[Shipping Build Error] Failed to open descriptor file …/…/…/RemappedPlugins/game.uproject

Development Platform & Builds
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Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling with an issue for about two weeks, and I’m really hoping someone here can provide some insight or suggestions. I’m attempting to package my game in a Shipping configuration, but I keep running into the following error after the game is packaged and when I run the .exe:

Failed to open descriptor file ../../../RemappedPlugins/game.uproject

Which is weird indeed. By packaging the game I don’t expect to leave the .uproject file anywhere in the packaged directory. It should require only game files and the executable. There are no build or package errors or warnings at this point.

What I’ve Tried So Far:

  1. Sample Project Packaging: I created and packaged a sample project without any plugins, and it worked perfectly. The sample project did not include a RemappedPlugins folder, so it seems to be specific to my main project.

  2. Copying the .uproject File: When I manually copy the .uproject file from my project folder to the expected location (../../../RemappedPlugins/), I get the following error instead:

    LowLevelFatalError [File:D:\build\++UE5\Sync\Engine\Source\Runtime\Core\Private\Internationalization\ICUInternationalization.cpp] [Line: 156] 
ICU data directory was not discovered:
../../../RemappedPlugins/Content/Internationalization
../../../Engine/Content/Internationalization

Note: There’s no such directory on my PC as D:\build\*

  1. Rebuilding & Fixing Warnings: I’ve rebuilt the project multiple times, cleaned up the project directory (including deleting Intermediate, Saved, and DerivedDataCache), and fixed every asset warning, but the problem persists.

  2. Packaging Settings:

    • No Editor Content: I’ve ensured that the Shipping build excludes editor content.
    • No Cook All Content: I’ve also tried packaging without the “Cook All Content” setting.

Despite all these attempts, I’m still stuck with the same error. The project has been in development for some time, so there are various EpicGames plugins and custom assets, which might be contributing to the issue, but nothing is obvious here.

Additional Context:

  • Engine Version: Unreal Engine 5.4.4
  • Target Platform: Windows 10 (64-bit)

If anyone has experienced a similar issue or has any ideas on what else I can try, I would really appreciate your help. I’m out of ideas at this point, and this is blocking any package testing by other people.

Thank you so much for any assistance you can provide!

2

For anyone having the same issue, I found a temporary solution that lets the game run, though I’m not sure if it’s the expected behavior.

Here’s what worked for me:

  1. Disable “Use Pak File” and “Use Io Store”:
    In the Packaging options, I disabled “Use Pak File” and “Use Io Store”. This means the game won’t be packaged into a single .pak file, and instead, uses a more traditional file structure.

  2. Packaging Settings:
    I still encountered an error after packaging, so I made sure to enable “Cook everything in the project content directory” and “Full Rebuild” in the Packaging options.

  3. Fixing the Missing Shader Library Error:
    After packaging, if you get the error about missing shader library files (Game files required to initialize the global shader library are missing from: YourBuildFolder/Windows/RemappedPlugins/Content/), there’s a workaround:

    • With the .exe file, there should be a folder named after your game and a RemappedPlugins directory.
    • Move the “Content” folder from your game directory into the RemappedPlugins directory.

After doing this, the game runs without issues. It might not be the perfect solution, but it works for now.