Fix “The Following Modules Are Missing or Built With a Different Engine Version”

Table of Contents

Works in Unreal Engine 5.0 to 5.8. Updated October 2026.

Quick answer: the project (or one of its plugins) has C++ code that wasn’t built for your engine version, so Unreal asks to rebuild it.

  1. Click Yes if you have Visual Studio with C++ installed. Unreal rebuilds and opens the project.
  2. If the rebuild fails, close Unreal, right-click your .uproject file and choose Generate Visual Studio project files.
  3. Open the .sln file, set the build to Development Editor and Win64, then build. Visual Studio shows the exact error if something is wrong.

Why this happens

You’ll see this message when:

  • you open a project in a newer engine version than it was made with,
  • you download a project or plugin that contains C++ code but no compiled files for your version,
  • you pull a project from Git (the compiled files usually aren’t in Git).

It’s normal. The code just needs building once for your engine version.

No Visual Studio installed?

You need a compiler to rebuild C++ code. Install Visual Studio 2022 (Community is free) and tick these workloads in the installer:

  • Game development with C++
  • Desktop development with C++

Then follow the quick answer steps above.

“Could not be compiled. Try rebuilding from source manually”

Clicking Yes didn’t work. Do steps 2 and 3 from the quick answer. When Visual Studio shows errors, start with the first error in the Output window. The others are usually caused by it.

If you opened the project in a newer engine, the first error is often in your Target.cs files. Update them to the new settings:

				
					DefaultBuildSettings = BuildSettingsVersion.Latest;
IncludeOrderVersion = EngineIncludeOrderVersion.Latest;

The missing module is a plugin

  • A plugin from Fab or the Marketplace: install the plugin version made for your engine version. Plugins in the engine folder can’t be rebuilt by clicking Yes (“Engine modules cannot be compiled at runtime”).
  • You don’t need the plugin: open the .uproject in a text editor and set the plugin’s "Enabled" to false, or remove the plugin folder from your project’s Plugins folder.
  • VisualStudioTools or VisualStudioBlueprintDebuggerHelper is missing: these come from the Visual Studio Integration Tool plugin. Install it for your engine version from Fab, or disable it in the .uproject.

Blueprint-only project?

If your project has no C++ of its own, the missing module is almost always a plugin. Remove or disable that plugin as described above, and you won’t need Visual Studio.

FAQ

Is it safe to click Yes?

Yes. It only builds the project’s own code. If it fails, nothing is lost.

Should I delete the Binaries and Intermediate folders?

It can help when a build gets stuck, because Unreal rebuilds them from scratch. Never delete the Source or Content folders.

Why does it ask every time I open the project?

The build keeps failing. Build from Visual Studio once to see and fix the error.

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