Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Screenshot
Image via Saber Interactive

How to Fix the Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 Black Screen Issue

For the Emperor!

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is one of the most fun releases of 2024 and improves upon the original in almost every way. It’s a visual showcase on PC, and players will take on thousands of enemies on-screen thanks to the studio’s Swarm Engine. It currently has a few technical issues that players can potentially run into, but for the most part, it’s a stable experience. If you’re running into a black screen while trying to play Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, here is how you can fix that.

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Fixing the Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 Black Screen Issue

We recommend trying the following suggestions if you’re running into a black screen at launch while playing Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2.

Move the title to an SSD

You need to move Space Marine 2 to an SSD if you’re running into a black screen when the opening cutscene plays. No matter what settings you play the game in, an SSD is required for an optimal uninterrupted experience.

Launch Space Marine 2 With Admin Privileges

For some users, launching Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 with administrator privileges fixes the black screen problem. You can do this by following the steps below:

  • Open Steam and navigate to your library
  • Here, right-click on Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, followed by Manage and Browse local files
  • This will take you to where the game is installed.
  • Right-click on the Space Marine 2 executable and select Properties
  • In the Compatability tab, check “Run this program as an administrator”

Generic Troubleshooting

Apart from that, you can try the following generic troubleshooting suggestions.

  • Verify the integrity of game files in the Steam
  • Update DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables
  • Switch to your dedicated GPU if you’re playing on a laptop
  • Update Windows to the latest version
  • Ensure you meet the requirements and have a GPU that supports DirectX 12
  • Update GPU drivers
  • Make sure the game is fully updated

This is similar to the cutscene freezing issue in Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, and while these fixes can certainly help, we hope that the developers release a patch to address this soon.


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About the Author

Ali Hashmi

Ali has been writing about video games for the past six years and is always on the lookout for the next indie game to obsess over and recommend to everyone in sight. When he isn't spending an unhealthy amount of time in Slay the Spire, he's probably trying out yet another retro-shooter or playing Dark Souls for the 50th time.