This tutorial shows you how to disable Game Bar on Windows 11 (Game DVR) from Settings, Windows Registry, and Group Policy Editor.
Windows 11’s Game Bar, sometimes referred to as Game DVR, lets you record and take screenshots of your gameplay. In addition to that, it also has other tools such as social media integration, music player integration, the ability to show system performance metrics, game mode, and more. You can launch Game Bar in any game by pressing the Win + G keyboard shortcut.
While useful, the Game bar is known to cause performance issues in certain games. In addition to that, it might launch itself due to unwanted key presses and cause obstructions while gaming. Whatever the reason, if you are not using or don’t want to use it, follow the methods in this tutorial to disable Game Bar on Windows 11.
Disable Game Bar from Settings
Step 1: Left-click on the Network icon on the taskbar and select the gear icon to open Settings.
Step 2: Go to the Gaming > Captures page in Settings.
Step 3: Turn off the Record what happened option.
Step 4: Go to the Apps > Installed apps page in Settings.
Step 5: Select More options (three dots) next to the Xbox Game Bar entry and select Advanced Options.
Step 6: Select Never from the Background permissions dropdown.
That’s it, the Windows 11 Game Bar is disabled and it will no longer run in the background or record gameplay footage automatically.
Disable Game Bar from Group Policy Editor (GPEdit)
Windows 11 Pro users can turn off Game Bar permanently from the Group Policy Editor. Follow the below steps.
Step 1: Open the Run window by pressing Win + R shortcut.
Step 2: Type gpedit.msc and click on Ok to open the Group Policy window.
Step 3: Go to the Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components folder.
Step 4: Double-click on the Windows Game Recording and Broadcasting folder.
Step 5: Open the Enables or disables Windows Game Recording and Broadcasting policy.
Step 6: Select Disabled and click Ok.
Step 7: Close all windows and restart Windows.
That’s it. The Game Bar on Windows 11 is disabled permanently and it will no longer open or run in the background.
Disable Game Bar from Registry Editor
Windows 11 Home users can turn off Game Bar from Registry Editor.
Step 1: Open Registry Editor by clicking on the Start icon and searching in it.
Step 2: Go to the below folder in the Registry Editor.
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR
Step 3: Select and double-click on the AppCaptureEnabled value.
Step 4: Type 0 in the Value Data field and press Ok.
Step 5: Close all windows and restart Windows.
That’s all there is to it. You can use any of the methods listed above to permanently disable Game Bar (Game DVR) on Windows 11. Keep in mind that if you follow the settings method, you can still open Game Bar with the keyboard shortcut (Win + G). The other two methods, Group Policy & Registry, permanently disable it. You can also uninstall Game Bar on Windows 11.
For Windows 10: Disable Game DVR on Windows 10
I hope this tutorial helped you.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
