Valheim Black Screen on Startup Fix Guide

Valheim is a great PC survival game set in a vast open-world full of wonders and vicious enemies, such as trolls, draugr, and wolves. Though four million players have already taken to their mighty longships in search of new biomes to build bases in, Valheim is still in Early Access and has its share of issues. Outside of the occasional game crashes, one of the biggest issues players have experienced is a black screen when launching the game.

This guide will (hopefully) provide you with a couple of methods on how to fix a black screen on startup in Valheim.

The main reason for a black screen at startup is that the game’s graphics settings may be interfering with and causing some problems for certain video cards or graphics drivers. The two methods below have worked well for many Valheim players, so they may work for you as well!

How to Fix Black Screen on Startup in Valheim

Method 1: Switch to Windowed Mode

Most players prefer to play their games in full screen mode, but Valheim doesn’t have a genuine full screen mode and runs in either “windowed full screen” or simply “windowed.” This is the main setting that causes black screen issues for many players.

Try the following:

1. Start the game
2. Press Alt+Enter when the black screen appears
3. Wait for windowed mode to activate

To avoid this problem in the future, switch to permanent full screen mode by following these steps:

1. Go to Steam
2. Right-click on Valheim in your game library
3. Select the “Properties” option
4. Go to the “General” tab
5. Add the following line to the launch options: -screen-fullscreen 1

Close the Properties tab and launch the game. This setting should now always launch your game in full screen mode.

Method 2: Switch Between Windows

If the previous method didn’t work, you’ll need to switch between windows when launchingValheim. Here’s how:

1. Open any window (e.g. the Steam app)
2. Launch Valheim
3. Press Alt+Tab during the black screen
4. Press Alt+Tab again to go back to the game’s window

This simple switch between windows should help eliminate the black screen effect. But you will have to repeat this process during each startup, before playing Valheim.

That’s all you need to know on how to fix Valheim’s black screen on startup. For more on this Viking survival world from Iron Gate AB and Coffee Stain Studios, consider heading over to our guides on deflecting attacks, mining copper ore, and how to get rid of unwanted items.