Valorant Black Screen on startup on Windows PC [Fix]

Is the Valorant game stuck at a black screen on its startup on your Windows PC? Many Valorant players have complained that when launching Valorant, it gets stuck and keeps showing a black screen. Some users have also reported getting a black screen during the gameplay. The issue annoys the players as it keeps them from playing the game.

Now, if you are one of the affected users who keeps getting a black screen on Valorant on its startup, you have landed on the correct page. Here, we will discuss fixes that will help you get rid of the black screen problem in Valorant and play the game smoothly. So, without much ado, let us get straight to the solutions.

Before we mention fixes, let us try and understand the scenario that might cause the black screen issue.

What causes a black screen in Valorant on startup?

Here are the potential causes why you get a black screen in Valorant on its startup:

• If your graphics driver is not up-to-date or is corrupted or faulty, you will likely get the issue at hand. If the scenario is applicable, try updating or reinstalling the graphics driver to its latest version.
• Missing administrator rights to play the game can also trigger the black screen problem. So, relaunch the game with admin rights to fix the issue.
• If you are not running the game on your dedicated GPU card, you might experience the problem at hand. This happens when you have more than one graphics card on your computer. Hence, if the scenario applies, you can try running the game on a dedicated GPU card.
• Overclocked GPU can also cause the problem at hand. So, stop overclocking and then check if the problem is resolved.
• Your antivirus might be interfering with the game and stopping it from launching properly. Hence, disable your antivirus temporarily or add Valorant to the exclusion list to resolve the problem.

Fix Valorant Black Screen on startup on Windows PC

Here are the fixes you can try if you get a black screen in Valorant on startup on your Windows 11/10 PC:

1. Make sure your graphics driver is updated.
2. Run Valorant as an administrator.
3. Tweak the display mode.
4. Run Valorant on a dedicated graphics card.
5. Set up the environment variables.
6. Disable overclocking.
7. Temporarily disable your antivirus.

1] Make sure your graphics driver is updated

The first and foremost thing you should ensure is that your graphics driver is updated. You will likely face display issues like a black screen when starting Valorant and more if you have an outdated and corrupted graphics driver on your system. So, you must update your graphics drivers to their latest version to fix this issue.

There are different means of updating your graphics driver on your Windows PC.

• You can use the default method provided by Microsoft. It has given an Optional Updates feature which is present under the Settings app > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional Updates section. From here, you can download and install updates for graphics as well as other device drivers.
• You can also use the Device Manager app to do the same.
• Or, go to the official device manufacturer’s website and download the latest graphics driver.
• There are multiple free third-party driver update software if you want to use an automatic way of updating drivers.

Once done updating your graphics drivers, try relaunching Valorant and see if the black screen issue is gone or not. If not, you can try the next potential fix to resolve the problem.

Read: Fix VALORANT game client error codes 43, 7 on Windows.

2] Run Valorant as an administrator

It is recommended to launch the Valorant game as an administrator and see if the problem is fixed. Lack of necessary admin rights to run the game can also cause the issue at hand. Hence, relaunching the game with administrator privilege can resolve the problem. To do that, you can follow the below steps:

1. Firstly, right-click on the Valorant program icon on the desktop, and from the context menu, select the Properties option.
2. Now, in the Properties window, go to the Compatibility tab.
3. After that, checkmark the Run this program as an administrator option.
4. Next, press the Apply > OK button to save changes.
5. Finally, relaunch Valorant and see if the black screen still appears on the startup.

If this method doesn’t help, there are more solutions that you can try. So, move on to the next potential fix.

Also read: Fix VALORANT failed to launch on Windows PC.

3] Tweak the display mode

You can try changing the display mode and see if the problem is fixed. Press the Alt and Enter key combination to switch between Windowed and Fullscreen mode. This workaround has fixed the problem for some affected users and might work for you as well. If switching the display mode doesn’t resolve the problem, go ahead and use the next potential fix.

4] Run Valorant on a dedicated graphics card

In case there are two graphics cards on your system, try running the Valorant game on your dedicated GPU card. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, here is how you can do that:

1. Firstly, press the right-click on your desktop and select the NVIDIA Control Panel option.
2. Now, click on the 3D settings > Manage 3D settings option from the left pane.
3. Next, go to the Program Settings tab and tap on the Add button.
4. After that, select the Valorant game and click on the Add Select Program button.
5. Then, set the preferred graphics processor to High-performance NVIDIA processor.
6. Finally, press the Apply button to save changes.

You can now try relaunching the Valorant game and see if the problem is gone or not.

See: Fix VALORANT Vanguard error codes 128, 57 on Windows.

5] Set up the environment variables

Environment variables make it easier to configure apps. You can try configuring environment variables and see if the Valorant black screen on startup issue is fixed. Here’s how to do that:

1. Firstly, press the search option on your taskbar and type environment variables.
2. Now, from the appeared search results, choose Edit the system environment variables.
3. Next, press the Environment Variables button and click on the New button under System variables.
4. After that, in the pop-up window, enter the following text and press the OK button.
   Variable name: OPENSSL_ia32cap
   Variable value: ~0x200000200000000
5. Finally, restart the game and see if it works fine or not.

If this doesn’t work, you can try the next potential solution to fix the issue.

Read: Fix VALORANT connection error codes VAN 135, 68, 81

6] Disable overclocking

The issue at hand could be a result of an overclocked GPU. Overclocking is handy and usually boosts up graphics performance. But, it can also trigger stability issues with your apps. Hence, try disabling overclocking on your PC and check if the problem is resolved. If the problem remains the same, you can try the next potential solution to fix it.

7] Temporarily disable your antivirus

You can also try disabling your antivirus for some time and see if you can run Valorant without the black screen issue. The issue could very much be facilitated due to antivirus interference. There are instances where your antivirus detects some processes as malicious because of a false positive alarm and causes issues like this. So, you can test the same by turning off your antivirus temporarily.

If it works, you can be sure your antivirus was at fault. In that case, you can add the Valorant program to the exception or exclusion list of your antivirus.

Read: Fix VALORANT Error Code 31 and 84

How do I fix Valorant black screen on startup?

To fix the Valorant black screen on startup, first of all, ensure that you have the most recent version of your graphics driver on your PC. Apart from that, you can try running the game as an administrator, running the game on a dedicated GPU card, switching the display mode, stopping overclocking, or disabling your antivirus.

We have shared all these fixes in detail above, so checkout.

How do I fix my black screen?

If you get Black Screen of Death on Windows 11/10, make sure all your connections are proper and secure, and try to wake your device. Besides that, check your default display mode reinstall or roll back your display drivers, close RunOnce processes, or unplug USB devices.

Why is my PC showing a black screen?

You might get a black screen on your PC if you have an out-of-date or corrupted graphics driver on your system. Besides that, it could also be caused due to a buggy update or hardware problems. So, make sure you have updated graphics drivers and make sure physical connections are correct and secure.

I hope this helps.

Now read: Fix Invalid Access to Memory Location Error on VALORANT.