Valorant Black Screen Error: What’s happening and how to fix it

Do you ever find yourself glued to a dark screen when playing Valorant? But relax, you’re not by yourself. This is what many brave gamers have reported happening when the game pauses on a black screen either at launch or while they are playing. But there are some quick ways back into the action.

What Causes the Valorant Black Screen?

There are a few potential culprits behind the Valorant black screen error:

• • Outdated or faulty graphics drivers
  • Lack of administrative permissions to run the game properly
  • Antivirus software interfering with Valorant’s processes
  • Overclocked hardware causing instability
  • Improper display settings
  • Corrupted game files

However, before you begin, turn off your computer, confirm that your internet is operational, and confirm that your system satisfies Valorant’s minimum requirements:

• • CPU: AMD Athlon 200GE/Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
  • 4 GB of RAM
  • GPU: Radeon R5 200 or Intel HD 4000
  • OS: 64-bit Windows 7/8/10/11

You can go to the next fixes if your system satisfies the necessary requirements.

Fix 1: Reinstall the graphics driver.

Old or bad graphics drivers are a common reason for Valorant to crash or freeze. Ensure you have the latest AMD or NVIDIA GPU drivers loaded.

1. 1. Open Device Manager and expand “Display adapters”
   2. Right-click your GPU and select “Update driver”
   3. Choose “Search automatically for drivers”
   4. Follow the prompts to install the latest driver

Or you can use a driver updater utility to have drivers downloaded and installed automatically in a few clicks.

Fix 2: Run Valorant as Administrator

Sometimes Valorant may lack the proper permissions to run, causing it to get stuck. You can grant admin rights by:

1. 1. Right-click the Valorant shortcut and select “Properties” 
   2. Click the “Compatibility” tab
   3. Check the “Run this program as an administrator” box
   4. Click “Apply” then “OK”

Other option:

1. 1. Right-click on the Valorant shortcut or executable file (usually located in the Riot Games folder within Program Files).
   2. See if there’s an option directly in the right-click menu that says “Run as administrator”. If it’s there, select that option to launch the program.

Now try relaunching Valorant to see if the black screen is gone.

Fix 3: Allow Valorant Through the Firewall

Your firewall or antivirus could be blocking Valorant from running properly. You’ll need to allow it through:

1. 1. Search for “Allow app through firewall” and open it
   2. Click “Change settings” 
   3. Browse for the Valorant executable and allow it
   4. Check “Private” and “Public” network access

Additionally, you can temporarily disable any third-party antivirus to test if that resolves the black screen.

Fix 4: Configure Environment Variables

While an unconventional solution, setting up a new system environment variable for Valorant has helped some players:

1. 1. Search for “Edit environment variables” and open it
   2. Click “Environment Variables” > “New” under System variables
   3. Enter Variable name: OPENSSL_ia32cap 
   4. Enter Variable value: ~0x200000200000000
   5. Restart Valorant to test

Fix 5: Use a Dedicated GPU

If you have multiple graphics cards, ensure Valorant is using your dedicated GPU rather than the integrated one:

1. 1. Open the NVIDIA or AMD control panel
   2. Find the settings for individual program profiles
   3. Add Valorant to the program list
   4. Set it to use your high-performance, dedicated GPU

Fix 6: Stop Overclocking

While nice for gaming performance, overclocked components like your CPU or GPU can cause system instability. Try disabling any overclocking software like MSI Afterburner and setting clock speeds back to default. Then see if Valorant launches properly.

Fix 7: Switch Display Modes

If Valorant is managing to launch but showing a black screen during gameplay, you can try switching between fullscreen and windowed mode by pressing Alt + Enter on your keyboard. This can sometimes kick the graphics into gear.

Fix 8: Repair System Files

In the rare case that none of the above solutions worked, you may have some corrupted or missing system files causing issues with Valorant. You can use a repair utility like Fortect to scan for and replace any problematic files:

1. 1. Download and install Fortect
   2. Run a system scan 
   3. Click “Start Repair” to fix any found issues

You should be able to get rid of the Valorant black screen error after some troubleshooting and get back to playing. Have other questions? Drop them in the comments!