Skip to main content

How to take a screenshot on an Xbox Series X

Microsoft stayed the course with the Xbox Series X and Series S, opting for raw power over a redesign of the console experience. Using an Xbox Series X is identical to using an Xbox One for the most part. Even the controller designs are nearly identical.

They’re not totally identical, however. The Xbox Series X comes with a Share button that allows you to easily capture screenshots and gameplay clips. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to take a screenshot on an Xbox Series X using the Share button, as well as how you can customize the Share button and share your screenshots to various platforms.

Further reading

How to take a screenshot using the share button

The Xbox Series X controller looks a lot like the Xbox One controller, but it has a few differences. In addition to a new D-pad and a different texturing on the back of the controller, the Xbox Series X controller comes with a Share button. This button is situated in the center of the controller, below and between the Change View and Menu buttons.

If you’ve owned a PS4, the Share button should be familiar. A single press will take a screenshot, while a long press — a couple of seconds — will record a 30-second clip. Note that the 30-second clip will include the 30 seconds leading up to pressing the button, not 30 seconds after. Immediately after taking your screenshot, hold down the Xbox button on your controller to see your sharing options. If you have Xbox Live, the screenshot will automatically start uploading, but you can also share it to your activity feed and to Twitter in this menu.

Outside of the Share button, you can also take a screenshot through the guide. Open the guide by pressing the Xbox button on your controller, then scroll over to the Capture & Share tab. Here, you can take a screenshot, start recording gameplay, and record your last 15 seconds to three minutes of gameplay, depending on your capture settings.

Customizing your capture settings

You can do more with the Share button, but you have to remap it. Open My Games & Apps and scroll down to the Apps section. Then, select Xbox Accessories (the app icon looks like a thumbstick). With your controller selected, choose Configure, then press the Edit button (it looks like a pencil). Here, you can remap all of the buttons on your Xbox Series X controller, but most importantly, the Share button. You can set a single press or long-press to take a screenshot, record a clip leading up to pressing the button, or start/stop recording gameplay.

After customizing the button, follow Settings > Preferences > Capture & Share. Here, you can set the capture location, if your screenshots are automatically uploaded to Xbox Live, and your game clip resolution and duration. The Xbox Series X captures screenshots based on your TV’s native output; if you have a 4K TV, your screenshot will be in 4K. Gameplay clips are captured using your preferences in this menu, and as you turn down the resolution, you’ll be able to capture more gameplay (up to three minutes at 720p). If you want to learn more about capturing gameplay, make sure to read our guide.

How to share your screenshots on Xbox Series X

Immediately after taking a screenshot with the Share button, hold the Xbox button to bring up your capture options. Once the menu pops up, select See All Sharing Options. On the Xbox Series X, you can share your screenshots in five places: Your activity feed, a private message, an Xbox Live club, Twitter, or OneDrive. If you missed the window to bring up this menu, you can find your recent captures by pressing the Xbox button, scrolling over to Capture & Share, and selecting Recent Captures. The menu looks a little different, but you’ll find the same five share locations.

The Xbox Series X itself is limited to those five locations, but if you have an Xbox Live Gold membership, you can easily share elsewhere. Once you take a screenshot, your Xbox will automatically upload it to Xbox Live. You can view and save captures on an Android or iOS device using the Xbox app. Once you’ve downloaded the app and signed in, select the Library tab — it looks like a stack of books — to see your captures. You can share them directly on other apps — such as Snapchat and Instagram — or save them to share however you like.

There are also third-party tools to view and save your screenshots, such as GamerDVR. There isn’t much of an advantage to these tools with the Xbox app on Android and iOS, but if you’re interested in downloading your screenshots directly to your desktop, you can.

Editors' Recommendations

Jacob Roach
Senior Staff Writer, Computing
Jacob Roach is a writer covering computing and gaming at Digital Trends. After realizing Crysis wouldn't run on a laptop, he…
The best upcoming Xbox Series X games: 2023 and beyond
Gollum from The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.

The Xbox Series X and Series S have now been out for over two years, bringing better resolution, higher frame rates, and ray tracing to gamers around the world. The upcoming Xbox Series X games on this list promise to continue to show off all those bells and whistles in fun, new experiences.

If you're eager to find out what Microsoft has in store for the years ahead, we've rounded up every game confirmed so far, including new offerings, franchise installments, and ports of existing titles. We're looking beyond the first-party projects here to encompass all the great games coming to this powerful piece of gaming hardware. Maybe some of them will end up being one of the best games on Xbox Series X.
Confirmed 2023 releases
The games listed below either have 100% confirmed release dates or solid release windows that we expect them to hit this year. Anything that's up in the air due to more vague launch predictions or previous delays will be listed under the following header.

Read more
All perks in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Cal Kestis with BD-1 droid on his shoulder.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has a wide variety of skills to learn alongside its five unique lightsaber stances, ensuring you have no shortage of ways to customize your playstyle. The addition of perks bumps up those options even further, granting you the ability to equip badges that improve certain aspects of protagonist Cal Kestis' kit, such as increasing XP earned or improving his ability to break the guard of his foes. Some are found by exploring, while others are purchased from a particular vendor and unlocked fairly early in the game. A handful of perks are unlocked only after beating the game and starting New Game Plus.

Each of these perks uses a certain number of perk slots when equipped, so you'll have to make some tough decisions about which ones you want to have active at any one time. Luckily, exploring the galaxy will net you some additional perk slots, so you'll be able to equip more as you get further in your adventure. Even with all of the perk slots unlocked, however, you'll still want to strongly consider which perks will benefit you best. We'll make that a bit easier on you by listing all of the perks you can find in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, what boons they offer, and how many perk slots they'll take up.
Perks discovered by exploring
These perks are found by thoroughly exploring the world and completing objectives. You may have to overcome some pretty tough challenges to find them all.

Read more
All lightsaber stances in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Jedi Cal Kestis.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes place five years after its predecessor, and Cal Kestis has definitely gained some new Jedi tricks during the time that has passed. While there are some returning features that you're likely to recognize and appreciate, there are also a wide variety of new mechanics, skills, and more to check out in this highly anticipated follow-up. Among those new additions are an expanded set of lightsaber stances that allow you to decide what kind of fighter you want Cal to be. Whether you want to strike fast at the cost of defense, take things slower with bolstered protection, or find the middle ground between the two, you have five options that can ensure you'll find what works for you.
How to change stances
You can have two stances equipped at one time, and switching between them can be done on the fly, allowing you to weave together different elements of your two chosen kits. However, you can only change stances at a meditation point, so you'll need to be sure that you've thought things through pretty well before heading out into dangerous areas. To help you with your decision-making, here are all of the stances in Jedi Survivor and how they work.
Single Blade Stance

This stance is unlocked from the beginning of the game.

Read more