Tomb Raider 2013 Steam Must Be Running To Play This Game

Windows sometimes secretly redirects writes to Program Files into a virtual store. If Steam previously wrote files there, the real steam_api.dll might be ignored.

Sometimes, the error isn't about permissions but about a missing puzzle piece. The file responsible for the Steam integration is usually named steam_api.dll or similar. If this file has been accidentally deleted, corrupted by a hard drive error, or flagged and quarantined by an antivirus, the game cannot detect Steam. Tomb raider 2013 steam must be running to play this game

On newer hardware, the game may struggle with DirectX 11. You can force it to use via the Registry Editor by navigating to Windows sometimes secretly redirects writes to Program Files