Pokemon Go looks “unplayable” as black screen bug plagues game after update

Pokemon Go is being called “unplayable” by users after the latest game update introduced a bug that turns the whole screen black.

Since its launch in 2016, Pokemon Go has maintained its position as one of the most popular mobile games on both Android and iOS devices.

It’s not been without its bugs, however, with some going as far as creating an unusable “ghost account.”

In the game’s most recent bug, players have reported that Pokemon Go isn’t loading past the splash screen — instead displaying nothing but darkness.

Black screen bug is plaguing Pokemon Go

In a post on The Silph Road subreddit, user kingladyslayer was among the first to report the Pokemon Go bug.

“After the recent update the game is unplayable for a large portion of my local community,” they said.

“When launching the game the splash screen and loading screen will play but afterward it’s simply this black screen with nothing that can be done to properly fix this.

“If you uninstall and reinstall the app the game will work temporarily but will soon revert back to the black screen upon reopening the app. It seems to be an issue for both iOS and Android devices too.

“In this current state, it might be advisable to not update to the latest version as you can virtually not play the game at the moment if affected by this bug.”

Others quickly took to the comments to share their experiences with Pokemon Go lately, with many revealing that they’re also having black screens.

“Having the same issue now, I correctly logged in and played a few ago. I exited the app and now I’m stuck at that black screen after the loading completes. The app was updated yesterday,” one user replied.

Another said: “I am having the same issue. Closing and reopening the app seems to get it to load but it’s not consistent and I’ve sometimes had to do this 4/5 times for it to get passed the black screen.”

Niantic has yet to address the issue on social media, but we’ll be sure to update you if they do. In the meantime, head over to our Pokemon Go section for more news and other viral stories.