Xbox was launched as an alternative to the increasing market presence of Sony’s PlayStation. Since their launch in November 2001, almost 19 years ago, Microsoft has come a long way in offering better connectivity and ease of using Xbox through Windows.
Microsoft offered the Xbox Game Bar in the May 2019 update to increase the interconnectivity of its services even better.
But this tool has become a nuisance for those either not having an Xbox or preferring other screen recording software that allows for a better resolution in capturing images and videos. Apart from that, Xbox services are always running in the background, which can have severe performance issues on low-end PCs.
That has become the precise reason for Google being flooded with queries of how to uninstall Xbox Game Bar.
In this article, we cover the features and significance of the Xbox Game Bar before coming down to the methods of disabling and uninstalling this tool.
What is Xbox Game Bar?
Apart from the Xbox game services, Microsoft has recently added a task manager that can be accessed using Windows+G. It accommodates the requirement of modern gameplay, screenshots, and recording gameplay while checking the system stats.
Not everyone has a high spec gaming PC or a performance PC that can handle gaming. Most users do not game on their PCs.
Hence the mandatory services of Xbox applications that keep running in the background are not welcomed by all. Recently Microsoft has even greyed out the uninstall button on Xbox Game Bar, forcing users to endure the lower processing capacity without even using the services.
But how do you uninstall Xbox Game Bar? We have covered the steps comprehensively.
How to Disable Xbox Game Bar?
As confirmed by the task manager, this tool eats up to 2% processing and 5% RAM from your PC. This could have been otherwise utilized for essential applications and services.
While this wouldn’t be an issue with devices having 8 or 16 GB of RAM, older devices running on Windows 10 will be bottlenecked.
But how to disable Xbox Game Bar? We have comprehensively discussed the process with actionable pointers.
Steps to disable Xbox Game Bar –
- Click on the Start button and select the Settings icon.
- Select the Gaming option to make changes.
- The Game Bar settings page opens up, turn off the Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game Bar.
- Uncheck the option stating, ‘Open Game bar using Xbox button on a controller‘.
All changes are saved automatically. This process will disable the application, and the Game bar wouldn’t crop up while pressing the Windows + G key.
However, you will still find the Game bar visible from the Start menu, and pressing on the Xbox Game Bar from the Start menu will again Start this tool and its background processing.
Removing Xbox Game Bar using Windows PowerShell
For those who haven’t heard or used Microsoft PowerShell, it is an automation and configuration handling framework designed by Microsoft.
This tool can also be used to uninstall Xbox Game Bar on Windows 10, but you must be logged in from the administrator account to complete the uninstallation process.
Follow these steps below to complete the process of removing the Xbox Game bar from the Start menu –
- Press the Windows key and select “Microsoft Windows PowerShell” (Admin)
- Windows PowerShell command bar will open up
- Enter the code Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay | Remove-AppxPackage
- Press enter and wait for a few seconds for the code to work. Once completed, the code will be followed by implemented tag
- Close PowerShell and restart your PC, the Xbox Game Bar icon from the Start menu will disappear!
How to Re-install the Xbox Game Bar?
Once you have uninstalled the Xbox Game Bar from Start menu using PowerShell, there is no saying when you need it back. Good news, it is easier to get back than to turn off Xbox Game Bar.
Follow these steps to reinstall the Xbox Game Bar –
- Click on Microsoft Store from the Start menu
- Search for Xbox Game bar, it is free to download
- Open the tool and click on get to complete the installation
- Restart the PC when completed
Conclusion
The Xbox Game Bar is surely not everyone’s cup of tea. If you’re a gamer, you might need it, or you can just go to Steam and enjoy gaming without missing out on much. Unless you want to make the best of Xbox Game Passes.
If you want to know how to uninstall the Game Xbox Bar, chances are you do not have a high-performance PC, or rather, a PC without a powerful graphics card to run the latest games. Uninstall the Game Bar and you might find your PC booting up a bit faster!