Elden Ring Nightreign Fatal Error and Black Screen issue: Potential fixes to try

Elden Ring Nightreign is finally here, and while it looks stunning on PC, some players are dealing with Fatal Error crashes and sudden Black Screen freezes, especially during loading or intense boss fights.

Even though the game’s engine has seen some decent improvements (like upgraded lighting and faster texture streaming), it still carries over the same kind of performance hiccups that were in the original Elden Ring — most notably, stuttering and these launch-day errors.

So, what’s causing this, and can you do anything to fix it? Here’s a quick guide.

Note: This guide provides real-time workarounds; it's not a guaranteed fix, and results may vary. We have already received the Day 1 Patch, meaning the developers are working on addressing widespread issues as quickly as they can.

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Black Screen and Fatal Error crashes in Elden Ring Nightreign: What can be the reason?

Nightreign utilizes the same engine as the Original. (Image via FromSoftware)

The issue seems to show up mainly when your CPU usage spikes. The game isn’t too VRAM-intensive — even at 1440p, it stays under 6GB — but your processor might get overloaded, especially if you’re running background apps. The Fatal Error mostly happens when Nightreign hits a memory bottleneck or fails to process certain lighting effects, which are a step up from the base game.

The Black Screen usually pops up either on startup or after loading screens, and it’s often tied to sync problems or unsupported frame caps.

Possible fixes to try resolve Black Screen and Fatal Errros in Elden Ring Nightreign

Here’s what helped during testing Elden Ring Nightreign:

1) Lock your Frame Rate (don’t go over 60fps)

Nightreign is hard-capped at 60fps. Even if you try to force it higher, the physics system doesn’t operate smoothly.

So it is recommended to use either Rivatuner, Nvidia App, or your GPU’s control panel (Nvidia Control Panel or AMD Adrenaline) and lock the frame rate to 60fps. This keeps the CPU load stable and prevents random spikes that can cause both stuttering and Fatal Error crashes.

If your rig isn’t particularly powerful, simply lower it to 30 fps. While it’s not ideal, this adjustment provides smoother frame pacing and helps prevent screen flickering or hard crashes.

2) Disable VRR

Gameplay glimpse from Nightreign (Image via FromSoftware)

VRR doesn’t always play nice with games like Nightreign, where the physics and rendering engine are tied directly to frame timing. Go to your Windows Display Settings, locate your monitor settings, and turn off VRR manually. You must reboot your PC after disabling it; otherwise, the change won’t take effect.

Then go into the game settings and ensure V-Sync is enabled — both in-game and from your GPU driver. This prevents tearing and helps stabilize the black screen and frame skips when loading or switching areas.

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Check out: Is Elden Ring Nightreign coming to GeForce Now? Possibilities explored