South of Midnight Game Not Launching/Black Screen Issue: How to Fix?

Gamers diving into Compulsion Games’ latest Southern gothic adventure, South of Midnight, have been reporting a frustrating issue: the game simply won’t start. For many excited players, the anticipation of exploring Hazel’s supernatural journey through the American South has been met with nothing but a black screen or immediate crashes back to desktop. If you’re one of the unlucky ones staring at a black void instead of the swampy backwaters of Compulsion’s new world, you’re definitely not alone.

The Black Screen Problem Explained

The issue typically manifests in one of two ways: either the game appears to launch but gets stuck on a black screen indefinitely, or it crashes immediately after hitting the play button without any error message to guide you. This problem seems most common during the initial boot sequence, leaving players completely in the dark—literally and figuratively.

Fortunately, while South of Midnight may be haunted by folklore creatures in-game, these technical ghosts haunting your PC can be exorcised with the right approach. The developers are already aware of these issues and have begun rolling out patches, but if you can’t wait for official fixes, there are several workarounds worth trying.

How to Fix South of Midnight Game Not Launching/Black Screen Issue?

1. Update Your GPU Drivers

Before diving into more complex solutions, start with the basics: make sure your graphics card drivers are completely up to date. Outdated or buggy drivers are notorious for causing black screen issues with newly released games.

For NVIDIA users:

• Visit NVIDIA’s official driver page
• Download and install the latest Game Ready Driver for your specific GPU model
• Restart your computer after installation

For AMD users:

• Head to AMD’s driver download center
• Select your specific graphics card model
• Install the most recent driver package
• Perform a system restart

A fresh driver installation often solves compatibility issues with new game releases, as these updates frequently include specific optimizations for recently launched titles.

2. The File Rename Trick

Several users have reported success with this simple yet effective workaround:

1. Locate your South of Midnight installation folder. The default path is typically:
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SouthOfMidnight\Engine\Plugins\Runtime\Nvidia\Streamline\Binaries\ThirdParty\Win64

2. If you installed the game to a custom location, you can find it by:
   • Right-clicking South of Midnight in your Steam Library
   • Selecting Properties
   • Clicking on “Installed Files”
   • Choosing “Browse” to open the installation directory
3. Within this folder, find the file named sl.pcl.dll
4. Right-click this file and rename it to something like sl.pcl.old or sl.pcl.bad
5. Launch the game again to see if the issue persists

This method effectively prevents the game from loading a potentially problematic NVIDIA Streamline component that seems to be causing conflicts for some players.

3. Launch Directly from the Executable

Sometimes the launcher or platform (like Steam) can interfere with the game’s normal startup process. Try bypassing it entirely:

1. Navigate to:
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SouthOfMidnight\Midnight\Binaries\Win64
2. Locate the file named SouthOfMidnight.exe
3. Double-click this file to launch the game directly, circumventing Steam

While this workaround has proven effective for many players, it does come with some drawbacks: Steam won’t track your playtime, achievements won’t sync, and your Discord status won’t show you’re playing the game. Still, it’s better than not being able to play at all.

4. Verify Game File Integrity

Corrupted or missing game files often cause launch failures. Fortunately, Steam has a built-in tool to check and repair these issues:

1. Open your Steam Library
2. Right-click on South of Midnight
3. Select “Properties”
4. Click on “Installed Files”
5. Choose “Verify integrity of game files”

This process will scan your installation, compare it against the files on Steam’s servers, and automatically download any missing or corrupted files. The verification might take several minutes, depending on your internet speed and the size of the game.

5. System Updates

Ensure your operating system is fully updated with the latest patches and security fixes:

• For Windows users, check for updates by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
• Install any pending updates and restart your computer if necessary

Sometimes game crashes occur due to compatibility issues with outdated system components, particularly when it comes to newer DirectX versions or system libraries required by modern games.

6. Reinstall on SSD

If you’ve tried everything else and still encounter the black screen issue, consider reinstalling South of Midnight on a solid-state drive (SSD) if you haven’t already:

1. Uninstall the game completely through Steam
2. Make sure you have enough space on your SSD
3. During reinstallation, select your SSD as the installation location

SSDs offer significantly faster read/write speeds than traditional hard drives, which can help eliminate loading issues and provide a more stable environment for demanding games. Many players have reported that simply moving the game to an SSD resolved their launch problems entirely.

7. Run the Game as Administrator

Sometimes permission issues can prevent games from launching properly:

1. Navigate to the game’s installation folder and find the main executable
2. Right-click on SouthOfMidnight.exe
3. Select “Run as administrator”

If this works, you can make this setting permanent by:

1. Right-clicking the executable again
2. Selecting “Properties”
3. Going to the “Compatibility” tab
4. Checking “Run this program as an administrator”
5. Clicking “Apply” and “OK”

8. Disable Overlays

Game overlays from platforms like Steam, Discord, or GeForce Experience can sometimes interfere with game launches:

For Steam:

1. Open Steam Settings
2. Navigate to “In-Game”
3. Uncheck “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game”

For Discord:

1. Open Discord Settings
2. Select “Overlay” under “App Settings”
3. Toggle “Enable in-game overlay” to off

For GeForce Experience:

1. Open GeForce Experience
2. Click on the settings icon
3. Disable the in-game overlay feature

After disabling these overlays, try launching South of Midnight again to see if the issue persists.

9. Check System Requirements

Ensure your system meets the minimum requirements to run South of Midnight:

• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super or AMD Radeon RX 5700
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 30 GB available space

If your system falls below these specifications, you might experience launch issues or poor performance even if the game does start. In this case, upgrading your hardware might be necessary.

10. Disable Background Applications

Other programs running in the background can sometimes conflict with game launches:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager
2. Look for resource-intensive applications or potential conflicts
3. Right-click on these processes and select “End task”
4. Try launching the game again

Pay particular attention to other gaming applications, recording software, or hardware monitoring tools that might be interfering with South of Midnight’s launch process.

When All Else Fails: Contact Support

If you’ve tried all the above solutions and still can’t get South of Midnight to launch, it might be time to contact official support channels:

1. Submit a support ticket through the publisher’s website
2. Post in the official game forums where developers actively monitor issues
3. Check the game’s social media channels for announcements about known issues

Be sure to include detailed information about:

• Your system specifications
• Steps you’ve already taken to resolve the issue
• Any error messages you’ve encountered
• Whether the game has ever successfully launched

The Road Ahead: April 18, 2025

As South of Midnight is still a relatively new release, expect more official patches and fixes in the coming weeks. The development team at Compulsion Games is actively monitoring these launch issues and working on permanent solutions. In the meantime, these workarounds should help get you past the black screen and into the supernatural Southern setting the game promises.