Why do I get a black screen in Helldivers 2?

Helldivers 2 has taken gaming by storm recently with its horde shooter gameplay, but many are wondering why they find a black screen when loading it up.

Why do I get a black screen in Helldivers 2?

If you're getting a black screen when loading up Helldivers 2, it means the servers are at capacity, and you're part of a lengthy queue for getting back online. 

The black screen is only temporary though, and if you wait you will eventually get to a game screen that reads "Servers at capacity. Please try again later." 

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It only took 10 minutes of waiting for the black screen to go away for me, but your mileage may vary depending on when you try to go online.

From the error screen, you can continue to wait in the queue, and you'll eventually get into the game, but it may be a long time. 

It's fair to say the game has been a victim of its own success, as Arrowhead Studios was not prepared for such a high player count. 

This means the devs have been working to expand the servers, with it currently capped at 450,000 players as of writing this, which is more than double the original capacity. 

As Arrowhead continues to work on the back end, we assume server issues will begin to lessen, but there's currently no timeframe for this.