Xbox Game Bar is a built-in Windows 10/11 app that lets users capture gameplay videos and screenshots while gaming. It also integrates the looking-for groups and chatting functions with other Xbox platforms. But do you need it?
You don’t need Xbox Game Bar on your PC. If you aren’t a gamer, or if you aren’t interested in video and screenshot capture, its functions are useless for you. And even if you want to record gameplay or take screenshots, there are better options like OBS Studio.
Now that we are clear that you don’t need it, we will see whether it is okay to uninstall it, as it is a built-in app.
For users who want to capture screenshots and videos while playing games, check our conclusion for a free and paid option that completely outperforms it.
Should I Remove Xbox Game Bar?
When uninstalling Windows built-in apps, there is often the fear that you are uninstalling something essential to Windows.
So, in the case of light apps like the Xbox Game Bar, it will make more sense to disable it instead of entirely removing it.
You should not remove Xbox Game Bar, as it is built-in in Windows. Still, you should disable it if you don’t need screen capture while gaming or if you already use another screen recording app to prevent it from affecting your gaming performance, as related in this Reddit post:
If you still prefer to remove it, the option to uninstall is available in Settings > Apps > Apps & Features on Windows 11:
Or you can also do it through PowerShell in Windows 10 through Windows by running PowerShell (Admin) > and then inputting the command.
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay | Remove-AppxPackage
(To learn how to uninstall more built-in Windows apps check our articles on how to uninstall alarms and clocks on Windows.)
How to Disable Xbox Game Bar
You can safely disable it in Windows 10/11 settings and re-enable it later if you need it by doing the following steps:
On Windows 10:
- Press Win + I to open Settings
- Under Settings, Click on Gaming
- Now on the next screen, turn OFF Xbox Game Bar.
On Windows 11
- Press Win + I to open Windows Settings.
- On the Settings hamburger menu, click on Apps.
- Under Apps, click on Apps & Features.
- Find Xbox Game Bar, click on the three dots next to it and select Advanced options:
- Now look for Background apps permissions, and under Let this app run in the background, choose Never.
Conclusion
You don’t need Xbox Game Bar if you never play games or if you are not interested in recording gameplay footage. Even if you want to record your gameplay, there are better options like the free OBS Studio or paid options such as Wondershare DemoCreator.
You can find ways to remove it through Windows or a third-party uninstaller, but I advise you to try to disable it first, as it will probably do the job.
If your PC Game Pass is unusable because you are having trouble installing Gaming Services in the Xbox App, I’ve written an article on how to fix Gaming Services install errors 0x80073D27 and 0x80073D26.
And if you want to improve your PC performance read our article on how to fix Desktop Window Manager’s high RAM usage on Windows, as Intel recently fixed a bug that affected all Windows 10/11 users.
