Why Is Star Wars Squadrons Not Loading on PC?

Usually a file, driver, or compatibility issue — here’s how to fix it

---

Star Wars Squadrons refusing to load on PC — sitting at a black screen, crashing before the main menu, freezing on the loading screen, or producing an error on launch — has specific, fixable causes.

The game itself is rarely permanently broken.

It’s almost always a driver, a file integrity issue, a compatibility setting, or a software conflict. Here’s how to work through it.

---

Check EA App / Origin Status

Star Wars Squadrons requires EA’s launcher to be running and connected — if EA’s servers are experiencing issues or the launcher itself has a problem, the game can’t authenticate and won’t load past the initial screen.

Check ea.com/status for any active service incidents. Also confirm the EA App or Origin is fully up to date — go to the launcher’s settings and check for pending updates before attempting to launch the game.

---

Verify Game Files

Corrupted or missing game files cause Squadrons to hang or crash on load, particularly after an interrupted update or a partial download.

On Steam:
Right-click Star Wars Squadrons → Properties → Local Files → Verify Integrity of Game Files. Let it complete fully.

On EA App / Origin:
Find Star Wars Squadrons in your library → click the three dots → Repair. EA’s repair function checks and restores any files that don’t match the expected state.

After verification, restart your computer and attempt to launch before trying other fixes.

---

Update GPU Drivers

Outdated GPU drivers are a consistent cause of Squadrons loading failures, particularly the black screen on launch that the game is specifically known for. Squadrons uses DirectX 11 and has specific driver requirements that older drivers don’t always meet correctly.

Download the latest driver from your GPU manufacturer:

• NVIDIA: nvidia.com/drivers
• AMD: amd.com/support
• Intel: intel.com/content/www/us/en/download-center

For a clean installation, use DDU — Display Driver Uninstaller to completely remove the existing driver before installing fresh. Restart after installing and test Squadrons.

---

Fix the Black Screen on Launch

Star Wars Squadrons has a well-documented black screen issue where the game launches, the screen goes dark, and nothing further happens — either indefinitely or until it crashes. This is one of the most commonly reported Squadrons problems and has specific fixes.

Try Alt + Enter to force windowed mode:

When the black screen appears, press Alt + Enter. This attempts to toggle the game between fullscreen and windowed mode and sometimes breaks the black screen into a working display.

Launch in windowed mode by default:

On Steam, right-click Squadrons → Properties → Launch Options and add:

-windowed -noborder

This forces the game to start in borderless windowed mode, bypassing the fullscreen initialization that commonly causes the black screen.

On EA App / Origin:

In the game’s launch options or settings, look for a way to add the same -windowed -noborder parameters. Alternatively, find the game’s configuration file (typically in Documents → Star Wars Squadrons → settings.ini or similar) and set fullscreen to false.

---

Disable Overlays

Overlays are a particularly common cause of Squadrons loading failures — more so than with many other games, because Squadrons’ engine handles overlay injection less gracefully than modern titles.

Disable all overlays before launching:

Steam overlay: Right-click Squadrons → Properties → General → uncheck Enable the Steam Overlay While in-Game.

Discord overlay: Settings → Activity Privacy → disable overlay.

NVIDIA GeForce Experience overlay: Settings → General → disable In-Game Overlay.

EA App overlay: Settings → Application → disable Origin In-Game (or EA overlay depending on version).

Xbox Game Bar: Press Windows + G and check whether it’s capturing — disable it in Windows Settings → Gaming → Xbox Game Bar.

Test launching after disabling all overlays before re-enabling any of them.

---

Run as Administrator

Squadrons sometimes fails to load due to insufficient permissions — particularly for writing save data, accessing certain directories, or communicating with EA’s authentication servers.

Navigate to the Squadrons executable — typically:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars Squadrons\starwarssquadrons.exe

Right-click and select Run as Administrator. If the game loads, set this permanently via Properties → Compatibility → Run This Program as an Administrator.

Also run your launcher (Steam or EA App) as administrator before launching through it.

---

Check DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables

Star Wars Squadrons requires specific Visual C++ Redistributable versions that may be missing or outdated — this causes silent launch failures with no obvious error message.

Navigate to the game’s installation folder and look for a _CommonRedist folder. Run all Visual C++ Redistributable installers inside it — install both x64 and x86 versions.

Also go to Settings → Windows Update → Check for Updates and install everything pending — DirectX updates are delivered through Windows Update on modern Windows.

---

Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

Windows Fullscreen Optimizations conflict with Squadrons’ fullscreen handling, causing black screens and loading failures on some systems.

Navigate to the Squadrons executable. Right-click → Properties → Compatibility. Check:

• Disable Fullscreen Optimizations
• Override High DPI Scaling Behavior → Application

Click OK and test launching.

---

Check Antivirus Interference

Antivirus software sometimes flags Squadrons’ files or EA’s anti-cheat components, preventing the game from loading correctly.

Check your antivirus quarantine history for any Squadrons-related files. Add the game’s installation folder to your exclusion list:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars Squadrons

After adding exclusions, verify game files to restore anything quarantined, then test launching.

---

Check VR Headset Conflicts

Star Wars Squadrons has native VR support, and this creates a specific conflict that standard games don’t have — if a VR headset is connected or VR software is running in the background, Squadrons sometimes tries to launch in VR mode and gets stuck when the initialization fails.

If you have a VR headset connected, unplug it before launching Squadrons. Also close any VR software running in the background — SteamVR, Oculus / Meta software, Windows Mixed Reality Portal. Squadrons attempts to detect and use VR hardware automatically, and this detection process can cause a loading hang when VR software is present but the headset isn’t fully ready.

This is one of the most specifically Squadrons-related causes and one that many players don’t think to check — it’s particularly relevant because the game was one of the first mainstream titles with full VR support built in.

---

Close Conflicting Background Software

Certain background applications conflict with Squadrons’ loading process more than with other games, particularly software that hooks into game processes.

Close before launching:

• RGB lighting software (Razer Synapse, Corsair iCUE, ASUS Aura Sync)
• Macro and overlay software (AutoHotkey, Overwolf)
• Recording and streaming software (OBS, Bandicam)
• Other game launchers not needed for Squadrons

---

Check for Windows Game Mode Issues

Windows Game Mode can sometimes cause resource allocation issues with specific games including Squadrons.

Go to Settings → Gaming → Game Mode and toggle Game Mode off. Test whether Squadrons loads without it. Also check Settings → Gaming → Graphics and confirm Squadrons isn’t set to a power saving GPU profile — set it to High Performance.

---

Delete the Game’s Configuration Files

Corrupted game configuration files cause Squadrons to hang during initialization as it tries to load settings it can’t parse.

Navigate to:

C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Star Wars Squadrons

Or check:

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Star Wars Squadrons

Delete the configuration folder or the settings files inside it. The game recreates them with default settings on next launch. Your progress is typically stored server-side via EA’s servers rather than locally, so this is generally safe to do.

---

Check Windows Event Viewer

Event Viewer logs what specifically crashed when Squadrons fails to load, which points directly at the cause when the failure isn’t obvious.

Press Windows + R, type eventvwr.msc, press Enter. Go to Windows Logs → Application, sort by time, and look for errors that appeared when Squadrons failed. The Faulting Module Name identifies the failing component:

starwarssquadrons.exe — corrupted game file. Verify files.
nvlddmkm.sys or atikmdag.sys — GPU driver crash. Update driver with DDU.
ntdll.dll — Windows system file issue. Run sfc /scannow.
msvcp140.dll or vcruntime140.dll — missing Visual C++ Redistributable.

---

Run System File Checker

Corrupted Windows system files can cause game loading failures across multiple titles.

Open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

sfc /scannow

After completion, also run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Restart afterward and test.

---

Reinstall Star Wars Squadrons

If nothing else resolves the loading failure, a complete reinstall eliminates any corrupted installation files.

Uninstall through Steam or EA App. After uninstalling, manually delete any remaining game folders. Reinstall fresh — allow the full download to complete without interruption before launching.

---

A Quick Checklist

Work through these in order:

• Verify game files through Steam or EA App repair
• Update GPU drivers with DDU clean install
• Try Alt + Enter when black screen appears to toggle windowed mode
• Add -windowed -noborder launch options in Steam or EA App
• Disable all overlays — Steam, Discord, EA, GeForce Experience
• Unplug VR headset and close all VR software before launching
• Run game and launcher as administrator
• Disable Fullscreen Optimizations in executable Properties
• Install Visual C++ Redistributables from game’s _CommonRedist folder
• Check antivirus quarantine for Squadrons files
• Delete game configuration files from Documents or AppData
• Close background software — RGB apps, recording software, other launchers
• Check Event Viewer for specific faulting module
• Run sfc /scannow and DISM for system file repair
• Reinstall the game as a last resort

---

The Bottom Line

Star Wars Squadrons not loading is most commonly caused by the black screen fullscreen initialization bug, overlay conflicts, or outdated GPU drivers — three issues that affect this specific title more than most. Adding -windowed -noborder to launch options, disabling all overlays, and doing a clean GPU driver install with DDU together resolve the majority of loading failures.

The VR headset conflict is the most specifically Squadrons-related cause worth checking — because the game was built with VR support, it detects VR hardware automatically, and this detection can silently hang the loading process when VR software is running in the background even if the headset isn’t being used.

Squadrons has a few specific quirks that other games don’t — the black screen fix, the VR conflict, and overlay sensitivity. Address those three first and it loads.