The tactical first-person shooter video game Squad has been developed and published by Offworld Industries. Though the game was publicly released for Windows in 2020, it was first introduced in 2015. This is an excellent game with loads of features. But, many players are facing black screen(PC) issues after the most recent update.
According to several reports from the affected players, it remains on the black screen when they try to launch the game. Another significant issue is that no sound plays when the screen is black. After a brief delay, the players need to press Alt+F4 to exit the game.
What is Squad Black Screen Issue?
Speaking of the Squad black screen issue during startup, this is practically not an issue. It takes the game about 10-15 minutes to load fully. Although it appears the game is stuck, all it’s services and processes are active. However, there are some situations when the game is frozen. If your game takes more than 10 to 15 minutes, there are problems with the screen resolution.
Review the game’s system requirements to ensure your computer is compatible.
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Minimum Requirements
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit |
| Processor | Intel Core or AMD Ryzen (4 physical cores) |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| GPU | GeForce 770 or Radeon 7970 (4 GB of VRAM) |
| Free Disk Space | 80 GB |
| Network | Broadband Internet connection |
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Recommended Requirements
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit |
| Processor | Intel Core or AMD Ryzen (6 physical cores) |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| GPU | Nvidia GTX 1060 or Radeon 570 |
| Free Disk Space | 80 GB |
| Network | Broadband Internet connection |
How to fix Squad Game Black Screen issue
Here are a few fixes to help you with the black screen issue. All the suggestions are listed below. Follow the instructions thoroughly.
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Run Squad as an Admin
Run the game’s .exe file as an administrator to prevent user account control problems with privileges. For this:
- First, right-click on the Squad exe file on your PC
- Then, choose “Properties”
- Next, click on the “Compatibility” tab
- Select the checkbox “Run this program as an admin”
- Next, click “Apply” and then “Ok”
Go through the same procedure to run the Steam client as an admin.
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Wait for the Game to Load Fully
According to most of the players and game developers, the Black Screen on startup issue is not the cause in most cases. It may appear that the game is stuck at a black screen and isn’t progressing when the user first launches it but it could be that it’s still loading in the background. The game’s services and all of it’s background operations are running while the main menu loads, which takes about ten to fifteen minutes.
The game takes a while to load, though it’s not clear if this is because of a bug or an optimization issue that extends the loading time by 10–15 minutes.
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Run Squad in Windowed Mode
If the above solution does not resolve your black screen PC issue, running the game in Windowed Mode should fix the issue. Follow the instructions below for that:-
- When the game’s black screen appears while you’re playing it, click Alt+Enter
- The game will launch in Windowed mode automatically after you press the keys.
But this is only a short-term solution. Follow the steps below if you want to fix this permanently:-
- Head to Graphics Settings and switch the game’s Window mode to Windowed
- Save the changes and then re-launch the game
This should fix the Squad black screen PC issue.
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Update the Game
Sometimes game developers find out the reason behind crashes and provide important updates. So updating the game can fix the black screen issue.
Follow the instructions below to check for updates and install the latest patch if available:-
- Open the Steam client and navigate to “Library”
- Click on Squad from the left column
- It will automatically find the recent update and download it afterward if available
- Installing the update may take some time. Once finished, close the Steam client
- Restart your computer and start the game to check if it fixes the issue.
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Graphics Driver Update
Verify your computer’s graphics driver and check if it needs to be updated. A corrupted or out-of-date GPU driver version can lead to several issues. You can also use it to resolve issues with games or applications that result in a black screen issue. To do so:-
- Click Windows + X or right-click on the Start menu
- Now, click on “Device Manager” and then double-click on “Display adapters”
- Right-click on your graphics card
- Next, select “Update driver”
- Choose “Search automatically for drivers”
- The system will automatically download and install if an update is available.
Perform a system restart then run the game after the computer has booted up and check if it is working.
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Verify Game Files and Repair
Check the game files and repair them to see if that helps. Follow the steps for that:-
- Launch Steam and go to “Library”
- Right-click on Squad from the left column
- Click on “Properties” and head to “Local Files”
- Select “Verify Integrity”
Now, all the installed game files will be examined and verified to check if any of the game files are missing or broken. Let this process finish. After that, close the Steam client and restart your computer. Then, start the Squad game again and check if the issue has been resolved now.
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System Resources
Start the Squad game on your PC and check the system resources to see if the RAM or CPU Usage is high. It can make the game load slowly or start slowly. So you will want to stop some of these unnecessary tasks/apps that won’t interfere with your system. Here are the steps:
- First, click on Ctrl + Shift + Esc or open “Task Manager”
- Click on the Processes tab
- Select the task you want to close
- Once selected, click on “End Task”
Follow the instructions for each task separately.
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Windows Updates
It is always preferable to check for Windows updates and install the latest version if available. Follow the instruction:-
- Click on Windows + I and access Windows Settings menu
- Next, click on “Update & Security”
- Under “Windows update”, click on “Check for updates”
- Choose “Download” and install if there are any updates available
- Wait until the installation is finished
Next, restart your computer, relaunch the game and check if the black screen issue has been fixed.
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Uninstall and Reinstall the Game
Another viable solution is to uninstall the game and then re-install it again. Most of the time, it works.
- First, launch Steam and go to “Library”
- Select Squad
- Right-click on it and select “Uninstall”
After that, re-install the game again and check if the issue has been fixed.
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Disable Steam Overlay
Some affected players claim that overlay applications run in the background while they play games, effectively consuming system resources and resulting in gameplay issues. If you’re not using a specific overlay application for taking screenshots, chatting or recording gameplay sessions, disabling them before starting the game will be useful. Follow the steps:-
- Launch Steam and go to “Library”
- Then, right-click on Squad
- Choose “Properties” and navigate to the “General section”
- Uncheck the “Enable Steam Overlay” checkbox in this window
- Return to the Library
Then, launch Squad to see if the black screen issue is still present.
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Lower in-game Graphics Settings
If it still doesn’t work, lower the in-game graphics settings from the game menu to resolve the black screen issues. Disable V-Sync, Shadow effects and Anti-Aliasing. You can also try running the game at a lower display resolution.
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Update DirectX
Sometimes, an out-of-date DirectX version or missing DirectX can be the reasons behind multiple issues with the game’s launch or gameplay. Here are the steps for updating it:-
- Go to Microsoft’s page
- Download the DirectX Installer for your PC
- Next, manually install or update the DirectX version
- Restart your computer
Next, relaunch the game and check if the black screen issue has been resolved.
Closing Thoughts
In this guide, we have discussed several fixes for the Squad black screen(PC) issue. All of the potential causes of this issue have also been discussed. Additionally, you can contact the official support for Squad to get the black screen issue resolved. We hope that using this guide will fix your Squad Black Screen problem. All the best!
Experiencing difficulties with your Device, check out our “How To” page on how to resolve some of these issues.
