How to Enable or Disable Steam Overlay on Windows 11/10

Steam Overlay lets you access various Steam features without leaving the game. Here’s how to enable or disable Steam Overlay in Windows 11/10.

One of the best features of Steam is the Steam Overlay. It lets you access many Steam features, such as friends, discussions, guides, achievements, workshot, and more, without leaving the game. In addition to these, it also lets you record your gameplay, take screenshots, take notes, and access the built-in web browser.

In this guide, I will show you how to enable the Steam Overlay feature in simple steps. Of course, if you don’t want to use Steam Overlay or find it distracting, I will also give you the steps to disable Steam Overlay in Steam settings. Let’s get started.

Before You Start

• The steps below are tested and verified to work on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Steps to Enable/Disable Steam Overlay in Steam on Windows

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search and open “Steam“.
3. Click the “Steam” option in the top left corner.
4. Select the “Settings” option.
5. Go to the “In Game” tab on the left sidebar.
   • To enable Steam Overlay: Turn ON the “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” toggle.
   • To disable Steam Overlay: Turn OFF the “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” toggle.
6. Close the settings window.
7. With that, you’ve enabled/disabled the Steam Overlay feature in Steam.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, we must open Steam. To do that, press the “Start” button on your keyboard. This opens the Start menu. In it, search for “Steam” and click the top results or the “Open” option on the right panel.

Once the Steam application opens, click the “Steam” option in the top-left corner and select the “Settings” option.

The above action opens the Steam Settings window. Here, go to the “In Game” tab on the left sidebar. Next, do the following.

• To enable Steam Overlay: Turn ON the “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” toggle.
• To disable Steam Overlay: Turn OFF the “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” toggle.

After that, close the Steam Settings window, and you are done. With that, you’ve enabled/disabled the Steam Overlay feature in Steam.

How To Activate Steam Overlay In-Game

Once the Steam Overlay feature is enabled, you can activate it in any Steam game. Here’s how.

First, make sure the Steam game you want to play is launched. Next, press the “Shift + Tab” shortcut to launch the Steam Overlay. You can use the menus at the bottom or the side to quickly access features such as game recording, screenshots, friends, the web browser, achievements, notes, guides, discussions, and more.

To dismiss the overlay, use the same “Shift + Tab” shortcut again.

How To Show FPS Overlay In-Game Using Steam

The Steam Overlay doesn’t display the FPS information. If you want to see your in-game FPS, follow these steps:

1. Open the Steam application.
2. Click “Steam” in the top-left corner.
3. Select “Settings“.
4. Go to the “In Game” on the sidebar.
5. On the right panel, scroll down and select “Top-left” from the “Show performance monitor” dropdown.
6. With that, all Steam games will display in-game FPS information.

Note: By default, Steam only displays the minimal FPS information. If you want, you can display more performance metrics. To do that, select what to show from the “Performance detail level” dropdown in the “In Game” tab in the Steam Settings window.

That is all. It is that simple to enable or disable Steam Overlay in Steam on Windows 11 and Windows 10. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.