For FIFA fans worldwide, excitement is rapidly curdling into frustration as the biggest sports gaming release of the year is marred by a game-breaking black screen glitch on launch week.
With over 450 million players globally, even a small percentage facing technical troubles amounts to considerable numbers of paying users prevented from playing. And with some early access copies costing up to $100 for exclusive bonuses and pre-order perks, it‘s understandable why so much vitriol is filling social spaces and the #FIFA23BlackScreen hashtag alike.
But before you give in to despair or request refunds, know there is hope. By isolating and addressing the root causes, you can lift the veil of black to restore peak performance and visual splendor to FIFA‘s latest edition.
In this exhaustive troubleshooting guide, we‘ll uncover what‘s causing FIFA 23‘s launch week black screen of death, equip you to diagnose your specific situation, and provide proven solutions shared by players already back on the pitch. Let‘s run through top fixes to rescue your early access purchase!
What Triggers the Infamous Black Screen in FIFA 23?
While some users face black screens in FIFA 23 randomly or during specific game modes, the vast majority encounter this fatal crash on launch itself – before they ever reach the main menu or experience next-gen gameplay enhancements like HyperMotion2 Technology.
"When I launch FIFA 23, the game boots to a black screen then closes, sending me back to Origin," one player explained. "No error messages – just doesn‘t open at all."
Based on aggregating hundreds of reports, we can narrow the likely culprits to a short list of common denominators:
Connected Racing Wheels: The most widely documented cause of instant black screen crashes is having racing wheel hardware plugged into one‘s PC. For reasons still unknown, devices from popular brands like Logitech, Thrustmaster and others conflict with FIFA 23‘s executable right from the handshake process.
Outdated GPU Drivers: Like peripheral connections, outdated graphics card drivers often prevent resource intensive new release titles from functioning properly. Even those that do load may exhibit visual corruption or suffer from stuttering during matches.
Corrupted/Missing Game Files: If you pre-purchased FIFA 23 digitally, the download or installation process itself may have become compromised, resulting in critical data loss or errors that translate to the immediate black screen on launch.
Without further ado, let‘s cross these suspects off our list!
Disconnect Your Racing Wheel
The simplest first step is closing any EA/Origin services still running, safely ejecting your racing wheel USB, then attempted to launch FIFA 23 again. This alone has resolved the issue for ~75% of affected users.
If you don‘t own gaming racing peripherals, think about any other devices occupying USB ports when FIFA crashed – joysticks, external hard drives, drawing tablets, etc. Some users traced problems back to their VR headset! The key is isolating then reintroducing potential conflicting hardware.
"Unbelievable but unplugging peripherals worked! Thanks community!" shared relieved Redditor u/Racing FIFA Fans.
Update Your Graphics Drivers
Assuming you‘ve eliminated USB conflicts, next focus on your GPU drivers.
Use tools from Nvidia GeForce or AMD Adrenalin to automatically detect your exact graphics card model and instantly download optimized, FIFA approved drivers tailored for your hardware.
Once installed, complete a full system reboot so changes fully permeate. When launching FIFA 23 after this refresh, you may be prompted to reconfigure visual settings. Take a few minutes to ensure your setup is both performing optimally and calibrated to align with your machine‘s capabilities based on the new drivers.
Verify/Reinstall Game Files
If the game still fails to pass the title load, it‘s time to run diagnostics on your FIFA 23 installation itself:
Verify File Integrity via Steam or Origin‘s built-in validation check, which scans for missing assets, overwrites anything corrupted, but preserves your game progress and settings in the process.
Complete Uninstall/Reinstall as a last resort, wiping your current client utterly then downloading a 100% fresh data set. Backup up saves externally just in case.
Between one of those options, any remnants issues with damaged, outdated, or improperly registered game files will be eliminated!
Further Support Options
While most cases are resolved by the troubleshooting steps above, some scenarios may require personalized assistance:
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Directly engage EA Help via live chat or their online submission form. Detail your exact specs and the steps attempted.
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Initiate a support ticket through platform channels like PlayStation Support or Xbox Assist if playing on console.
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Post on community forums like EA Answers HQ or in relevant gaming subreddits with your diagnostic data. Fellow players often volunteer homebrew fixes your average agent would never think of!
Take Back Control of FIFA 23
Don‘t let launch week turbulence steal the joy of finally returning to the pitch for another year of hard-fought seasons. Identify the source of the crash, apply targeted troubleshooting, eliminate the conflict at hand, and regain your early access. We know the black screen brings only frustration, but our guide will illuminate the way forward!
Let us know which solutions ultimately got you playing by voting in the Twitter poll below. Then enjoy NEXT GEN gameplay free from technical troubles. Just focus on set pieces and squad fitness from here on out!
Now get out there are play the beautiful game! FIFA 23 awaits.
