Microsoft has extended the support timeline. The “Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable” fully replaces and supersedes the standalone 2015-2019 version. If you install the 2022 version, it covers all applications built with Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022.
(Note: Although the URL mentions "vs/17" (Visual Studio 2022), this installer is backwards compatible and includes support for 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022. It is the correct file for the 2015-2019 package.)
In this comprehensive guide, we will explain exactly what this package is, why you need the x64 version, how to download it safely from official sources, and how to troubleshoot common installation issues. Before diving into the download, it is crucial to understand what this software does. The Visual C++ Redistributable is a set of runtime library files required by applications built with Microsoft Visual Studio (versions 2015, 2017, and 2019). When a developer writes a program in C++, they use standard libraries. Instead of embedding those libraries into every single program (which would waste disk space and memory), the program calls upon the Redistributable package.
If you are an avid PC gamer, a software developer, or simply someone who installs a lot of desktop applications on Windows, you have almost certainly run into a cryptic error message that reads: “The program can't start because VCRUNTIME140.dll is missing” or “MSVCP140.dll was not found.” The solution to this problem almost always lies in one specific file: the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 to 2019 Redistributable Package (x64) .