{"id":250635,"date":"2024-12-29T11:39:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T16:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onmsft.com\/?p=250635&preview=true&preview_id=250635"},"modified":"2025-07-12T12:10:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T19:10:27","slug":"how-to-turn-off-game-mode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/msftnewsnow.com\/how-to-turn-off-game-mode\/","title":{"rendered":"How to turn off Game Mode on Windows 11 and why you need to do it right now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Windows 11<\/a> includes a “Game Mode” that automatically optimizes your PC to run games at the best performance possible when it detects a game in progress. It usually works well, but it can cause performance issues on some custom-built Windows PC setups. It’s easy to disable it, here’s what you need to do.<\/p>\n

What is Game Mode?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Game Mode is a special mode within\u00a0Windows 11<\/a> that gives your game processes priority over all others, with the idea that the game will run faster with fewer performance problems and provide the best and most stable framerate for your PC. It also temporarily prevents<\/a> Windows Update from installing drivers or asking to restart your PC to install updates in the middle of a game. Microsoft introduced this gaming feature as part of the Windows 10 Creators Update in 2017.<\/p>\n

In rare cases, it can cause performance issues. If you run into trouble, it can easily be turned off in Settings<\/strong>. Remember, the feature will only activate on Windows 10 or Windows 11 when it detects you’re playing a game. Otherwise, you can safely leave it enabled.<\/p>\n

Game Mode performance impact\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Game Mode in Windows 11 can actually hinder performance in several specific ways:<\/p>\n