How do I prevent Xbox Game Bar from recording the wrong application?

Thank you for double-checking that, the setting I mentioned isn’t inside the Xbox Game Bar itself. Here’s what I meant:

To change how Game Bar records or recognizes apps, you’ll need to go into Windows Settings, not the Game Bar overlay.

Here’s how to get there:

Press Windows key + I to open Settings

Go to Gaming > Captures

From here, you can adjust recording options like background recording, capture audio, and video frame rate

Also, try this:

Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics settings

Scroll down and click “Graphics performance preference”

Find the app you want Game Bar to focus on (like a game EXE), then click Options and set it to High performance

Restart your PC after saving

This helps Windows prioritize which app gets GPU focus — Game Bar will sometimes lock onto whichever window Windows thinks is the "main" one, and browsers often take over that slot.

Let me know how it goes, and I can walk you through anything that’s confusing.

Hello, and thanks for getting in touch. I'm Aileen, and I'm here to provide you with advice as an independent advisor.

That issue with Xbox Game Bar trying to record the wrong app can be super frustrating. It usually happens when Windows focuses on the wrong window, especially if you're switching between apps or games. Here’s how to fix it and reduce how often it happens:

Step-by-step fix:

1. Use the keyboard shortcut directly in the correct app

Instead of opening the overlay first, press Win + Alt + R while already active in the game or app you want to record.

This ensures Xbox Game Bar detects the foreground app correctly.

2. Re-register Game Bar via PowerShell

If the Game Bar is acting buggy or locking onto the wrong app, re-registering it may help:

Open PowerShell as Administrator

Paste this line and hit Enter:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Restart your PC.

3. Set Game Bar to record only game windows

Go to Settings > Gaming > Captures

Make sure "Capture what?" is set to Game only

Also, disable "Record in the background while I’m playing a game" if you don’t need it — this reduces false detection

4. Use Fullscreen (borderless sometimes helps more)

Some games in exclusive full-screen mode can confuse Game Bar

Try switching the game to borderless windowed fullscreen if the game allows it

5. Turn off Focus Assist

Focus Assist sometimes messes with overlay detection

Go to Settings > System > Focus assist, then set it to Off

6. Reinstall Game Bar (if nothing else works)

You can uninstall and reinstall Game Bar using PowerShell if the issue keeps coming back. Let me know if you want those steps.

Let me know how it goes.

When you say "settings", which settings are you talking about?
When I open Xbox Game Bar, and navigate to settings, I do not see something that says "system" or "gaming". A screenshot of the settings I do see is attached.

Hi,

The Windows Game Bar recording function isn't a screen recorder, it's limited to recording one game or application at a time. To record the whole screen you'll need a third party application.

Game Bar can only record individual games or apps, it can't record the desktop or switching between Windows applications.

If want to do that, they will need a third party application.

Software such as OBS can record the desktop. It's free and safe.

https://obsproject.com/