How to Fix DragonSword: Awakening Black Screen on Startup Error (2026 Guide)

DragonSword: Awakening arrived with huge expectations. Hound13’s action RPG combines stylish combat, fast movement, impressive boss encounters, and a fantasy world that instantly grabbed the attention of RPG fans. After spending time with the game, it’s easy to understand why so many players were excited for release.

Unfortunately, thousands of PC users ran into the exact same problem before they even reached the title screen.

Instead of loading properly, the game gets stuck on a completely black screen, crashes immediately after launch, or plays menu music while displaying absolutely nothing. Some players even report the application freezing before the Unreal Engine splash screen appears.

I spent hours digging through community reports, technical discussions, crash logs, and player feedback to figure out which fixes consistently solve the problem. The good news is that this isn’t usually caused by broken hardware. In most cases, it’s a combination of Windows settings, graphics configuration, missing runtime components, or an unfortunate conflict between the game engine and certain GPU drivers.

If DragonSword: Awakening refuses to start on your PC, the methods below are the ones worth trying first.

Why DragonSword: Awakening Shows a Black Screen

Unlike random crashes that can have dozens of unrelated causes, this particular startup issue follows several recognizable patterns.

The majority of affected players fall into one of these categories:

One interesting trend that appeared across multiple player reports is that systems running perfectly fine in other Unreal Engine games can still experience launch failures in DragonSword: Awakening.

That usually points toward engine-specific configuration rather than insufficient hardware.

Fix #1 — Change the Graphics Upscaling Mode

If I had to recommend only one solution, this would be it.

Many players discovered that the default upscaling option selected during the first launch causes the renderer to fail before the menu appears. The result is a black display while the game technically continues running in the background.

The quickest thing to test is pressing Alt + Enter.

This switches between fullscreen and windowed mode.

Surprisingly, this simple shortcut restores the display for quite a few players.

If nothing changes, manually edit the game’s configuration.

Here’s how:

1. Close DragonSword: Awakening completely.
2. Open Task Manager and make sure no background process is still running.
3. Press Windows + R.
4. Type %localappdata% and press Enter.
5. Find the DragonSword or Hound13 folder.
6. Open Saved → Config → WindowsNoEditor.
7. Open GameUserSettings.ini.

Locate the graphics settings responsible for anti-aliasing or image upscaling.

If the file is using FSR, replace it with one of the following:

• TSR
• DLSS (for NVIDIA RTX graphics cards)

Save the file and launch the game again.

Among all currently known fixes, this one has one of the highest reported success rates.

Fix #2 — Verify the Steam Installation

Corrupted downloads happen more often than people think.

Even if Steam finishes downloading successfully, one damaged archive can prevent the renderer from loading essential assets during startup.

Fortunately, Steam makes verification painless.

Steps

• Open Steam.
• Go to your Library.
• Right-click DragonSword: Awakening.
• Select Properties.
• Open Installed Files.
• Click Verify integrity of game files.

Steam compares every installed file against the official version and automatically replaces damaged content.

Even players with fast internet should try this before reinstalling the game.

Fix #3 — Disable Windows Fullscreen Optimization

Modern versions of Windows aggressively manage fullscreen applications.

Most of the time this improves compatibility.

Sometimes it completely breaks it.

DragonSword: Awakening appears to be one of those games where Windows tries to “help” a little too much.

Disable Fullscreen Optimizations for the game’s executable.

Steps

1. Open the game’s installation folder.
2. Locate DSClient_Win64_Shipping.exe.
3. Right-click the executable.
4. Select Properties.
5. Open the Compatibility tab.
6. Enable Disable fullscreen optimizations.

While you’re already there, also enable Run this program as administrator.

This gives the executable full access to create shaders, cache files, and write configuration data without Windows blocking the process.

Fix #4 — Repair Visual C++ and DirectX Components

One thing I noticed while reading crash reports is how often the same Windows modules appear.

If Event Viewer mentions files like VCRUNTIME140.dll, KERNELBASE.dll, or MSVCP140.dll, the problem usually isn’t DragonSword itself.

It’s Windows.

Games released in 2026 still rely heavily on Microsoft’s runtime libraries.

A damaged installation can stop the rendering engine before it even initializes DirectX.

Repair Visual C++

Download the newest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables.

Install both versions:

• x64
• x86

If Windows says they’re already installed, choose Repair instead.

Restart your computer after the repair completes.

Repair DirectX

Install the latest DirectX End-User Runtime.

Even on Windows 11, some older DirectX runtime files are not installed automatically.

Replacing missing components often resolves startup crashes almost immediately.

Fix #5 — Move the Game to an SSD

I know this recommendation sounds boring.

It also works.

DragonSword: Awakening streams a surprising amount of data during its startup sequence.

Mechanical hard drives simply can’t keep up as consistently anymore.

If loading exceeds the engine’s internal timeout, initialization may fail before textures and shaders finish loading.

Moving the installation onto an SSD—or even better, an NVMe drive—reduces loading times dramatically.

Steam lets you transfer the installation without downloading everything again.

Simply use the Move Install Folder option inside the Installed Files menu.

Fix #6 — Whitelist the Game in Windows Security

Security software occasionally mistakes newly released games for suspicious applications.

That means Windows Defender or third-party antivirus software may block:

• Executable access
• Shader compilation
• Save creation
• Online authentication

If DragonSword: Awakening crashes instantly or refuses to initialize, adding the installation folder to your antivirus exclusions is worth trying.

Don’t forget to allow the executable through Windows Firewall as well.

This is especially important if the launcher performs online verification before loading game assets.

Check Whether Your PC Meets the Requirements

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one.

DragonSword: Awakening isn’t especially demanding by 2026 standards, but it does expect modern hardware.

Running the game below these specifications may not always cause a black screen, but insufficient VRAM and slow storage significantly increase the likelihood of startup failures.

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Extra Tips That Are Worth Trying

If none of the major fixes work, there are still a few smaller adjustments that have helped some players.

Try the following:

• Update your graphics drivers to the newest Game Ready release.
• Remove GPU overclocking temporarily.
• Disable overlays from Discord, MSI Afterburner, GeForce Experience, and Steam.
• Delete the existing configuration folder so DragonSword: Awakening creates fresh settings.
• Disconnect secondary monitors before launching.
• Close RGB control software that hooks into DirectX.
• Restart Windows after installing any runtime updates.

These tweaks may sound unrelated, but overlay conflicts and corrupted configuration files have caused launch issues in numerous Unreal Engine games over the past few years.

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Final Thoughts

Nothing kills launch-day excitement faster than staring at a black screen after waiting months for a new RPG. Thankfully, DragonSword: Awakening’s startup problem is rarely permanent. In my experience, the biggest culprits are graphics upscaling settings, Windows fullscreen behavior, and missing runtime libraries rather than faulty hardware.

Start with the simple fixes: switch the game to windowed mode using Alt + Enter, verify the Steam files, and replace FSR with TSR or DLSS in the configuration file if necessary. If the issue persists, repairing Microsoft Visual C++ packages, reinstalling DirectX components, and moving the game to an SSD can eliminate several hidden bottlenecks that prevent the engine from initializing correctly.

As Hound13 continues releasing patches, driver compatibility and startup stability should improve across a wider range of hardware. Until then, keeping Windows fully updated, installing the latest GPU drivers, and maintaining a clean game configuration remain the most reliable ways to avoid launch problems and get back into the world of DragonSword: Awakening instead of staring at an empty screen.

Fix DragonSword: Awakening Crashing on Startup