How do I capture my game screen in OBS?

Game Capture vs Display Capture

OBS offers two main ways to show your game on stream: Game Capture hooks directly into the game window for better performance, while Display Capture records your entire monitor. For gaming, Game Capture is almost always the better choice.

Step 1 — Add Game Capture

Select your gaming scene, click + under Sources, and choose Game Capture. Name it Game and click OK. Set Mode to Capture specific window and pick your game from the Window dropdown. Start the game first if it does not appear in the list.

Step 2 — Full-Screen Exclusive vs Borderless

Game Capture works best when games run in borderless windowed or windowed fullscreen mode. True exclusive fullscreen can sometimes fail to hook — if you see a black screen, switch the game to borderless in its video settings. Most modern titles support this.

Step 3 — Use Display Capture as a Fallback

If Game Capture refuses to cooperate, add Display Capture instead and select the monitor where the game runs. Display Capture uses more GPU resources but captures everything on that screen, including games that resist hooking.

Step 4 — Match Base and Output Resolution

Go to Settings → Video and set Base (Canvas) Resolution to your monitor's native resolution (e.g. 1920x1080). Set Output (Scaled) Resolution to 1920x1080 or 1280x720 depending on your upload speed. This keeps your game looking sharp without overloading your encoder.

Step 5 — Capture Cursor (Optional)

In Game Capture properties, toggle Capture Cursor on or off depending on whether viewers need to see your mouse. Strategy and tutorial streams usually show the cursor; cinematic gameplay often hides it.

Which Capture Method to Use

• Game Capture — best performance for a single game window
• Display Capture — fallback when Game Capture fails
• Window Capture — good for emulators or non-fullscreen apps
• Run games in borderless windowed for reliable hooking

Test your capture before going live — open OBS preview and confirm the game feed looks correct at your target frame rate. If frames drop when you alt-tab, that is normal with Game Capture; Display Capture keeps showing the desktop when the game loses focus.