Music overlay not showing in a fullscreen game? Here's the fix

Most of the time the game is in exclusive fullscreen, which takes over the screen and hides other windows, overlays included. Switch the game's display mode to borderless (also called "Fullscreen Windowed" or "Windowed Fullscreen") and the overlay will show. On modern Windows, borderless runs as fast as exclusive in almost every game.

Fix it on Windows

1. Change the game's display mode. In the game's video or graphics settings, pick Borderless, Fullscreen Windowed or Windowed Fullscreen instead of Fullscreen. Some games call exclusive mode "Fullscreen" and borderless "Windowed Fullscreen".
2. Make sure the overlay itself is meant to show over games.
   • Game Bar's Spotify widget: pin it (the pin icon at the top of the widget), or it closes with Game Bar.
   • Spotify's Miniplayer: it's a normal window, so a fullscreen game usually covers it whatever the mode.
   • aux: install it with its installer (to Program Files), which gives it the Windows permission overlays need to stay above other apps. aux turns into mini mode by itself when a fullscreen game is in front.
3. Check for a second monitor. If the overlay is on the other screen, it won't be over the game. Drag it onto the game's monitor before you start.
4. Turn off "fullscreen optimizations" only if a game misbehaves. Windows' fullscreen optimizations usually help overlays, so leave them on unless you know a game needs them off.

Fix it on a Mac

A fullscreen Mac app gets its own Space, and ordinary windows (Spotify's Miniplayer, Music's MiniPlayer, "always on top" helpers) stay on the desktop behind it. aux is made to join fullscreen Spaces, so it shows over fullscreen Mac games. If it doesn't:

1. Check that aux is showing at all: press ⌃⌥A to open its Hub, or turn on Show Overlay in its menu bar menu.
2. If a game's own "fullscreen" doesn't use macOS fullscreen and still hides it, use the game's windowed fullscreen or borderless option.

Why exclusive fullscreen hides overlays

In exclusive fullscreen a game sends its frames straight to the display, skipping the part of Windows that combines windows on screen. Anything that isn't the game, such as notifications, Game Bar or a music overlay, has nothing to draw into. Overlays that inject code into the game's renderer get around this, but that costs frames and is exactly what anti-cheat systems look for. aux doesn't inject, so in exclusive fullscreen it relies on Windows' permission for accessibility apps to stay on top; borderless removes the problem entirely.

Does borderless cost FPS?

On Windows 10 and 11 with an up-to-date GPU driver, borderless games use the same fast display path ("independent flip") as exclusive fullscreen whenever nothing is drawn over them, and the difference is usually within measurement noise. If you notice extra input lag in one game, compare the two modes there.

Questions