Horizon Forbidden West Black Screen on PS4/PS5, How to Fix?

Horizon Forbidden West is a newly released action role-playing video game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It’s available exclusively for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles and is a sequel to 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn. This single-player open-world post-apocalyptic video game has issues, like the black screen on PS4/PS5 consoles, that must be fixed.

Well, it’s one of the common issues among Horizon Forbidden West players these days, no matter which gaming platform you’re using. According to multiple reports, whenever you try connecting the PS4/PS5 console to your TV, you might see the PS5 screen go black after booting up the PS logo. This occurs when the HDMI cable doesn’t work properly or your TV does not support the output resolution. So, you might get stuck on a black screen during gameplay.

Fix: Horizon Forbidden West is Stuck on a Black Screen on PS4/PS5

The PlayStation screen will keep going black on the boot menu for a few seconds without any sound, and then you may need to boot the console again to eliminate the black screen issue. Now, if you’re also facing the same problem, don’t worry; here, we’ve shared some workarounds to fix it.

Sometimes, it may be possible that your outdated system version, issues with the game, in-game graphics settings, older system versions, etc., might affect the game launching or black screen issues. Additionally, issues with the display resolution, HDMI cables, external drives, etc. may trigger multiple other problems. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.

1. Check for Game Updates

It’s always better to check for game updates and install the latest update on the console. An outdated game version can cause several compatibility issues rather than having bugs. To do so:

• Go to Library and select the game you want to update.
• Press the Options button on the controller and select Check for Update.
• If an update is available, follow the instructions to install the update.

2. Check for System Updates

You should also check for firmware updates and install the system update to the latest version so that your console can properly run all the recent games. To do that:

• Go to the Settings menu on the PlayStation console.
• Select System Software Update > Check for available updates and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the update process.
• Once done, reboot the system to apply changes.

3. Delete Saved Game Data

It’s recommended to delete the saved game data on the console because sometimes the corrupted or missing game data can trigger multiple issues with the game crashing or a black screen on the PlayStation console. To do this:

• Go to the Settings menu > Select Storage.
• Choose to Saved Data > Select Horizon Forbidden West.
• Press the Options button on the controller > Select the saved game data files (one or multiple).
• Choose to Delete and confirm the task to complete it.
• Once it’s done, reboot the console to apply changes.

Note: All Horizon Forbidden West game files (locally saved data) will be deleted from your PlayStation console. Since you’re online, all saved game data will be on the cloud unless you manually delete cloud saves.

4. Rebuild Database (PS4/PS5)

Rebuilding the database on your PlayStation console can quickly resolve potential issues or errors. To do so:

• Switch off your console completely. Unplug the power cable from the console and wait for around 2-3 minutes.
• Now, plug in the power cable and turn it on to clear the Cached Data automatically from the system.

Check whether this issue has been fixed with the Horizon Forbidden West game. If not, follow the next steps below.

• Now, press and hold the Power button on the PlayStation console until you hear two beeps. [The second beep will sound after seven seconds]
• The console will boot in the Safe Mode > Connect the controller to the USB with the console and press the PS Button on the controller.
• Next, you’ll get an option called ‘Rebuild Database’.
• Select ‘Rebuild Database’ and confirm the task.
• It may take some time, depending on the size of the hard drive data. Have some patience.
• Once done, reboot the system normally.

5. Reset the Console

As a last resort, you should try resetting the console to the factory default so that you can understand whether the problem is happening with the console or the game. To do so:

For PlayStation 4:

• Go to the’ Initialization’ tab in the Settings menu on your PS4 console.
• Select ‘Initialize PS4’ > On the next page, choose ‘Full’.
• Now, your PlayStation 4 console will start wiping itself clean and restoring the system to the default. [This process may take some time]

For PlayStation 5:

• Go to the Settings menu (cog icon) on the console.
• Hit System software > Select Reset options.
• Select Reset your console > Select Reset.
• After a few minutes, your PS5 console will automatically reset itself to the factory default mode.
• Finally, the console will automatically boot into the standard setup screen after some time. [If you’re selling your console then don’t follow the next steps]
  • If you’re resetting for troubleshooting or any kind of issue then you may proceed through the normal setup as usual.
• Once done, log into your account and install the Horizon Forbidden West game to check for the black screen issue again.

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