How to fix VALORANT black screen on startup error

If you’re being forced to stare at a black screen upon launching VALORANT and have no idea why, we get your frustration. Thankfully, our guide can help solve the notorious VALORANT black screen on startup issue and get you back into action right away.

It’s not uncommon to face a black screen on startup error in online video games like VALORANT. It may show up for you for multiple reasons, including server hiccups, system errors, outdated drivers, and more. Whatever the cause, we’re here to help you pinpoint it and eliminate the VALORANT black screen error with some easy workarounds.

All fixes for VALORANT black screen on startup error

Check servers

Firstly, make sure VALORANT servers aren’t down. Riot mandatorily conducts server maintenance before deploying a patch, so you may run into the black screen upon startup error if you try to launch the game during that. Although rare, the servers may also be unavailable due to a server bug affecting the netcode. 

You can keep track of server downtimes or maintenance updates from the official VALORANT social page on X(formerly Twitter). Alternatively, check if your friends from the same region are facing the same trouble. If yes, it’s likely a widespread issue and not just you.

If you’re getting the black screen error because VALORANT’s servers are down, there’s nothing you can do to solve it. You’ll have to wait for the servers to come back up before you can play the game, so we suggest making a relaxing break out of it before you return to the ranked grind. 

Update graphics drivers and OS

If there’s no server hiccup to blame, check if you’re yet to update your system’s graphics drivers. Outdated graphics drivers are a common cause behind multiple performance-related VALORANT errors, including the black screen on startup error. 

To update graphics drivers, simply download the official driver management app for your GPU—the NVIDIA app for NVIDIA GPUs and the Radeon software for AMD GPUs. You can also manually download the driver from the manufacturer’s website. This is recommended if you suspect a particular driver version is causing more harm than good to your experience and you want to rollback to an old version.

Besides graphics drivers, if you have skipped installing a crucial system update, it could cause black screen errors and performance issues in VALORANT. Make sure Windows is up to date on your PC, and then try to launch the game again.

Disable full-screen optimization

Some players were able to get rid of VALORANT’s black screen error by disabling full-screen optimization. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the launch executable of VALORANT and select Properties.
2. Under Compatibility, check the boxes beside “Disable full-screen optimizations” and “Run this program as an administrator.”
3. Click on Apply and OK. 

Now, check if the issue persists. If you’re still getting the error, try pressing the Alt and Enter keys together or the F11 key a few times.

Disable anti-virus

Anti-viruses can also cause notorious errors in online video games. If you’re using Windows Defender or any other anti-virus, try disabling it temporarily and check if the black screen error persists. If this solves the error, you now know what’s causing it. 

Make sure you allow the VALORANT app through the anti-virus firewall settings. Since it’s an internal factor, we recommend dropping Riot Support a message to address the core cause. 

End VALORANT from the Task Manager and try again

If you’ve been spamming the launch button trying to get the game to open beyond the black screen, you may have opened multiple instances of the game in the process and escalated the issue. To fix this, open Task Manager, and from the list of active processes, right-click on VALORANT and click on End Task. 

Now, try to launch the game again.

Reinstall VALORANT

If you’ve just downloaded VALORANT or a new update and have ruled out the possibility of a server hiccup, the black screen error is probably due to a corrupted game file. We recommend uninstalling VALORANT and reinstalling it to fix the issue.

Contact Riot Support

If none of the above works, we recommend submitting a ticket to Riot Games. Make sure you describe your issue in detail to get personalized solutions from the support team.