I recently ran into an issue with FC 26 where the game was crashing, freezing, lagging, and sometimes even showing a black screen when I was trying to play. I tried launching the game from the installation folder and tweaking settings from the NVIDIA Control Panel and that’s what helped me get back to the game.

So, if you’re facing the same problem on your PC, don’t worry. Here, I’ll discuss the working methods that can fix the issue, Try these solutions one by one, and hopefully, you’ll be able to get FC 26 running smoothly again.

Why Do You Get Crashing, Freezing, Lagging Or Blackscreen on FC 26

Table of Contents

Here are the main reasons why FC 26 may crash, freeze, lag, or show a black screen on PC:

PC doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements
Game launch issues from Steam or the EA app
Fullscreen optimization conflicts
High graphics resolution or demanding graphics settings
Incorrect NVIDIA Control Panel settings
Windows Game Mode, Game Bar, or background recording conflicts
The game process not getting enough system resources
Outdated, corrupted, or incompatible graphics drivers
The game running on the wrong GPU, especially on systems with multiple GPUs
Steam, Discord, NVIDIA, or AMD overlay conflicts
Corrupted or missing game files
Windows Firewall blocking the game or its required connections
Insufficient available memory or virtual memory
Missing or outdated Visual C++ Redistributables or DirectX components
Background applications consuming CPU, RAM, or GPU resources

How I Fixed FC 26 Crashing, Freezing and Black Screen Issues

Follow these step-by-step methods to fix the crashing, freezing, lagging, and black screen issues while playing FC 26.

Check If Your System Meets the Minimum Requirements

When FC26 is not launching, crashing or freezing first make sure your system fulfills the minimum requirements to run the game.

You can check the system requirements from here.

Launch The Game Through The Game Installation Folder

Try launching the game from its installation folder directly and not from Steam and see if this can fix the issue.

Open Steam and then head to Library.
Right-click on the game.
Go to Properties.

Select Installed Files and click on Browse.
This should take you to the game installation folder.
Try launching the game from here.

Disable Full Screen Optimization

The next thing you can do is disable fullscreen optimization. here’s how to do so:

Open the game folder. Right-click on the game exe and open its Properties.
Go to the Compatibility tab and disable full-screen optimization.

Click on Apply and then on OK to save the changes.

Add the Game for High Performance and Try a Lower Resolution

Next add the game for high performance and try to play the game with a lower resolution.

Press the Windows + I keys to open Settings.
Click on System and then select Display.
Scroll down and click on Graphics.
Click on the Browse option and head to the game installation folder. Select game exe and add it.
You will now see it here. Click on Options and select High Performance. Select Save to save the changes.
You can also try a lower resolution from settings.

To do that, go to Windows Settings. Click on the System tab and select Display. Then head to Display resolution.
You can try a lower resolution than the recommended one for your PC and check if the game loads now.

Change The Settings From The Nvidia Control Panel

Right-click on the desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel.
Select Manage 3D settings from the left side.
Click on the Global Settings tab.
Scroll down in the settings section and look for Shader cache Size. Once you have found it, click on it and set it to unlimited.
Click on Apply to save the changes.
Now select the Manage 3D settings again and click on the Program settings tab.

Find the game exe file in the Find program to customize the list and add it.
If you don’t find it here, then click on Browse. Then, head to the game installation folder and add the exe file from there.
After the game is added, open the next drop-down menu and select High-performance Nvidia processor.
Next, find Open GL rendering GPU and set it to your graphics card.
Now find the Power Management mode and set it to maximum performance.
Next, find Vsync and set it as adaptive.

Configure Windows Game Settings

Go to Windows Settings. Then click on the Gaming tab.
Select Game Mode from the right-side pane.
Make sure the Game Mode toggle is turned on.

Next, click on the back button next to Settings and click on the Game Bar tab.
Turn the toggle off.
Next, go back and click on the Captures tab.
Disable ‘Record what happened’ and ‘Capture audio when recording a game’ toggles.

Set The Game To High Priority

Open the Task Manager using Windows search.
Select the Details tab.
Right-click on the game exe process and move the cursor to Set Priority.
Click on High.

Similarly, you can also set the priority of other processes that you need to keep running to low.

Troubleshoot Graphics Drivers and Run The Game On The Dedicated Graphics Card

Open Device Manager using Windows Search.
Go to the Display Adapters section and expand it.
Right-click on your Graphics driver and choose Update Driver option.

From the next window, select the Search Automatically for Drivers option.
Follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the latest driver.
You can also visit the official websites of your Graphics Card manufacturer to update your graphics drivers.
These websites are https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/drivers/) + (https://www.amd.com/en/support
Once installed the latest drivers, restart your PC.
When the device restarts, open the app again to check for updates.
Download and install the available updates.
If you have multiple GPUs for your computer, then make sure you use the one exclusively for gaming.

Disable Overlay Features

Disabling the overlays can boost the performance while playing FC26.

So, here is how you can disable Steam overlay.

Open Steam Library.
Find the game & and right-click on it. Go to its Properties.
Now go to the General Tab.
Uncheck the Enable the ‘Steam Overlay while in game’ option.

You should also disable other overlay apps like Discord, GeForce Experience, Nvidia Shadow Play overlay, or AMD Overlay before playing the game.

Verify The Game Files

Here is how you can verify the integrity of the game files from Steam platform.

Head to the Steam Library. Right-click on the game and open its Properties.

Go to the Installed Files tab and click on the Verify the Integrity of the Game files option.
Wait till Steam verifies the game files and download the missing file or fix the corrupted game files. Once done,

Allow The Game Through the Firewall

Open the Windows Security app using the Search Menu.
Now, click on the Firewall and network protection option.
After that, tap on the ‘Allow an app through firewall’ option from the right-side pane and then press the Change settings button.
Next, click on the Allow another app button and then press the Browse button to select the game exe file.
Click on ‘Open’ and then click on the ‘Add’ button.
You will now see the game under the list of Allowed apps and features.
Tick the checkbox associated with the game and enable it on both Public and Private networks.

Once done, you can press the OK button.
Re-launch the game and check.

Increase VRAM

Go to Windows search and type ‘Advanced System settings’. Select the top search result.
Click on Settings below Performance.
Next, head to the Advanced tab. Under Performance select Settings.
Go to the Advanced tab again.
Under Virtual Memory, click on Change.
Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
Choose the drive where you want to store the paging file.
Select Custom size.

In the Initial size field, enter a value equal to 1.5 times the total available RAM on your system.
In the Maximum size field, enter a value that is 3 times your total RAM.
Now, here is how to check your system’s available RAM.
Go to Windows Settings and select System.
Next, select About.
Check RAM.
After you have set the value as per your system, click on Set, then click on OK, and again on OK.
Once done, restart your PC and then launch FC26. Also make sure you install the Visual C++ redistributables and DirectX.

Wrapping Up

And there you have it! The methods to fix the issue when FPS is Crashing, Freezing, Lagging Or Showing a Blackscreen. If you found this guide helpful, leave a comment and help others know which solutions solved your problem.

FC 26 Is Crashing, Freezing, Lagging Or Showing A Blackscreen