Windows 10’s Game Bar lets you record your screen

By Jon Martindale July 20, 2015

Microsoft has talked a lot about Windows 10 as of late and it’s likely to keep doing so in the next nine days in the build-up to its release, but one feature it has not given much love to is the Game Bar. Originally announced earlier this year, Windows Insiders have been fiddling with it in this pre-dawn period preceding Windows 10’s release, and so far their response seems positive.

Game Bar has the ability to take screenshots and record on-screen video, which isn’t a function that’s particularly novel. We’re all well beyond the days of requiring FRAPS to record game footage for us. Nowadays there are a multitude of solutions to handle this, but if Windows comes with its own built-in one that won’t require the use of third-party services, it could catch on for streamers and Youtube gamers.

Related Videos

Accessing it is not the easiest at the moment, and this has led some like Betanews to hail this feature as a hidden one. Perhaps that is the case, but considering it’s now linking the Xbox One with Windows 10, it wouldn’t be surprising if the company made an announcement concerning this feature in the coming few days.

Related: Microsoft launches 10 reasons to upgrade to Windows 10 campaign

For any Windows Insiders that want to try out game-recording or screenshots with the Game Bar, you can activate the toolbar by hitting Windows Key+G. After accepting a quick pop-up message, you are then given access to the ‘Bar’ overlay, which has clickable buttons for recording and picture-taking. They can also be triggered with the Windows Key+Alt+R shortcut.

The fact that this system is built into a part of the Xbox App on Windows 10 should offer console gamers an alternative for getting their footage out there. And if they want to perform more comprehensive editing, streaming games to their PC and recording them straight there might be a handy time saver.

Do you think Microsoft is too late to the table with game recording? Or will it build a nice audience by virtue of being the most easily accessible for new Windows 10 users?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Computing

Are Windows 11 security features killing your gaming performance? You might be surprised

Microsoft resurrected a controversial topic in the PC gaming community recently: Windows 11's security features. Days after Windows 11 launched, there was an outcry among PC gamers due to a security feature that is enabled by default in Windows 11. In particular, Virtualization Based Security or VBS.

PCGamer cried foul after it noticed a 28% drop in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but Windows 11, at the time, was experiencing gaming performance drops of 15% or more in some cases, so the results didn't sound out of order.

Computing

Microsoft says disabling these two Windows 11 features will boost gaming performance

An Alienware + Windows 11 PC gaming setup.

Two settings in Windows 11 may affect gaming performance, says Microsoft. These settings are enabled by default.

Microsoft has made it possible for you to disable these options, but there are also reasons why you might want to keep them on. However, if your computer's performance in games is less than stellar, they might be worth checking out.

Computing

This new Windows 11 feature will help you protect your passwords

A man sits, using a laptop running the Windows 11 operating system.

The new Windows 11 22H2 update was just released, bringing an interesting security feature. Dubbed "Enhanced Phishing Protection," this feature was made to help users protect their Windows passwords a little bit better.

Enhanced Phishing Protection will warn users whenever they enter their Windows password in places where it's not needed. Here's how it works.