Click on and select the Gear (Options) icon next to the Play button. Choose Game Settings .
: The game client may be set to a different language than the Battle.net launcher, forcing a slow download of high-quality audio files. starcraft 2 preparing game data link
If the game lacks the permissions to write new data to your drive, it will hang indefinitely. Preparing game data - Technical Support - SC2 Forums Click on and select the Gear (Options) icon
The "Preparing Game Data" screen in is a notorious bottleneck that often appears after a patch or when changing language settings . While it is technically a normal part of the game's file verification and update process, many players experience a bug where it downloads at abysmally slow speeds (often 5–300 KB/s) or appears every single time the game is launched. Why This Happens If the game lacks the permissions to write
Ensure both and Spoken Language are set to the same thing (e.g., English).
Corrupted temporary files are a frequent culprit for stuck downloads. Press Windows Key + R , type %APPDATA% , and press Enter. Delete the and Blizzard folders.
If you use a non-English language, try switching both to first to see if the download completes, then switch back to your native language. Step 2: Use the SC2 Switcher to Bypass the Launcher