How to Fix Palworld Black Screen After Startup

Palworld is a survival adventure game currently in the early access stage, and many players are encountering various issues. Like most video games, Palworld has problems with server connectivity, gaming performance, party joining, Game Pass functionality, and more. Recently, a number of PC players have been facing the Palworld Black Screen issue after starting up the game, regardless of whether they are using Steam or Game Pass.

This black screen problem is a common issue for PC gamers across different games. Lately, the Palworld black screen problem has gained attention in the gaming community, causing disruption to the gaming experience unexpectedly. It should be noted that the black screen issue typically occurs when starting or launching the game on a Windows computer, and it’s hindering several players from logging into the game.

The game’s developer, Pocketpair, has acknowledged the server connectivity issue, attributing it to the number of concurrent players exceeding the required capacity. According to the developers, they are actively working with the Epic Games team to resolve this issue as soon as possible. However, there is uncertainty about the timeline for fixing the server connectivity issue. It’s important to keep in mind that early access games are susceptible to bugs and errors, and it may take some time for the developers to address them.

How to Fix Palworld Black Screen After Startup

The chances are high that somehow you’re encountering the black screen issue in Palworld for the PC version due to some potential reasons. Such as server downtime, interference with third-party applications, antivirus blocking issues, an outdated game patch version, conflicts with the system glitches, corrupted game files, an outdated graphics driver, etc can be possible reasons behind the black screen issue while startup.

Sometimes insufficient admin permission, conflicts with the overlay applications, an outdated Windows system version, issues with the fullscreen optimizations, conflicts with the in-game graphics settings, issues with the game installation, and more can also play a major role to occur black screen issues with the PC games. Now, if you’re also one of the victims to experience such an issue then don’t worry.

Fortunately, there are a couple of workarounds mentioned below that should come in handy. Make sure to follow all troubleshooting methods until the problem has been fixed. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.

1. Force Close and Relaunch the Game

Before performing any other workarounds, you should have to force close the Palworld game and then relaunch it manually by following the steps below. We will suggest the Palworld players exit the game and run it again to check for the issue.

• Close the game and the launcher that you’re using.
• Open the Start menu > Click on Task Manager.
• Go to the Processes tab > Click on the Palworld.exe task.
• Now, click on End Task > Then close the Steam task.
• Restart your PC to apply changes.
• Once done, run the game to check for the issue.

2. Restart the PC

This is recommended to manually reboot the computer by following the steps below to check if the temporary system glitch or cache data issue happening at your end. You should check the following steps to restart your computer to refresh the system.

• Open the Start menu > Click on the Power menu.
• Click on Restart > Wait for the system to reboot.
• Once done, check for the issue further.

3. Run Palworld as an Administrator

The chances are high that somehow your Palworld game application is conflicting with the system admin permission which will trouble a lot. You can check the steps below to run the game as an administrator to ensure there is no issue whatsoever. As this is a one-time process, you don’t need to do this every time.

• Right-click on the Palworld.exe app on your PC.
• Go to Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.

• Enable the Run this program as an administrator checkbox.
• Click on Apply > Click on OK to save changes.
• Once done, run the game again to check for the issue.

4. Update the Palworld Game

Another thing you can do is manually check for the Palworld game updates on your Steam client or the Xbox app by following the steps below. An outdated game patch version can cause multiple issues with the game startup or a black screen on the PC.

For Xbox App:

• Open the Xbox app for PC.
• Go to My Library > Click on the Palworld game.
• Now, click on the More options (…) button.
• Then click on Manage > Select Files.
• Then select Check for updates.

For Steam:

• Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
• Right-click on the Palworld game.
• Click on Properties > Click on Updates.
• Go to Automatic Updates.
• Select Only update this game when I launch it.
• Launch the Palworld game to check for the issue.

5. Verify and Repair the Game Files

The chances are high that somehow your installed game files on the PC can also get corrupted or missing. If you’re also experiencing the same issue then make sure to follow the steps below to repair the game files.

For Xbox App:

• Open the Xbox App for Windows.
• Go to My Library > Select the Palworld game.
• Select the More options (…) button.
• Click on Manage > Select Files.
• Now, click on Verify and Repair.
• Wait for it to complete.
• Once done, reboot the system, and run the game.

For Steam:

• Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
• Right-click on the Palworld game.
• Go to Properties > Click on Installed Files from the left side.
• Now, click on Verify integrity of game files.
• Wait for the process to complete.
• Once done, reboot the PC, and relaunch the game.

6. Update the Graphics Driver

Sometimes an outdated graphics card driver on the PC might trouble you a lot with the black screen issue during startup. You can follow the steps below to check for the graphics driver update to clear potential graphical glitches.

Recommended Update:

• Open the Start menu and search for Device Manager then open it.
• Double-click on Display Adapters.
• Right-click on the dedicated graphics card.

• Choose Update Driver > Click on Search automatically for drivers.
• If an update is available, it’ll automatically download & install the latest version.
• Once done, restart the system to apply changes.

Manual Update:

If the graphics driver update isn’t available then you should manually try updating the graphics driver to the latest version on your PC. Head over to the official website of the respective graphics card manufacturer. You’ll have to search for the latest graphics driver from the links below and then download the latest driver. Next, install the driver and reboot the PC.

• Nvidia GPU
• AMD GPU
• Intel GPU

7. Disable Overlay Apps

You’ll have to turn off the third-party overlay apps on your computer which may run in the background unexpectedly and consume higher system resources. Well, using the system resources can affect the overall system performance and conflicts with the game running experiences such as black screen issues.

Disable Discord Overlay:

• Launch the Discord app > Click on the gear icon at the bottom.
• Select Overlay under App Settings > Turn on the Enable in-game overlay.
• Click on the Games tab > Select Palworld.
• Turn Off the Enable in-game overlay toggle.
• Then reboot your PC to apply changes.

Disable Xbox Game Bar:

• Press the Win+I keys to open Settings.
• Click on Gaming > Go to Game Bar.
• Turn Off the Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using the Game bar option.

Disable Nvidia GeForce Experience Overlay:

• Launch the Nvidia GeForce Experience app.
• Head over to Settings.
• Click on the General tab > Disable the In-Game Overlay option.
• Restart the PC to apply changes.
• Finally, launch the game again.

Note: You should also try disabling the third-party overlay applications that can trouble you at times such as MSI Afterburner, Rivatuner, RGB software, and more.

8. Check for Windows Updates

You’ll have to check for the pending Windows updates on the PC and install the update by following the steps below. Sometimes a Windows OS version or the build number might cause multiple issues with the program launching and other graphical issues.

• Open the Start menu > Search for Settings and open it.
• Click on Windows Update.
• Next, click on Check for Updates for available updates.
• In case available, click on Download and Install.
• Once done, restart your PC to change effects.

9. Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

We’ll also suggest you manually turn off the fullscreen optimizations on the PC by following the steps below. Make sure to temporarily disable it to avoid the black screen issue with the game application.

• Go to the installed game directory or head over to the Start menu.
• Right-click on the Palworld.exe app.
• Click on Properties > Go to the Compatibility tab.
• Now, click on Disable fullscreen optimizations.
• Click on Apply > Click on OK to save changes.
• Once done, reboot the PC to change the effects.

10. Check the Server Status

The chances are high that you’re having the game startup or black screen issues up to some extent due to server connectivity errors. It’s suggested to check for the Palworld game server status to ensure there is no issue with the service outage. You should check the Palworld Server Status here to ensure there is no conflict with the service downtime or outage. If the server downtime is still troubling you then wait for a couple of hours and try again later.

It’s also mentioned to check for the following tweets acknowledged by the official @Palworld_EN Twitter account related to the server downtime issue.

Hello everyone,

We are blown away with the response to Palworld and we're doing our best to respond to your issues!

Currently, our server provider is reporting that due to the large amount of concurrent players, the servers have become unstable and you may be experiencing…

— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) January 19, 2024

Hello everyone,
Regarding the connection issues when trying to host co-op:
The number of players exceeded 700,000 concurrent players, and a problem occurred in the Epic Games backend.

We had an emergency meeting with the Epic Games team and had them add an update to the Epic…

— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) January 20, 2024

If there is no issue with the game server then skip to the next workaround.

11. Change the In-Game Graphics Settings

It’s recommended to change the Palworld graphics settings by following the steps below to allow the mid-end PCs to run the game smoothly. If any kind of graphical glitches troubling you, this method will help a lot.

• Presets: Use custom settings
• Screen Mode: Full-Screen
• Screen Resolution: The native resolution of the monitor
• Max FPS: The native refresh rate of the monitor
• VSync: Turn Off
• Motion Blur: Low
• Anti-Aliasing: TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing)
• View Distance, Grass Detail, Shadows, Effects Quality: Medium
• Texture Quality: High
• DLSS: Quality

12. Disable Antivirus Temporarily

We’ll also recommend you to temporarily turn off the antivirus program that you’re using on your PC no matter whether you’re using the native Windows Defender antivirus or a third-party antivirus software. Manually disabling the antivirus scanning will help in fixing the game startup issues or even the graphical glitches like the black screen problem. The chances are high that somehow your aggressive antivirus blocking is causing several issues.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Click on Update & Security.
• Go to Windows Security.
• Click on Open Windows Security.
• Go to Virus & Threat Protection.
• Next, click on Manage Settings.
• Turn Off the Real-time Protection option.
• If prompted by UAC, click on Yes to proceed further.
• Then run the Palworld game to check for the black screen issue.

Please Note: If you’re using a third-party antivirus program on your PC then disable the real-time protection feature temporarily and run the game.

13. Close Unnecessary Background Tasks

Several PC users have reported this method to close unnecessary background running tasks by following the steps below. Sometimes background processes might trigger multiple conflicts with the program running or black screen issues of the game application.

• Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager.
• Click on the Processes tab > Select the unnecessary third-party task.
• Now, click on End Task to close the process.
• Once done, do the same steps for other third-party unnecessary processes.
• After doing so, you’ll have to reboot the computer to apply changes.

14. Reinstall the Palworld Game

If none of the above-mentioned workarounds didn’t come in handy then ensure to uninstall and reinstall the Palworld game on your computer by following the steps below. We’re aware that reinstalling the game doesn’t make sense for most of the players but there is nothing to do at your end. Sometimes reinstalling the game application freshly can also help in resolving the installation conflicts up to some extent.

For Xbox App:

• Open the Search menu > Search and open Xbox.
• Right-click on the Palworld game.
• Next, click on Uninstall Game.
• Wait for the game to be deleted.
• Once done, open the Microsoft Store again.
• Go to the Store tab > Click on the Palworld game.
• Click on Install > Wait for the game to get installed.
• Once done, run the Palworld game to check for the issue.

For Steam:

• Open the Steam client on your PC.
• Go to Library > Right-click on Palworld.
• Now, click on Manage.
• Click on Uninstall.
• If prompted, ensure to confirm it.
• Then follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall the game.
• Once done, restart the system to apply changes.
• Next, launch the Steam client again.
• Reinstall the Palworld game on a different disk drive.
• Wait for the game to be installed again.
• Finally, restart the computer, and run the game.

15. Contact Steam Support

Last but not least, you should contact Steam Support and ensure to submit a support ticket for the Palworld black screen issue. This method will help the support team or the game developers to investigate the problem further.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For additional queries, you can comment below.