The Xbox Game Bar makes capturing screenshots and recording gameplay clips super simple while gaming on a Windows PC. It also allows you to track system performance and chat with your friends. Being a feature-rich tool, it consumes extensive system resources that can negatively impact your system performance.

If you want to save resources and improve game performance, you can turn off the feature in Windows 10 and restrict its background activity in Windows 11. Below, we’ll show you how to do just that.

disable the xbox gamebar in windows settings app

How to Disable the Xbox Game Bar in Windows 10

Windows 10 lets you disable the Xbox Game Bar completely. To do that, follow these steps:

How to Restrict Xbox Game Bar’s Background Activity in Windows 11

Unlike Windows 10, Windows 11 does not offer an easy way to disable the Xbox Game Bar completely. Therefore, you will have to block the app from running in the background to save system resources. Here’s how you can do that:

Like disabling the Xbox Game Bar, you can tweak a few settings toimprove your gaming performance on Windows 10andWindows 11.

opening the list of installed apps to customize settings

Don’t Let the Xbox Game Bar Drain Your System Resources

The Xbox Game Bar is a helpful tool for gamers, but it can have an adverse effect on game performance. Hopefully, you now know how to completely disable the tool in Windows 10 and how to restrict its background activity in Windows 11 to reduce resource consumption.

Once you stop the Xbox Game Bar from stressing your hardware, your games will run more smoothly.

open advanced options settings for xbox game bar in the settings app

change the background app permissions for the xbox game bar app in the settings app