Helldivers 2has been a smashing success across all supported platforms, so much so that itsservers are finding it hardto accommodate the growing number of players each day. If that seems unbelievable, then know that the cooperative shooter has already passedDestiny’s all-time concurrent player counton PC. The popularity is the same on the side of PlayStation as well, where the sequel hasoutperformed the likes ofCall of DutyandFortnite.
With hundreds of thousands of players trying to log in at the same time, server-led connection issues are a common sight. The black screen of death, for example, is something most players have started facing on launch inHelldivers 2following apatch to address crashes. Luckily, there are a few workarounds that you can try.
How to Fix the Black Screen on Startup in Helldivers 2
The black screen is a technical error that locks you out of the game on start-up. This is believed to be because of an issue with launchingHelldivers 2in fullscreen mode.
When the black screen hits, your game will immediately freeze without giving any audio feedback, leaving you with no choice but to hard exit by pressing Alt+F4 on your keyboard. If you are facing this issue, here is what you can do:
Wait it Out
There is a good chance that the black screen gets removed after a few minutes. All you have to do is wait patiently without switching between your desktop and the game. The waiting period is random, with some players seeing the main menu in as early as 2–3 minutes.
Edit Your Config File
The best way to fix the black screen on startup is to stopHelldivers 2from launching in fullscreen. Since you cannot access the in-game display settings, you must manually edit the configuration file on your PC.
The “user-settings.config” file can be found inside “C:\Users\User-Name\AppData\Roaming\Arrowhead\Helldivers2” on your system. Make sure to enable the Windows view settings to see all hidden items. Open the config file using Notepad or any text-editing app, and change the fullscreen field from true to false.
You can also just delete the config file to fix the black screen error. That will launchHelldivers 2in default settings, so you will have totweak your PC graphics settingsall over again.
If you are facing a black screen all the time, remember to exitHelldivers 2after switching to borderless window mode. This ensures that you do not have to tweak/delete your config file every time.
Verify Your Steam Game Files
There is no harm in verifying your game to fix missing or broken files. This is also one of the last resorts players can rely on when facing launch issues in games. Open your Steam Library and right-click onHelldivers 2to access the “Properties” option. Head into the “Installed Files” tab to verify the integrity of your game files.
