Does Windows Game Mode help FPS? What it really does
Updated November 2026 · 4 min read
Short answer
Leave it on. Game Mode mostly stops Windows Update from installing drivers and showing restart prompts while you play, and gives the game a little priority. It rarely adds measurable FPS, but it can prevent stutter from background work.
Game Mode is a switch in Settings → Gaming → Game Mode. It's on by default in Windows 11. Its reputation swings between "free FPS" and "makes things worse", and neither is quite right today.
What it does
- Stops Windows Update from installing drivers and showing restart notifications while a game is in focus.
- Gives the game a bit more priority for CPU and GPU resources over background apps.
- Works automatically when Windows recognises a game; there's nothing to turn on per game.
Does it raise FPS?
On a reasonably clean PC, the difference in average FPS is usually inside the normal run-to-run variation. Where it helps is consistency: if something heavy starts in the background (an update, an indexer), Game Mode makes it less likely to steal time from your game and cause a hitch.
What about the old stutter reports?
Early versions of Game Mode in 2017-2018 caused problems in some games. Those were fixed long ago. On current Windows 10 and 11 there's no good reason to turn it off.
What helps more
- Making sure the game runs on the right GPU (how to check).
- A frame cap that matches your monitor (stuck at 60 FPS?).
- The game's own graphics settings, chosen for whether you're CPU- or GPU-limited.
- Turning off background recording (Settings → Gaming → Captures) if you never use it.