How to fix black screen on startup error in Diablo 4

For most gamers with modern SSDs, Diablo 4 should load swiftly into its main menu. But some players across PC, PS5, and Xbox platforms are encountering a frustrating black screen on startup error.

This error doesn’t have an error code and it’s characterized by an unusually long period of darkness when launching the game. This error impacts players on all platforms, whether it’s PS5, Xbox, and PC.

How do you fix the black screen on startup error in Diablo 4?

The best fix for the black screen on startup error in Diablo 4 is restarting the game. But this won’t be an ordinary restart as there are a few steps you should complete before relaunching the game.

On PC:

• Open the Task Manager.
• End the processes of all Diablo 4 and Battle.net-related tasks.
• Launch Battle.net and start Diablo 4.

On PS5 and Xbox:

• Check for pending Diablo 4 updates.
• Turn off your console and unplug it for a few minutes.
• Start your console again and turn off VRR before launching Diablo 4.

While PS5 and Xbox players will be limited to this fix, PC users have a few more options. If you still can’t get through Diablo 4’s black screen on startup error on PC, you should find the “LocalPrefs.txt” file located inside “Documents – Diablo IV.” Open this file as a text file and change the values for “Adapter” and “DisableChromaEffects” both from zero to one.

Alternatively, you can also add a launch setting on your Battle.net launcher. Click on the cog icon next to the Play button for Diablo 4 and choose Game Settings. Find the “Additional command line arguments” section and add the “-bypassgpudrivercheck” command while leaving out the quotes.

What causes the black screen on startup error in Diablo 4?

The black screen on startup error appears because of a buggy process that runs as players start Diablo 4. On PC, this looks to be a process that checks the user’s GPU drivers. When it comes to consoles, this error often appears after new patches, signaling a mismatch between newly installed files and the startup scans.

If you encounter this error on PC, you should also download the latest available drivers for your graphics card. Once you’re finally in the game, you can celebrate your return by collecting all the pets in Diablo 4.