How To Fix Elden Ring Black Screen on Startup

Are you seeing Elden Ring black screen while playing? You can move the game cursor and hear the music playing, but can’t see anything. Are you looking for a solution to fix Elden Ring flickering black screen boxes issue.

Many players have reported that while playing black screen pops up where they see compass and yellow floating particles. Elder Ring is the latest game released for PC and PS that’s why there are multiple bugs and performance related issues.

We have already covered Elden Ring Stuttering On PC, Elden Ring Crashing on PC, and Elden Ring Not Launching issues. In this post we have explained the solution to resolve Elden Ring black screen on Startup or while loading.

What causes Elden Ring black screen?

The causes of black screen while playing Elden Ring are numerous however outdated graphics card is most prominent one. Also, corrupted game files, outdated Windows, in-game overlay features, and Xbox game bar can be the main reason triggering the problem. Outdated game is another main reason behind the flickering issue.

How to fix Elden Ring black screen on startup

If you are seeing black screen while playing Elden Ring on PC then apply the below mentioned fixes.

Fix 1. Launch the game in windowed mode

We have found this solution on Reddit thread titled Elden Ring on PC does not launch, after starting, stuck in black screen with nothing but cursor.

A user suggested that playing the game in Windowed mode fixes the flickering or black screen issue. So when the deal with this problem simply press Alt+Enter at the same time while the game is running.

This command let you switch between the windowed mode and full-screen mode. If this isn’t working then follow these steps:

• Open your Steam Library.
  Right-click Elden Ring and select Properties….
• On the GENERAL tab, you’ll find the Launch Options section.
• Enter this parameter to open the game in windowed mode: -windowed
• Close the Properties window and launch the game.

Fix 2. Update your graphics card

The Elden Ring black screen also occurs while playing on PC if you have outdated or corrupted graphics driver. You need to update graphics driver It will not only fixes the potential issue but will also increase the performance.

The NVIDIA/AMD releases game specific graphics drivers you can download them on your PC by visiting their websites. In case you don’t have proper set of skills or time then we recommend you to download Driver Easy on your PC.

The Driver Easy is a PC driver updater software that automatically scans and install the outdated drivers in your Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Just install this software and run it on your PC, it will scan and gives you a list of outdated drivers. Just click on update button and it will install the latest version instantly.

Try downloading Driver Easy Trial Version on your PC.

Fix 3. Verify game files on Steam

Using Steam you can verify missing or corrupted game files that will help you fix Elden Ring black screen. Follow these steps:

• Open your Steam Library.
• Right-click Elden Ring and select Properties….
• Select the LOCAL FILES tab and click Verify integrity of game files….

Fix 4. Disable Steam overlay

Progams that have overlay features sometimes causes conflict, triggering Elden Ring black screen. make sure that you have disabled overlay before playing the game.

Follow these steps to disable Steam overlay:

• Go to your Steam Library.
• Right-click Elden Ring and select Properties….
• On the GENERAL tab, uncheck the box Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.
• Close the Properties window and launch the game.

Fix 5. Turn off Xbox game bar

Windows 10 and Windows 11 have built in feature called XBOX that let users to record and share gameplay. If you have activated this features then it may be causing conflict with Elden Ring.

Try to diable it:

• Open the Windows Settings.
• Click on the Gaming option present at the left panel of the screen.
• Choose Xbox game bar.
• Toggle off the Open Xbox game bar using this button on a controller option.

Fix 6. Lower in-game graphics settings

If you are playing game with insufficient system requirements then you should try to lower the in game graphics settings. Open game go to its graphics settings and make sure all settings are set to low.

In most cases if you have set the Effect Quality high you will see black screen. Set it to low and everything else can go on high and it seems to be fine