Update: I was able to identify the problem. The issue was caused by error code 0xc0000007b which appeared sporadically when launching via Steam and immediately when starting the Battlefield 4 .exe directly. The root cause was missing or corrupted Microsoft C++ Redistributable Packages. I managed to fix it by installing an All-in-One Microsoft C++ Redistributable package that includes all necessary versions. I’m afraid I can’t post a direct link here, but just search for "All-in-One Package Microsoft C++", and you should find it. 🙏 Big thanks to that one Reddit post for the help...
idk if this is still active but ive gotten through installing the redistributable package and still the same issue. preparing preparing then green launch button on steam D;
