was initially developed to work with Microsoft Windows platform and later expanded the service to Mac OS, Linux and for gaming consoles. The official website declared that there are nearly 100 million people in the Steam Community among which you can make matches and share achievements. This service is very useful when you are about to play a game which has online multiplayer supports. Steam service is filled with more than 3,500 games, using this service, the user can easily install, update and share their achievements. Steam is an online digital distribution platform under the control of Valve Corporation which aims better user experience for game addicts. Here I am attaching the screenshot of all the files that I have with the game. I had searched a lot and didn’t get and didn’t got any satisfactory answered. I have 4 GB of RAM and 2 GB of Nvidia Graphics card. I had reinstalled the game three times and still getting this same Fatal error every time I open the game. I got this from my friend and there is no issue with my friend to play this game. The secret is that, it is a cracked version by Skidrow team. Last day, I had met with an error message with content as “Steam must be running to play this game” while opening Call of Duty – Black Ops 1. Please have a look at what Brian messaged to us. Within few hours, our team had found the reason and suggest him the solution. This error was noticed by Brian Cooper from Nigeria. Probably after the game installation, you try to open it, an error message with title “Fatal Error” and body as “ Steam must be running to play this game.” will prompt out. It is related to an error that you may have seen after the game installation. Today we are with another tricky problem.