How to Fix Counter-Strike 2 Crashes and Black Screen Issues

Counter-Strike 2 has encountered numerous technical issues since its launch, with the most exasperating involving persistent crashes, freezing, and black screen occurrences. These complications stem from a variety of sources, such as excessively high game settings, GPU overclocking, or utilizing DirectX 12, making it challenging to identify the precise cause.

To assist you in determining the root causes of these CS2 issues and the steps to resolve them, we have compiled the following guide.

Counter-Strike 2 demands stronger hardware compared to its predecessor. For optimal performance, it is crucial that your system meets, if not exceeds, the game’s minimum requirements. The following are the minimum system requirements for the game:

Failures to satisfy at least the minimum system standards may lead to the crashing and freezing issues. Nonetheless, the solutions we provide below should help alleviate the problem.

1. Repair Game Files

Corrupted or missing game files can be at fault for crashes or freezes in CS2. Steam offers a straightforward method to rectify this issue:

1. Open Steam and go to your Library.
2. Right-click on Counter-Strike 2.
3. Click on Properties.
4. Go to the Local Files tab and select “Verify the integrity of game files.”

The process should only take a few minutes and will repair any damaged or missing files automatically. If no issues are found, proceed to the next solution.

2. Run the Game in Compatibility Mode

Running CS2 in Compatibility Mode can often alleviate hardware incompatibility issues.

1. In your Steam Library, right-click on CS2 and choose Manage > Browse Local Files.
2. In the window that appears, go to game > bin > win64.
3. Right-click on the cs2.exe file and select Properties.
4. Under the Compatibility tab, check the “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” option and select the latest version of Windows in the dropdown menu.
5. You may also check “Disable fullscreen optimizations” and “Run this program as an administrator” for better stability.
6. Click Apply > OK.

3. Switch from DX12 to Vulkan and Disable Direct3D

Moving from DirectX12 to the Vulkan API can enhance game performance without discernible loss of graphics quality.

1. In your Steam Library, Right-click on CS2 and select Properties.
2. In the General tab, enter “-vulkan” in the Launch Options field.
    

While there, it’s also beneficial to add “-disable_d3d9ex” to the Launch Options, which disables the potentially problematic Direct3D 9Ex API.

4. Reset your CS2 Settings

Black screen issues, wherein the game runs in the background but displays a black screen, can often be solved by returning CS2 settings to default due to potential misconfigurations.

To reset, include “-autoconfig” in the Launch Options and then restart the game. This will reinstate default video settings.

Note: After adjusting your settings in-game, remember to remove this option to prevent your settings from resetting with each game launch.

5. Undo GPU Overclock (If Applicable)

While overclocking your GPU might enhance performance for some games, it can also cause stability issues in others, like CS2.

To revert your GPU to its default clock speeds, utilize the same application you originally used for overclocking. Carefully restore the GPU speeds to the original values, then reboot your PC and open CS2.