You can pop up the “Game Bar” with a simple shortcut, Win+G and get quick access to gaming features. The functionality of this bar is not limited to capturing visuals running on video games played on the device but also taking screenshots of the game clips. The Game DVR feature allows you to record your gameplay in the background. It is located on the Game Bar – which offers buttons to record gameplay & take screenshots using the Game DVR feature. But it can slow your gaming performance by recording video in the background.
Disable Game Bar & Game DVR
Windows 11
First, right-click the Start button on the Taskbar and choose Settings from the list of options displayed therein. Alternatively, you can use the Win+I keyboard shortcut to go to the settings window directly. Next, select Gaming from the side panel on the left.
When directed to a new screen, expand the Xbox Game bar heading on the right.
Toggle the slider next to Open Xbox Game Bar using this button on a controller to the Off position. Similarly, head back to the Settings screen and choose Apps from the side panel. Expand the Apps & features heading on the right and find the Xbox Game Bar entry.
When found, hit the Menu button, select Advanced options.
Under the new screen, scroll down to the Background app permissions heading and choose the Never option for it. TIP: You can read more here about the Xbox game bar in Windows 11.
Windows 10
Navigate your mouse cursor to Start Button, click it to expand the menu. From the expanded menu, chose the ‘All Apps’ entry. It is located at the very end of the menu. Click on All Apps and scroll until you find the Xbox entry. Upon finding it, click the button. If prompted, connect to the Internet. Next, when the Xbox screen appears look for the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner of the Xbox screen – the hamburger menu, and click on it. Now, scroll down to locate the Settings option. Click on Settings. Underneath the Settings title, three separate options will appear. Choose Game DVR. A slider denoting the ON position of Record game clips and take screenshots using Game DVR should be visible to you. Slide it to the Off position for disabling the recording element of Game DVR.
Turn off Xbox DVR through the Registry Editor
Run regedit to open the Registry Editor and then navigate to the following registry key: Right-click AppCaptureEnabled and set its value to 0. A value of 1 enables it, whereas 0 disables it. Next navigate to the following key: Right-click GameDVR_Enabled and set its value to 0. A value of 1 enables it, whereas 0 disables it. The Game DVR feature on Windows 11/10 is enabled by default so that you can easily share the captured screen on popular social media network or store them locally to a PC. So, once you disable the feature, all the shortcuts will fail to respond. But if you do not have any need for it or if you face any performance issues while playing games, you might want to disable it and see if it helps. Read: How to show FPS in games on Windows 11 PC
What is the Xbox game bar for?
Xbox Game Bar in Windows is a special function, designed to capture videos and screenshots while playing PC games. If it is enabled, all you must do while playing a game is press the Win+G on your keyboard to open Xbox Game Bar and take a screenshot.
Is Xbox game bar any good?
The Game Bar is a free built-in screen capture application. It has the basic features you need to capture or record your screen while playing games. However, it has one shortfall – You never really know if you’re recording until the gaming session is over. See this post if you receive Can’t Record Right Now or There’s nothing to record errors.
