The Xbox Game Bar is a Windows 11/10 overlay that enables users to access numerous widgets while playing games. It is undoubtedly the foremost gaming feature available within the Windows OS. Pressing the Windows logo + G hotkey when playing a game brings up an overlay bar from which you can access and utilize numerous handy tools (otherwise called widgets). It comes with six useful gaming features, and you can add more to it.
The Xbox Game Bar is enabled by default in Windows 11, and there isn’t any specific setting you can select to turn it on/off within that platform. However, Windows 10’s Settings app does have an option that must be selected for the overlay to open. This is how you can enable the Game Bar in Windows 10.
- To access the file search tool, press the Windows logo button + S hotkey.
- Type Game Bar settings in the search box.
- Click the Game Bar settings search result.
- Turn on the Enable Game Bar option.
The Enable Game Bar option in Windows 10
Now you can bring up the Xbox Game Bar with its Windows logo + G hotkey within or outside games. Its enabled features (widgets) will be visible on the overlay. To ensure you can access them all, click the Widgets Menu button. Then select all the tools on the widgets menu to add them to the bar. These are six of the most useful features the Xbox Game Bar offers for PC gaming.
The Widgets menu
Screenshot Tool
Clicking the Capture button on the overlay activates the Xbox Game Bar’s screenshot tool. This enables you to take snapshots of all your greatest gaming moments for any Windows game by pressing the Take Screenshot button. Or you can capture snapshots by pressing the overlay’s Windows logo + Alt + PrtSc hotkey.
The screenshots get saved to a Captures subfolder within the Videos directory. You can view and access them by clicking the Gallery button on the Game Bar overlay. Click the Open in File Explorer button there to bring up the Captures folder that includes your screenshots.
The Capture widget
Gameplay Recording Tool
Many players utilize the Xbox Game Bar’s recording tool to capture gameplay videos for Windows games, which they can upload to YouTube or alternative sites. You can activate that recording feature when playing games by clicking Capture > Start Recording. The game will start recording, and you’ll see a timer and a stop button to click on to end it.
You can access additional recording options by clicking the Settings button and selecting the Widgets tab. There you can select a Record in background while I’m playing the game option. That tab also includes three audio recording options for video clips.
Performance Monitor
The Performance widget is an Xbox Game Bar feature that shows system resource usage details when you click on its overlay button. It displays CPU (processor), GPU (graphical processing unit), RAM (system memory), and VRAM usage when you’re playing games. This info can be useful for determining whether you need to free up more system resources for your games.
The Performance tool
The best thing about this widget from a gaming perspective is that it also incorporates an FPS counter with a graph that shows frame rate info for Windows games you play. So, think twice about installing any third-party FPS counter for Windows 11/10! To activate that feature, click FPS on the Performance widget and press the Request Access button. This Microsoft Game Bar help page provides further details about how to activate and utilize that in-game FPS counter.
Resources
Resources is an Xbox Game Bar widget that shows you background processes and their system resource usage, like Windows Task Manager. You can utilize that tool to close unneeded background tasks and free up system resources when playing games. To do so, press the overlay’s Resources button and click on the End task options (X) beside processes to terminate them. Click the Resources option button and select Showing all in the Hide processes drop-down menu to set the widget to show everything.
The Resources Game Bar feature
Xbox Social
Xbox Social enables you to find and chat with your gaming buddies with the Windows Game Bar. Clicking the Xbox Social button brings up a widget that includes a list of online and offline friends. You can chat with a friend by clicking the … button and clicking Send a message. This widget also has a Start a party option for voice chat.
The Xbox Social feature
Xbox Achievements
Xbox achievements are rewards given to players for fulfilling certain game tasks or objectives that increase a Gamerscore. If you’re signed in with a Microsoft account, you can track your Xbox achievement progress with the Game Bar. To do so, click the Xbox Achievement button on the overlay to view your progress when playing a Windows game.
Aside from those built-in widgets that come with the overlay, you can also add other gaming features to the Xbox Game Bar. To do so, click the Widget Menu button and select Widget Store. Select a widget to add to the bar and click its Install button. These are some of the handy gaming widgets you can install from there:
- Crosshair Zoom
- One Game Launcher
- XSplit Game Bar Hub
- Ghost – Overlay for Destiny 2
- Gamebar Browser
- Gamecaster Game Bar
- Discord for Game Bar
- Warframe World Status
- Aurora Overlay
Those six Xbox Game Bar features undoubtedly make that overlay a decent Windows gaming accessory. The six pre-installed widgets enable you to capture game screenshots, record video, chat with gaming buddies, manage system resources, view FPS info, and track Xbox achievement progress when playing PC games. With additional widgets freely available in the Widgets Store, there are many more ways the Game Bar can enhance Windows gaming.
