How to fullscreen a game

Overview

Playing games in fullscreen mode offers the most immersive experience, dedicating your entire screen to the game world and potentially improving performance by allowing the graphics card to focus solely on the game. Most modern games and even older titles provide straightforward methods to achieve this. Whether you're looking for a quick fix or more control over your display settings, understanding how to toggle fullscreen is a fundamental skill for any gamer.

How to Enter Fullscreen Mode

There are two primary ways to make a game go fullscreen:

1. Keyboard Shortcuts

The most universal and often quickest method is using a keyboard shortcut. The most common combination is:

• Alt + Enter: Pressing and holding the 'Alt' key while pressing the 'Enter' key will typically toggle the game between fullscreen and windowed mode. This works in a vast majority of PC games, especially older ones, and is a great first thing to try if you find yourself in a windowed view unexpectedly.

While Alt + Enter is the most prevalent, some games might use other shortcuts, though these are less common. If Alt + Enter doesn't work, consulting the game's specific documentation or control list is recommended.

2. In-Game Settings

Most games provide options to control their display mode within the game's settings menu. This is the preferred method for long-term configuration.

• Accessing Settings: Usually, you can find the settings menu by pressing the 'Esc' key during gameplay or by selecting 'Options,' 'Settings,' or 'Preferences' from the game's main menu.

• Display/Video Options: Look for a section labeled 'Display,' 'Video,' 'Graphics,' or 'Screen.'
• Fullscreen Toggle: Within this section, you should find an option explicitly labeled 'Fullscreen,' 'Display Mode,' or similar. It will likely have options like 'Fullscreen,' 'Windowed,' or 'Borderless Windowed.' Select 'Fullscreen' to enable it.
• Applying Changes: After selecting your desired setting, remember to click 'Apply,' 'Save,' or 'Confirm' to make the changes take effect. Some games may prompt you to restart to fully apply the changes.

Understanding Different Display Modes

Beyond standard fullscreen, games often offer other display modes that provide different benefits:

• Windowed Mode: The game runs in a window on your desktop, similar to other applications. This makes it easy to switch between the game and other programs (alt-tabbing) but can sometimes lead to slightly reduced performance and may include window borders and a title bar.

• Borderless Windowed Mode (or Windowed Fullscreen): This mode makes the game fill the entire screen without borders, mimicking the fullscreen experience. However, it still runs as a window in the background, allowing for much faster and smoother alt-tabbing than true fullscreen. Performance is often very close to true fullscreen, making it a popular choice for streamers and multitaskers.

Why Use Fullscreen?

Choosing fullscreen mode can offer several advantages:

• Immersion: It eliminates distractions by taking over your entire display, drawing you deeper into the game's world.

• Performance: In many cases, particularly on older hardware or less optimized games, running in true fullscreen mode allows the operating system and graphics driver to dedicate more resources to the game. It can sometimes bypass certain rendering overheads associated with windowed modes.

• Input Lag: Some gamers report slightly lower input lag in fullscreen mode, although this difference is often negligible on modern systems.

Troubleshooting Fullscreen Issues

If you're having trouble getting a game to go fullscreen:

• Check Game Settings First: Always ensure the 'Fullscreen' option is correctly selected and applied within the game's menu.

• Try Alt + Enter Again: It's the most common fix, so give it another try.

• Verify Game Files: Corrupted game files can sometimes cause display issues. Use the game launcher (like Steam, Epic Games Store, etc.) to verify the integrity of your game files.

• Update Graphics Drivers: Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers are a frequent cause of graphical glitches, including fullscreen problems. Visit the website of your graphics card manufacturer (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) to download and install the latest drivers.

• Check Display Resolution: Ensure the game's resolution setting matches your monitor's native resolution, or a compatible one. Mismatched resolutions can sometimes prevent fullscreen from working correctly.

• Administrator Privileges: In rare cases, running the game as an administrator might resolve certain conflicts.

• Consult Game Forums/Support: If the issue persists, search for solutions on the game's official forums or community pages. Other players may have encountered and solved the same problem.

By understanding these methods and options, you can ensure you're playing your games in the most comfortable and visually satisfying way possible.