Mafia: The Old Country Black Screen Fix (PC) – Quick Solutions That Work

[Administrator]

If you're getting a black screen at launch when trying to play Mafia: The Old Country on PC, here's a detailed step-by-step guide to help fix it:

🛠� Fixes for Black Screen at Launch
✅ 1. Wait – It May Be Loading Shaders
Why: On the first launch, the game loads and compiles shaders, which can cause a black screen that lasts several minutes, especially on slower drives or older CPUs/GPUs.

Fix: Wait up to 5 minutes before killing the process. If the HDD/SSD activity light is blinking, the game is likely still working.

✅ 2. Launch Online via Steam
Why: The first launch must be online for the game to initialize properly.

Fix:

Ensure you're connected to the internet.

Restart Steam and try launching again.

✅ 3. Update Graphics Drivers
Why: Outdated GPU drivers are a known cause of launch issues.

Fix

NVIDIA: Use GeForce Experience

AMD: Use Adrenalin Software

✅ 4. Disable Frame Generation (if enabled)
Why: Frame Generation (on NVIDIA RTX 40-series) may cause visual bugs or crashes.

Fix

Open Settings > Display in the game (if you can get in) and disable Frame Generation.

If you can't access the menu, try editing the game config file manually (ask me for help on that).

✅ 5. Force Windowed Mode
Why: The game might be failing to initialize fullscreen correctly.

Fix

Right-click the game in Steam > Properties

Under Launch Options, add:

diff
Copy
Edit
-windowed -noborder
✅ 6. Check Resolution Conflicts
If you're using ultrawide monitors, multi-monitor setups, or HDR, try disabling them temporarily and set your main display to 1080p / 60Hz to test.

✅ 7. Reinstall Visual C++ Redistributables
Download and install both:
Visual C++ x64 and x86 Redistributables

✅ 8. Verify Game Files
In Steam:

Right-click Mafia: The Old Country > Properties > Installed Files > Verify Integrity of Game Files

Still Black Screen?
If none of this works, let me know:

Do you hear sound while the screen is black?

What are your PC specs (CPU, GPU, RAM)?

Any mods or overlays running (e.g., Razer Synapse, MSI Afterburner, ReShade)?