It seems that plenty of Age of Empires III PC (Steam) players are encountering black screen related issue for a while. Meanwhile, some of them also reported that the audio coming out even after the black screen while or after launching the Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition game on the Microsoft Windows computer. So, if you’re also one of the victims then check out the troubleshooting guide below to quickly resolve the issue.

According to the affected players, the game launching to a black screen, and it becomes unresponsive. Restarting the game or computer doesn’t help in most cases. Another main issue is that if the game screen comes black, you literally can’t go to the in-game graphics option to adjust resolution or any other functions. However, there is a simple workaround that has been shared by a player on the Steam Community which you can try.

How to Fix Age of Empires III Black screen issue

So, if in case, your game has only issues with the black screen then you can manually change the in-game settings.

  • First of all, find the installed game file location on your PC drive. By default, it should be in Documents/My Games/Age of Empires 3/Users3 location. (In your case, it may be at a different drive if you haven’t chosen C: drive)
  • Now, open the NewProfile3.xml file using the text editor or notepad.
  • Search for window word. (There will be only one which should look like: true)
  • Save the file again and try launching the Age of Empires III game. It should work now.

However, if this method doesn’t work for you, make sure to try the following steps as well.

  • Try running the game (exe) file by right-clicking on it and then selecting ‘Run as administrator’ access.
  • You can also change the compatibility mode by right-clicking on the executable file > Go to Properties > Compatibility > Run this program in compatibility mode for > Select Windows 7/8/XP/Vista according to your preference > Click on Apply and OK to save changes. This trick will try to load the game in a compatibility mode if in case, your system can’t run the game properly.
  • Make sure that your Windows OS build and Graphics Drivers are running on the latest version. This is necessary.
  • Try verifying and repairing the corrupted or missing game files. Open Steam > Library > Right-click on the Age of Empires III game icon > Properties > Local Files > Verify integrity of game files > Wait for the process to complete > Finally, restart your computer and try launching the game again.
  • Disable the Steam overlay app from the Steam client > Settings > In-Game > Click on the “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” checkbox to disable it > Hit OK.
  • Sometimes pressing the Alt + Tab keys together can temporarily remove the black screen issue of the game.
  • Make sure to set the Windowed Mode from the in-game Settings menu of the game. Just go to the game menu > Options > Select Windowed and save changes. Once done, exit the game and restart it.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.