Game Mode

Access this feature from: Performance ▸ Game Mode

Game Mode improves the performance of your PC while you game by adjusting system settings and disabling unnecessary apps from running in the background. Each time you run a game, Game Mode automatically detects it and adds it to a list of game entries. When you run games from this list of entries, Game Mode automatically launches.

Game Mode is enabled by default. To disable Game Mode, click the ON slider so that it changes to OFF.

Note: Game Mode is supported on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 10.

Manually add game entries

If Game Mode does not detect a game automatically, you can manually add a game entry.

To manually add a game entry, follow these steps:

  1. Click Add a game.
  2. Select your game from the list, or click Select game path and enter the game's file path.
  3. In the window that appears, review the game's name and location, and ensure Activate Game Mode on launch is enabled. This allows Game Mode to automatically run when you start your game.
  4. Click Save.

Your game appears as a tile on the Game Mode screen.

Edit game entries

To edit already added game entries, follow these steps:

  1. Click the tile of the game entry you want to edit.
  2. Manage the following options:
    • Game name: click the text box to change the name of the game entry.
    • Location: click the text box to edit the game's file path.
    • Activate Game Mode on launch: click the ON slider, so that it changes to OFF if you do not want Game Mode to launch when the game is run.
  3. Click Save to confirm your changes.

To delete the game entry entirely, click Remove, then click Yes to confirm the action.

Manage Game Mode settings

Game Mode settings allow you to specify how Game Mode optimizes your system's performance while you run gaming applications. Click the gear icon to access settings. To enable a setting, click the OFF slider so that it changes to ON. To disable a setting, click the ON slider so that it changes to OFF.

  • Automatically add new games: automatically adds newly run games to a list of game entries. This setting enables Game Mode to launch the next time you run the game.
  • Pause Windows updates: temporarily prevents Windows from performing updates.
  • Trigger high performance (for laptop users): switches the power plan to the highest performance setting.
  • Set games to high priority: boosts the priority of the game process to ensure that the game runs smoothly even when background processes are running.
  • No Avast interruptions: temporarily disables Avast pop-ups, notifications, and scheduled scans.
  • Disable Windows notifications: temporarily disables Windows notifications.

To return to the main Game Mode screen, click Back at the top of the screen.