Granblue Fantasy Relink: How to Fix Black Screen on Launch

The hot new action RPG set in the Granblue universe, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, is finally available on PC! But, a pesky black screen issue prevents users from even trying to launch the game.

Tell the game to start up and you will be met with the pitch-black nothingness of a black screen. Trying to do anything will then make the game crash, essentially preventing you from playing it at all.

While this is a huge annoyance, and we are definitely not happy with the state of this PC port, there are still some potential fixes that you can try. Read on and we’ll tell you all about them!

Potential Ways to Fix Black Screen Crash on Launch

Don’t Press Anything

As silly as it sounds, the most common issue that causes Granblue Fantasy: Relink to pop up a black screen and crash on launch is… pressing anything.

Yup, simply pressing any button on your gamepad or key on your keyboard can cause the game to crash.

Coincidentally, most players are probably mashing as soon as the game starts as they want to get past the pesky launch logos and get to the main menu quickly.

Another potential add-on to this fix is to unplug or turn off your controller when launching the game. Only reconnect it once the game has fully launched.

The game might also be generating a Shader Cache at this point, which is why it might appear to be stuck on a black screen.

Either way, you will have to exercise patience. Wait it out, meditate a bit as you wait for the game to launch. Maybe got do something else to distract yourself for a moment as you give the game time.

Once the game finishes the launch process and you’re in the main menu, you’re free to go!

Reboot your PC

Another simple potential fix is the classic “turn it off and on again” tip. Simply reboot your PC and try launching Granblue Fantasy: Relink again!

A quick reboot can help clear up any programs that are loaded in memory and might be interfering with the game’s ability to launch.

Disable Steam Overlay

Sometimes the issue is simply poor Steam integration, which you can somewhat workaround by simply disabling the Steam Overlay.

Start by finding Granblue Fantasy: Relink in your Steam Library and right-clicking on it. Choose “Properties…” from the drop-down menu.

Now, simply click on the toggle next to “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” and the overlay will be disabled. Just make sure that it’s greyed out, it being a lit blue color means it’s enabled.

Try launching the game and, hopefully, everything will work as normal. Do note, though, that you won’t be able to use Steam Overlay features until you re-enable it!

Reinstall the Game

If nothing has worked so far, then it’s time to go all out by uninstalling and reinstalling the game.

Right-click on Granblue Fantasy: Relink in your Steam Library and then choose “Uninstall” under “Manage”.

Wait for the game to be deleted off your PC, then choose to install it again as normal.

This essentially forces Steam and the game to repeat the entire installation process, in case anything went wrong the first time. Some users, for example, reported that the game only downloaded partially the first time around.

It’s also highly recommended to install the game on an SSD, if possible.

That said, it’s definitely a painful thing to try, considering the game’s filesize is around 100 GB, which is why we saved it for our very last tip.

Wait for Updates

If nothing you try seems to help at all, you might simply need to wait for updates to release. As we said in the introduction, the state of the game’s port at launch is simply poor.

Which is a shame, because the game itself isn’t bad at all! But issues like the black screen on launch simply make it impossible to play.

On the upside, the official news for the game on Steam lists “The game may not run properly after launching” as one of the known issues they are working to fix.

Hopefully, the game will get a patch soon enough that fixes the many issues the PC port has. Otherwise, we won’t be able to become true Skyfarers…

ALSO READ: Granblue Fantasy Relink: Guide for New Players | Tips and Tricks