How to Disable the Windows 11 Game Bar to Improve FPS

Microsoft heavily integrated the Xbox ecosystem directly into Windows 11. One of the most prominent features is the “Xbox Game Bar,” an overlay that allows you to record your screen, chat with friends, and monitor system performance by simply pressing Windows Key + G.

While this overlay is useful for casual players, it constantly runs background processes (like GameBarPresenceWriter.exe) that consume RAM and CPU cycles. For competitive PC gamers trying to squeeze every single frame per second (FPS) out of a demanding title, these background tasks can introduce micro-stuttering and input lag.

How to Disable the Xbox Game Bar

1. Open the Windows 11 Settings app by pressing Windows Key + I.
2. In the left-hand navigation pane, click on the Gaming tab.
3. Click on Xbox Game Bar at the top of the right-hand menu.
4. You will see a toggle switch labeled “Open Xbox Game Bar using this button on a controller.” Toggle this switch to the Off position.

This disables the shortcut, but it does not stop the background processes from running. To completely eradicate the Game Bar from your system’s memory, you must disable its background app permissions.

How to Stop the Background Processes

1. Navigate back to the main menu of the Settings app.
2. Click on Apps in the left-hand navigation pane.
3. Click on Installed apps.
4. Scroll down the alphabetical list of installed software until you find Xbox Game Bar.
5. Click the three horizontal dots (…) located on the right side of the Xbox Game Bar entry.
6. Select Advanced options from the dropdown menu.
7. Scroll down to the “Background apps permissions” section.
8. Click the dropdown menu under “Let this app run in background” and change the setting from “Power optimized (recommended)” to Never.
9. Scroll slightly further down and click the Terminate button to instantly kill any currently active Game Bar processes.

Your system is now completely free of the Game Bar overlay. When you launch a full-screen game, Windows will dedicate 100% of your CPU and GPU resources exclusively to rendering the game engine.