Helldivers 2 - How to fix Black Screen on startup

Helldivers 2 has been a huge success since its launch, but it's not been without its issues, with many struggling to get onto servers that were never expected to handle the hundreds of thousands of players that are trying to jump in and save Super Earth.

These server issues manifest in a number of ways, but most commonly, Helldivers 2 players are reporting they are simply met with a "black screen" when attempting to play in the game. In this guide, we'll show you how to fix the black screen on startup.

How to fix the black screen on startup in Helldivers 2 

This error, which locks players out of the game on startup, is attributed to launching Helldivers 2 in fullscreen mode. The black screen freezes the game without audio feedback, forcing players to hard exit the game. Fortunately, a few users encountering this issue have found some workarounds.

Wait for the main menu to show up

Your first option is to wait it out, as the black screen may resolve itself after a few minutes, allowing players to access the main menu. 

Prevent Helldivers 2 from launching on full screen

You can manually edit the "user_settings.config" file located in "C:\Users\User-Name\AppData\Roaming\Arrowhead\Helldivers2" to prevent the game from launching in fullscreen. Deleting the config file is also a viable solution, initiating Helldivers 2 in default settings, with players needing to readjust graphics settings.

Players facing persistent black screens should exit Helldivers 2 after switching to borderless window mode, eliminating the need to tweak or delete the config file repeatedly. Additionally, verifying the game files through Steam provides a potential fix for missing or broken files. By right-clicking on Helldivers 2 in the Steam Library and accessing the "Properties" option, you can navigate to the "Installed Files" tab to verify the integrity of their game files.

And those are the fixes we found for the black screen on startup in Helldivers 2. For more content, check out news about upcoming DLC and how it's going to be more ambitious than initially planned.