Capture Specific Monitor in OBS Fullscreen Games

Capturing gameplay from a specific monitor in OBS Studio while running a game in exclusive fullscreen mode can be challenging, often resulting in a black screen. This guide provides a straightforward, step-by-step walkthrough on how to configure OBS Studio using Game Capture, Display Capture, and essential system settings to ensure your exclusive fullscreen game is recorded or streamed flawlessly from your target display.

Why Exclusive Fullscreen Causes Issues in OBS

Exclusive fullscreen mode gives a game direct control over your graphics hardware and monitor resources. While this optimizes game performance, it prevents standard desktop capture methods from “seeing” the game, often resulting in a black screen in OBS.

To bypass this, you can use two main methods: Game Capture (highly recommended for performance) or Display Capture (for capturing the entire monitor).

Game Capture is the most efficient way to capture a fullscreen game because it hooks directly into the game’s graphics API, regardless of which monitor the game is currently displayed on.

  1. Open OBS Studio.
  2. Go to the Sources box at the bottom, click the + (plus) icon, and select Game Capture.
  3. Name the source and click OK.
  4. In the properties window, change the Mode dropdown to Capture specific window.
  5. Launch your game and ensure it is running.
  6. Return to OBS, and in the Window dropdown, select your game’s executable file (e.g., [game.exe]: Game Title).
  7. Click OK.

Note: If the game is running on a secondary monitor, OBS will automatically detect and capture it using this method.

Method 2: Use Display Capture for a Specific Monitor

If you need to capture the entire monitor—including the game and any desktop overlays—you must configure a Display Capture source to target that specific screen.

  1. Open OBS Studio.
  2. In the Sources box, click the + icon and select Display Capture.
  3. Name the source and click OK.
  4. In the properties window, find the Display dropdown menu.
  5. Select the specific monitor you want to capture (e.g., Display 1 or Display 2).
  6. Under Capture Method, change the setting from Automatic to Windows 10 (1903 and up). This API is highly reliable for capturing displays running hardware-accelerated content.
  7. Click OK.

Essential Troubleshooting for Exclusive Fullscreen

If you still experience a black screen or stuttering when capturing your fullscreen game, apply these three quick fixes:

1. Run OBS Studio as Administrator

Exclusive fullscreen games require high-level system permissions. If OBS does not have equal permissions, it cannot hook into the game. * Close OBS Studio. * Right-click the OBS Studio shortcut on your desktop and select Run as administrator.

2. Switch to Borderless Windowed Mode

If a game’s exclusive fullscreen mode refuses to cooperate with OBS, change the game’s internal video settings: * Open the game’s settings menu. * Navigate to Video/Graphics settings. * Change the display mode from Fullscreen to Borderless Windowed or Windowed Fullscreen. * This allows OBS Display Capture to instantly capture the monitor without any performance loss or black screens.

3. Disable Conflicting Overlays

Other software overlays can conflict with OBS’s ability to capture a fullscreen monitor. Disable overlays in application settings for: * Steam Overlay * Discord Overlay * GeForce Experience (ShadowPlay) * AMD Radeon Software Overlay