Keep OBS Audio Mixer Always on Top During Gameplay

Managing your audio levels while streaming or recording is crucial for maintaining a professional broadcast. This guide explains how to use OBS Studio’s built-in “Always on Top” feature alongside window settings to keep your audio mixer visible over your gameplay, ensuring you can monitor and adjust your volume levels in real-time without interruption.

Step 1: Enable “Always on Top” in OBS Studio

OBS Studio has a native feature that forces the application window to remain visible over other non-fullscreen applications.

  1. Launch OBS Studio.
  2. Click on View in the top menu bar.
  3. Select Always on Top from the dropdown menu. A checkmark will appear next to it to confirm it is active.

Step 2: Configure Your Game’s Display Mode

The “Always on Top” feature in Windows cannot override games running in “Exclusive Fullscreen” mode. To ensure the OBS window stays visible over your game:

  1. Open your game’s video or graphics settings.
  2. Change the display mode from Fullscreen to Borderless Windowed (sometimes called Windowed Fullscreen or Display Window).
  3. Position your OBS Studio window on your screen so the audio mixer is visible while you play.

Step 3: Isolating Only the Audio Mixer (Optional)

If you do not want the entire OBS interface blocking your gameplay, you can undock the Audio Mixer and keep only that specific panel on top.

  1. In OBS, locate the Audio Mixer dock.
  2. Click and drag the title bar of the Audio Mixer to undock it, turning it into a standalone window (or click the small “pop-out” icon next to the close button on the dock).
  3. Because OBS’s native “Always on Top” only applies to the main program window, you will need a system utility to pin the isolated mixer.
  4. Download and open Microsoft PowerToys (a free, official utility from Microsoft).
  5. Enable the Always on Top feature in PowerToys.
  6. Click on your undocked OBS Audio Mixer window and press Windows Key + Ctrl + T.

The audio mixer will now have a colored border (if enabled in PowerToys) and will remain pinned on top of your borderless windowed game, allowing you to monitor your audio levels continuously.