As others have experienced in this forum, I am running into this same error. Sims 4 will not start, and produces the error:
Unable to start:
Initialization error at start up.
135dec40:etc:etc]
I have read several threads on the subject, but the fixes which worked for others have not worked for me.
Windows 10 Pro v 20H2, fully up to date and so are the drivers
I have performed the following:
1. Verified that CONTROLLED FOLDER ACCESS is turned OFF
2. Uninstalled Origin, run cccleaner to clean up, rebooted, and reinstalled.
3. Uninstalled Sims 4, ccleaner, reboot + reinstall
4. Uninstall Origin AND Sims 4, ccleaner, reboot + reinstall
5. Start Origin and Sims 4 as administrator
6. Start Origin and Sims 4 in compatibility mode for Windows 7 and Windows 8
7. Start Origin and Sims 4 as administrator in compatibility mode for Windows 7 & 8
Dxdiag output attached
Hope you all can help!
EDIT:
I have also completed a repair of the game from within the Origin app. Still receiving the same error when trying to run the game.
EDIT2:
If I switch it to run in 32 bit mode, it simply fails to start, without any error message. Switching it back to 64 bit makes the error return.