Civilization 6 PC is facing errors and issues like the crash at launch, black screen, high CPU usage, stuttering, and more. Here I have compiled a list of errors and issues with the game along with their fixes and workarounds.
Civilization VI Black Screen, Stuttering, And Fixes
Civilization 6 is the latest entry in the long-running franchise and the developers are supporting the game with expansion and DLCs like Gathering Storm. However, PC players are reporting errors and issues like game crashing, black screen at launch, and more.
The following are the errors and issues that players are experiencing with the game along with their fixes and workarounds.
100% CPU Usage Fix
Players have reported that when they launch Civilization VI, the CPU usage goes 100% while the GPU is barely being used 5%. The fact that CPU is being 100% utilized, it doesn’t have any headroom to utilize the GPU. In simple words, the CPU is bottlenecking the GPU.
First, make sure there is no process other than the game using the CPU. Open task manager to see if there is any process that is using CPU more than it should. In most cases, its the Windows Defender or Antimalware Service Executable that is causing the high CPU usage. Check our Antimalware Service Executable High CPU Usage Fix.
If that is not the case then I suggest lowering the number of CPU cores that the game is using. Launch the game > open Task Manager > Details tab. Right-click on the game’s exe > Set Affinity and uncheck the number of cores that you don’t want the game to use. This will lower the CPU usage.
Fatal Error, Game Goes Back To Main Menu Fix
Civilization 6 players have reported that when they launch the game they either get a Fatal Error or the when they play the game, it just goes back to the main menu.
This issue is most probably being caused if you have installed mods for the game. Delete the mods and remove the mod assets located in “Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier’s Civilization VI\Base\Assets” and “Documents\My Games\Sid Meier’s Civilization VI\Mods”. Also, delete the Mods.sqlite file. Launch the game and the issue will be fixed.
Black Screen Fix
Black Screen is a common issue with PC video games and Civilization 6 is no exception. Players have reported that when they launch the game, they get the black screen while they can hear the audio in the background.
Launch the game and when the black screen appears, press “Alt + Enter”. The game will go into Windowed mode and will start to display. Go to the video settings and set the proper resolution to play in fullscreen mode.
If that is not the case with you, then updating the GPU drivers might fix the issue as older GPUs sometimes cause problems with games, especially if you are playing the game on an updated version of Windows 10.
GPU Driver Crash Fix
Apparently, Civilization VI has an issue with new drivers for AMD and Nvidia GPUs. Just roll back to an older driver version and the issue with be resolved.
Performance, Stuttering Fix
Performance is a common issue with PC video games and Civilization 6 players are reporting performance issues like stuttering and low FPS, especially after updating Windows 10. Here are a few things that will help you fix the performance and stuttering.
First, make sure you have installed the latest GPU drivers and there is no background process that is using too much of your CPU, GPU, or HDD.
If you have started experiencing stuttering in Civilization 6 after a Windows 10 update, then turn on the game mode. Enable it by opening Settings > Gaming > Game Mode. Enable the game mode. This will resolve the stuttering issue.
However, the results are varying depending on the system. For some Windows users, their games start to stutter after enabling the Game Mode. In my experience, enabling game mode fixes stuttering. But, if you are facing stuttering with the game and have enabled game mode, then just disable it.
If the game mode has done nothing to improve performance then roll back to the previous Windows 10 build.
In case, Civilization VI performance issues continue to persist then here is what you can do. Open Nvidia Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings > select the game from the drop-down menu. Make the following changes.
Set Vertical Sync to “ON”
Set “Power Management Mode” to “Prefer Maximum Performance”
set “Texture Filtering- Quality” to “High Performance”
Launch the game, disable in-game v.sync and the stuttering should be fixed. If the stuttering persists then follow the steps above but set Vertical Sync to “Fast”. Launch the game, disable in-game v.sync and the display mode should be set at Fullscreen. This will not only fix stuttering but, will also give you an FPS boost if you have decent enough CPU and GPU.
Crash At Startup, Game Not Launching Fix
According to Civilization 6 players, the game crashes as soon as they launch and for some, the game doesn’t even launch. Here are a few things that will help you fix the crash at launch issue with Civilization 6.
One reason for the game to crash is the lack of administrative rights. First, of all make sure you are playing the game with an admin account for Windows. Right-click the game’s exe > properties > compatibility tab > check “Run this program as administrator”. Apply the change and do the same for Steam’s exe. Launch the game and the issue will be fixed.
If you are still facing Civilization 6 crash at launch issues, then your anti-virus or Window Defender might be causing the game to crash by detecting it’s exe as a trojan. You can fix this by either disabling the anti-virus or exclude the game’s folder from the anti-virus. This will fix the Civilization VI crash issue.
Using third-party monitoring software like MSI Afterburner or GeForce experience can also cause the game to crash. Diable any third-party tools you are using the game will stop crashing at launch.
That is all for our Civilization 6 fixes for errors like the crash at startup, stuttering, fatal error, and more. If you are facing other errors and issues with your PC then also see our hub for commonly occurring PC errors and their fixes.