Encountering a black screen when launching any game is even more disconcerting than when it simply crashes to the desktop, and this is something you’ve probably experienced in Helldivers 2. This guide has every known fix for the black screen on launch error with Helldivers 2.
UPDATED April 16
Helldivers 2 Black Screen On Startup Fixes
Surprisingly, there are multiple reasons for the black screen of death on launching Helldivers 2, and not all of them are related to GPU issues. Whether the black screen simply freezes, or sends you crashing back to the desktop, here are a couple of things to try.
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Helldivers 2 Black Screen On Startup Error Fix
Disconnect PlayStation Controller
For some odd reason, having a PlayStation controller plugged-in appears to cause the issue for some people on Steam PC. Even connecting the controller mid-game can cause the issue to occur. The post below has a perfect step by step guide to resolving the issue.
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Reset Config File
You can force the game to reset its settings to default. Navigate to C:\Users\[your PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Arrowhead\Helldivers2 and rename user_settings.config to user_settings.config.old or anything of your choice. This will create the config file anew, and should resolve the black screen glitch.
While users on the SteamCommunity that have had success with this method generally recommend deleting the file, you’re better off renaming it just to be safe.
Windowed Or Fullscreen Mode
Alternatively, you can try modifying that config file yourself, switching the fullscreen setting to ‘false’. This can mitigate the black screen issue by launching the game in a borderless window.
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Verify Game Files
That most common fix for Steam games that are experiencing technical issues. A corrupted installation is said to be the cause of the problem for some players on Steam PC. You may want to either perform a fresh install, or simply use the “Verify integrity of game files” function by right-clicking Helldivers 2 -> Properties -> Installed Files. Here’s a detailed guide to verifying game file integrity from Steam itself.
As an added aside, always make sure the game is updated. Since Helldivers 2 is an online-only, Games-as-a-Service (GaaS) title, if your game version isn’t synced with the server, you will not be able to login properly.
Helldivers 2 Black Screen AMD GPU Specific Fix
AMD 7000 series GPU owners have a particular issue with Helldivers 2, and this Steam Community user details a step by step tutorial to fix both black screen on launch as well as persistent crashes.
That’s every known fix for the black screen on launch error in Helldivers 2.
