How to Record Clips with Xbox Game Bar on Windows 11

Windows 11 includes the Xbox Game Bar, a built-in feature that lets you capture active gameplay, take screenshots, and save background footage without third-party software. This guide explains how to enable capture settings, record active gameplay, and utilize the background recording feature to save your best gaming moments instantly.

Enable and Configure Capture Settings

Before recording, ensure background recording and capture settings are configured properly:

  1. Open the Windows Settings menu by pressing Win + I.
  2. Select Gaming from the left sidebar, then click on Captures.
  3. Under the Recording preferences section, toggle Record what happened to On to enable background recording.
  4. Set the Record the last duration (options range from 30 seconds to 10 minutes).
  5. Adjust video frame rate (30 fps or 60 fps), video quality (Standard or High), and audio capture preferences according to your system’s hardware.

How to Record Active Gameplay

You can manually start and stop recording a gaming session at any time:

  1. Launch the game you want to play.
  2. Press Win + Alt + R to immediately start recording. A small recording bar will appear on your screen showing the recording timer.
  3. To stop recording, press Win + Alt + R again or click the blue Stop button on the recording overlay.

Alternatively, you can press Win + G to open the full Xbox Game Bar overlay, locate the Capture widget, and click the circular Start recording button.

How to Capture Background Footage (Retroactive Clips)

If something memorable happens in-game that you were not actively recording, you can save the preceding gameplay using the background buffer:

  1. While in-game, press Win + Alt + G.
  2. Windows will automatically save a video clip of the duration specified in your settings (such as the last 30 seconds or 5 minutes).

You can also trigger this from the overlay by pressing Win + G and clicking the Record last [time] button (the icon depicting an arrow turning counterclockwise) in the Capture widget.

Finding and Managing Your Clips

All captured videos are saved automatically in MP4 format.