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How to Fix Need for Speed Unbound Crashing, Won't Launch, Black Screen Issues

Need for Speed Unbound players are experiencing crashing or black screen issues while trying to launch the game. So their game won't launch. Also, some players' game randomly crashes during the race.

Only some unfortunate NFS Unbound PC players are affected by these problems, which is really frustrating. However, if you experience the same, don't worry! There are a few potential workarounds and fixes, which are listed below, that should help you resolve your issue.

1) Repair the game files

If your Need for Speed Unbound is not loading up at all, and you can't even reach the in-game menu, then the best you can try is repairing the game files. It is the first thing you need to do.

Steam:

  • Launch Steam and go to your Library.
  • Right-click on Need for Speed Unbound and hit Properties.
  • Head over to the Local Files.
  • Click the "Verify integrity of game files" button.

EA app:

  • Run the EA application.
  • Go to the "My Collection" section.
  • Select Need for Speed Unbound and click Manage.
  • Then hit Repair.

2) Delete the PcDx12 file

If your game crashes randomly or crashes after character customization/selection, deleting the PcDx12 files in the Documents and install folders may fix your issue.

Navigate to C:\Users\%UserName%\Documents\Need For Speed(TM) Unbound\cache, then delete the PcDx12 file. After that, go to C:\Program Files\EA Games\Need for Speed Unbound\shadercache, and delete the PcDx12 file.

If you are a Steam user, you can find it in "...\Steamlibrary\steamapps\common\excalibur\shadercache"

3) Launch the game directly from the install folder

If your game crashes to the desktop without an error message after encountering the black screen, try to run NFS Unbound using the exe application in the installation folder.

Doing this may make the game launch or at least get you an error message so you can find out what's causing the issue.

The method is quick and simple. Browse to the folder where Need for Speed Unbound was installed. Then run the exe file of the game. Here is how to locate the folder:

Steam: Library > Right-click Need for Speed Unbound > Manage > Browse local files
EA app: My Collection > Need for Speed Unbound > Three dots > View Properties > Browse

4) Update GPU drivers

Need for Speed Unbound may run poorly for you and frequently crash if your graphics card drivers are running an outdated version. Keeping GPU drivers updated will make your gaming experience much smoother.

You can download and install the latest NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel drivers/software from their official website. Here are the links:

5) Install C++ redistributable

It is essential to ensure that the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables are installed and not corrupted.

Having outdated or broken files on these could significantly alter your gaming experience. Hence, it could very well be one of the reasons why Unbound keeps crashing for you.

Reinstalling or updating the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables on your Windows PC may completely fix the black screen and crashing problems.

You can download the latest Visual Studio C++ 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022 from Microsoft's website here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist

6) Disable overlays

EA Desktop App In-game Overlay is a feature that allows you to access the friend list and chat with other players while in-game. Although it's a useful tool, there are reports that it may be crashing Need for Speed Unbound.

So you can try to disable it and see how things go. To disable in-game overlay in the EA app:

  • Launch your EA Desktop app.
  • Press the Alt key.
  • Select Settings.
  • Go to the Application tab.
  • Look for In-game Overlay and switch it off. Once you turn it off, the option turns dark grey, and you have successfully disabled the in-game overlay for Need for Speed Unbound and all other games.

I hope we were able to help. Please share your experience with the game and if you managed to fix the problem yourself in any way in the comments section below. Note that I can update the guide and add new methods.

2 Comments

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  • I'm having this issue since 7am and its so annoying ea just give u links to stuff I've already done. Updated everything cleared cache and still nothing is working for me yet. Might reinstall windows at this point.

    • i'll just wait til dec. 2 for the offical release date, maybe a fix patch will drop til then.
      everything else works perfectly but NFS Unbound, sometimes i get a crash message that says that my GPU was physically removed from my pc lol. i can't win races because the game crashes and all i have is a weak starter car and 150$ but i have to pay at least 1000 as buy-in to start a race, how good is that