1. Tired of Lag in Your Games?
If your game frequently stutters or drops frames right in the middle of a crucial battle, you’re not alone. Many Windows users experience performance issues during gameplay. The good news? There’s a built-in feature in Windows called Game Mode that can drastically improve your gaming experience. In this article, you’ll learn two effective ways to enable Game Mode — via the Settings interface and through the Windows Registry.
2. What is Game Mode in Windows?
Game Mode is a feature introduced by Microsoft in Windows 10 and continued in Windows 11. When enabled, it allocates more system resources — especially CPU and GPU — to your game, minimizing the impact of background processes and improving overall performance. Think of it as Windows temporarily prioritizing your game over everything else.
3. Method One: Enable Game Mode Through Settings (Beginner-Friendly)
This is the easiest and safest method to activate Game Mode:
- Press `Windows + I` to open the Settings window.
- Click on Gaming from the left-hand panel.
- Select Game Mode from the options.
- Toggle the switch to On.
That’s it! Game Mode is now active and will automatically optimize performance whenever you launch a game.
4. Method Two: Use the Registry Editor (Advanced Users)
If the toggle is missing, or if you want deeper control, you can activate Game Mode via the Registry Editor:
- Open the Start menu or search bar and type `regedit`, then open the Registry Editor.
- Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\GameBar
- Look for a key called `AutoGameModeEnabled`.
- If it doesn’t exist, right-click in the right panel > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name it `AutoGameModeEnabled`.
- Double-click the key and set its value to `1` to enable Game Mode.
- Setting it to `0` disables Game Mode.
💡 Bonus Tip: This registry value directly reflects the status of Game Mode in the Settings panel, so they’re linked.
5. Still Experiencing Lag? Verify the Registry Settings
If Game Mode is enabled in settings but you still notice lag, revisit the Registry and confirm that `AutoGameModeEnabled` is still set to `1`. Sometimes third-party software or system updates may alter this value. Manually resetting it often solves mysterious performance issues.
6. Final Thoughts: Simple Changes, Big Performance Gains
Whether you’re a casual gamer or a competitive player, enabling Game Mode is a must-know tweak that can have a big impact on performance. The best part? It’s free, already built into Windows, and easy to control. Try both the Settings method and Registry method for the best results.
7. Demo Video
You can watch the following demo video by select the subtitle to your preferred subtitle language.