Bandai Namco has confirmed a progression-blocking issue in the main quest "Original Sin." This is not a vague loading problem: it has a specific partner condition and a specific official workaround.
The short answer
- What triggers it: completing "Original Sin" with a partner other than Iori, Zash, or Argo can leave the screen black instead of returning to gameplay.
- What to do: select Iori, Zash, or Argo as your partner before starting the quest.
- Status: Bandai Namco says a permanent fix is planned for a future update.
That is the full official guidance as of the July 10 notice. Do not rely on alleged fixes involving skipped cutscenes, cache clearing, or autosave reloads: Bandai Namco did not list those as a workaround.
What Bandai Namco confirmed
The official notice identifies a black-screen failure after the quest completes, not an NPC interaction that fails to advance. It applies when the active partner is anyone except Iori, Zash, or Argo.
Before entering the quest, open the partner selection and switch to one of those three characters. If you are deciding between them, the partner system guide and character database list their confirmed weapon roles.
What is still unknown
The notice does not say whether a run can be recovered after the black screen has happened, nor does it list a platform-specific restart or reload procedure. Until the promised patch arrives, the safest move is prevention rather than trying community fixes after the fact.
Death Game Mode warning
If you are playing Death Game Mode, do not start "Original Sin" without checking the active partner first. We have not seen an official statement on how this issue interacts with a permadeath save, so there is no responsible basis for promising that a reload, backup, or support ticket will protect a run.
For the current official status of this and other launch issues, see our Known Issues & Workarounds.