No audio when playing Oxygen Not Included
If you are able to run the game, but cannot hear any audio (even if sound levels are set in your game's options), here are a couple of troubleshooting steps that may be of help:
Administrator Permissions
Ensure that your Windows user account has been set to have proper/full administrator permissions to access and read/write game files to your storage drive. More information: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/manage-user-accounts-in-windows-104dc19f-6430-4b49-6a2b-e4dbd1dcdf32
Update your audio drivers:
Ensure that your computer's audio drivers have been updated to the latest version.
Windows Operating System update
Ensure that your Windows operating system has been updated to the latest version, so that previous bugs or issues are fixed, if there were any. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/install-windows-updates-3c5ae7fc-9fb6-9af1-1984-b5e0412c556a
Audio Output
Ensure that the audio output that Windows is using when playing the game is the one that your speakers/headphones need in order for them to be able to output sound. More information on setting the default audio output on Windows here: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-manage-sound-settings-windows-11
Temporarily disable after-market audio software:
If you have any after-market audio software such as ASUS Sonic Studio (SS3Svc32 / SS3Scv64), Nahimic 3D Sound, Nahimic 2, nVidia Software installed, try temporarily disabling the software - and if it continues - try uninstalling it to see if that resolves the audio issue.
Windows audio troubleshooting
Follow these audio output troubleshooting steps for Windows devices: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/fix-sound-or-audio-problems-in-windows-73025246-b61c-40fb-671a-2535c7cd56c8
Should the issue persist after following the steps listed above, please try the steps below, depending on your Windows operating system:
WINDOWS 10:
a) Go into your Windows Audio Settings;
b) select "Change other sound settings";
c) Click on PLAYBACK tab and right-click your default audio playback setting and choose "Properties"
d) Click on the "Advanced" tab and on "Default Format", scroll down the list and set the value to 24-bit, 48000Hz.
e) Click on the "Apply" button to complete the change.
WINDOWS 11:
a) Go into your Sound Settings;
b) Scroll down and select "More sound settings";
c) Click on PLAYBACK tab and right-click your default audio playback setting and choose "Properties"
d) Click on the "Advanced" tab and on "Default Format", scroll down the list and set the value to 24-bit, 48000Hz (Studio Quality).
e) Click on the "Apply" button to complete the change.
From there, launch the game once more and you should find that the audio is back in order.