FIX for Infinite Black Loading Screen

[AugustShade]

EDIT: As of November 7, 2022, an update has been released to fix the issue. Download the update and the game should load properly.


Recently, an update for Need for Speed Most Wanted 2012 on Steam caused players to be unable to load into the game, stuck at a black loading screen. This is due to some important language files being removed in the update. This fix applies only to the issues caused by the October 25 2022 update.

There's two methods to fix this - redownloading the missing files, or switching to a different language.

(This guide was made using a Windows PC. The process should be similar for other OS's, and from what I can tell it should work with the Steam Deck, if you can access the game files.)

METHOD 1 - Redownloading the missing English language files

(This method only works when the game language is set to English or Nederlands (Dutch).)

(Prefer watching a video? I made a video tutorial if you're having trouble)

1. Download the EN_US[drive.google.com] folder I have made, and put it into your downloads. This is a folder with the files from the last stable update. It's approximately 270MB. As far as I can tell this should work fine for both English and Nederlands (Dutch).
   
   
2. While waiting for it to download, navigate to the Need for SpeedTM Most Wanted folder. This can be found by right clicking the game on steam > Properties... > LOCAL FILES > Browse...
   
   
3. Find the EN_US folder in the Need for Speed folder, and either rename it or delete it. If you don't have this folder, continue to the next step.
   
   
4. Once downloaded, extract the files to your downloads folder. Once extracted, copy the new EN_US folder.
   
   
5. Navigate back to your NFS folder, and paste the new EN_US folder there.
   
   
6. After this, you can try to launch the game, and it should work.

METHOD 2 - Switching to a different language

Since the root issue is missing the English/Netherlands language files, switching to a different language on Steam can also fix the issue. It may require a download with a similar download size to method one (200+MB), and may uninstall previous language files (so if you want to keep the EN_US folder, make sure it's copied somewhere else. Keep in mind that Czech, Polish, and traditional Chinese also use the filename EN_US.)

This method is much simpler - to change the language of the game, open Steam, right click on Need for Speed Most Wanted, click Properties... > LANGUAGE and then change the language to one of your choosing (to something other than English or Nederlands (Dutch).)

METHOD 3 - Copying the files from a language with the same files

If you don't trust downloading random files from a stranger on the internet, and don't want to play in another language, I have found a third way to fix the issue (though I haven't tested it much). It basically combines methods one and two.

From what I can tell, all language files that use the name EN_US are identical, and the language used in-game is determined by the language set it Steam. If this is wrong, please let me know.

1. On steam, switch the game's language to Cestina (Czech), Polski (Polish), or Traditional Chinese. Steps to do so are found in Method 2.
   
   
2. Once it's done downloading the new language, navigate to your Need for Speed(TM) Most Wanted folder.
   
   
3. Locate EN_US in the main folder, and move it somewhere else. You should either create a new folder in the NFS folder (with a new name) to put it in, or move it to a different folder on your PC.
   
   
4. Switch your language back to English or Nederlands (Dutch) on Steam (whichever you prefer)
   
   
5. When it's done, find the EN_US folder that you moved and move it back into the Need for Speed folder.
   
   
6. Launch the game and see if it works.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Still having trouble? I'll go through a couple ways you can try to fix it:

1. Watch the video to make sure you haven't done anything wrong! Following along by reading a guide can be unclear at times, so a video tutorial can be helpful.
   
   
2. Make sure you put EN_US in the right spot. It should be unzipped and go into the MAIN need for speed folder. Some people went into the UI folder, as you can eventually find another EN_US there - that is the WRONG place to put it.
   
   
3. Make sure the folder is named correctly. The folder needs the EN_US name or else it will not work.
   
   
4. Try method two if you haven't already. If it works when changing languages, you likely did something wrong with method 1.
   
   
5. Validate the files on Steam. If you accidentally deleted some files, this should fix it.
   
   
6. If the game is crashing, this guide won't be terribly helpful. If it started crashing after the fix, try validating the files. If it was crashing before, you'll need to find another way to fix it.
   
   
7. STEAM DECK users: The switch from Origin to the EA App broke some things in general, not related to the game. This guide[steamdeckhq.com] should hopefully be helpful to you?
   
   
8. Try other black screen fixes. While this guide will likely be necessary until an official fix is released, the black screen may also be caused by something else. Here is a Steam guide that goes over a few more fixes.

If you need any extra help, let me know.

List of edits:

• Revised steps to make it easier to understand & renamed downloaded file to require less steps
  
• Removed warning about file validation
  
• Added second method with trying a different language
  
• Put note about this being tested only on a Windows PC
  
• Mentioned missing Netherlands language, adding Troublshooting section
  
• Added method 3

[mannix]

Thanks a lot. It works for me.
Thought I purchased this game several month before, I just downloaded it today.
At first I can run the game in traditional Chinese language, but then I noticed the UI seems not so good. I decided to switch into English version, but I can not load into the game again.
When I opened the game folder try to replace the EN_US file as you provided, I found there was no such folder named as EN_US at all.
Therefore I believe some important file may be removed after the update, or because I switched the language option.
I put you file into my game folder then everything back to normal, thank you again for your help.

[Overt3k]

Oh gosh many thanks, like @mannix I installed NFS:MW today and no EN_US exists on main folder... Just added your version of EN_US and all is working well now.

[PINGU2017NOOB]

God sent you, it worked for me, thank you very much!

[PINGU2017NOOB]

the EN_US file didn't exist for me too, i added the new one and it worked.

[IamDaBaby1534]

Thank you so much!

[Gamer Fighter]

it's not working for me. where exactly does the file need to go. I placed it in the same folder the old file was located and renamed the old file. but it still is not working

[AugustShade]

Originally posted by Gamer Fighter:

it's not working for me. where exactly does the file need to go. I placed it in the same folder the old file was located and renamed the old file. but it still is not working

Make sure you put the new EN_US in your need for speed folder, not the Replacement EN_US folder.
If you're sure you've done that, and you're still getting the black loading screen, then can you tell me what folders you see inside the new EN_US folder?

Edit for new readers: The Replacement EN_US folder no longer exists; you just get the EN_US folder by itself.

[Gamer Fighter]

Originally posted by Shadow_Walker13:

Recently,
1. Download the

2. Once downloaded, extract the files.

3. Navigate to your Steam NFS:MW 2012 folder. This can be found by right clicking the game on steam > Properties... > LOCAL FILES > Browse...

4. Rename the EN_US to something else to keep as a backup. If you don't have this folder, skip this step.

5. Go back to the downloaded folder (EN_US Replacement) , and copy/paste the new EN_US folder into your game folders

6. After this, you can try to launch the game, and it should work. Make sure you don't validate the files, as that may remove the new files.

This is what worked for me; if it doesn't work then let me know.

So I did all of this and I'm still getting the black screen. I stuck the new file into where the old one was. I even removed the old file and still didn't work. I'm not sure what you mean by validating the files because I didn't see anything regarding validation. thank you for helping out. This is so frustrating.

[AugustShade]

Originally posted by Gamer Fighter:

So I did all of this and I'm still getting the black screen. I stuck the new file into where the old one was. I even removed the old file and still didn't work. I'm not sure what you mean by validating the files because I didn't see anything regarding validation. thank you for helping out. This is so frustrating.

In my original post I mentioned to not validate the files - that's something you can do on Steam, and it checks to see if you have all the files you're supposed to. I said not to do that, as it may see the new folder as containing incorrect files, and could remove them.

What do you see in the new EN_US folder? there should be four more folders in there - FEEDBACKGROUPS, SPEECH, STREAMS, AND SWC. And again, make sure you take the new EN_US out of the Replacement EN_US folder first before moving it to the Need for Speed Most Wanted folder.

[Gamer Fighter]

I don't know anything about validation. I don't know how it validates or anything. I'm 55 yrs old and not used to this stuff. I have no clue to what is what. I'm trying my best to follow your instructions.

[Gamer Fighter]

I deleted the EN folder and pasted it again to where it should be. Now what do I do in order for Steam not to validate the game? what do I click or check?

[AugustShade]

Originally posted by Gamer Fighter:

I don't know anything about validation. I don't know how it validates or anything. I'm 55 yrs old and not used to this stuff. I have no clue to what is what. I'm trying my best to follow your instructions.

Don't worry about the validation stuff then; it's not important to this.

Just going to recap on what you should have done -
-Download the folder from the link I sent
-Unzipped/Extracted the folder
-Went into the unzipped folder (named Replacement EN_US)
-Took out the folder named EN_US
-Deleted or renamed the EN_US that was found in the Need for Speed(TM) Most Wanted folder
-Moved the NEW EN_US folder to the Need for Speed(TM) Most Wanted folder
-Started the game (if it's already open, close it and open it again)

If you need more clarification let me know

[AugustShade]

Originally posted by Gamer Fighter:

I deleted the EN folder and pasted it again to where it should be. Now what do I do in order for Steam not to validate the game? what do I click or check?

Validating the game is a manual process, it's something you probably don't need to do and you don't need to worry about accidentally doing it.

[Gamer Fighter]

Originally posted by Shadow_Walker13:

Originally posted by Gamer Fighter:

I don't know anything about validation. I don't know how it validates or anything. I'm 55 yrs old and not used to this stuff. I have no clue to what is what. I'm trying my best to follow your instructions.

Don't worry about the validation stuff then; it's not important to this.

Just going to recap on what you should have done -
-Download the folder from the link I sent
-Unzipped/Extracted the folder
-Went into the unzipped folder (named Replacement EN_US)
-Took out the folder named EN_US
-Deleted or renamed the EN_US that was found in the Need for Speed(TM) Most Wanted folder
-Moved the NEW EN_US folder to the Need for Speed(TM) Most Wanted folder
-Started the game (if it's already open, close it and open it again)

If you need more clarification let me know

thank you

[delco]

you rock. it worked. thank god you had a backed up version