[SOLVED] How to Fix OBS Game Capture Black Screen on Windows 10/11

This OBS solving issue post can fix the OBS game capture black screen. You can see five different methods and choose the effective one. For the most helpful method, you can try an alternative to OBS Studio, such as EaseUS RecExperts.

EaseUS RecExperts

Table of Contents

Crystal Chen Updated on Feb 14, 2023| min read

You may have an issue when using OBS, as you can't capture the gameplay with the normal display, or the OBS game capture is not working. The black screen is shown during screen capturing. There are several methods to lead to OBS game capture black screen, such as choosing the unsuitable capture mode, using the wrong graphics card, etc. 

setting up obs virtual camera

To solve this issue, there are 5 ways provided in this post. You can check these methods in detail. 

Workable Solutions

Step-by-step Troubleshooting

Fix 1. Choose Game Capture with Specific Window

Choose the Game Capture mode with the specific window in OBS instead of other recording sources...Full steps

Fix 2. Run OBS as Administrator

Close the OBS window and right click its icon from the desktop screen...Full steps

Fix 3. Switch GPU to Fix Capture

If the OBS and the game software are using different graphics cards, the black screen will ...Full steps

Fix 4. Enable Compatibility Mode

Right click the OBS icon, and then select "Properties" >"Run this program in compatibility mode for"...Full steps

Fix 5. Try OBS Alternative[Hot]

The quickest and easiest method to solve OBS black screen game capture is to try an OBS alternative...Full steps

Fix 1. Choose Game Capture with Specific Window

The first thing to avoid showing a black screen when capturing a game video is to use Game Capture mode in OBS other than window capture or something else. Also, you need to choose a specific window instead of a full screen for capturing. The reason why to set it like this is that some game software won't show effectively in the full screen capturing mode. After that, right click from the Source dock and hit "Transform" > "Reset Transform". Later, you need to click the Transform button again and select "Center to screen". 

add audio source on obs

Fix 2. Run OBS as Administrator

If there is a black screen during the OBS capture game, maybe the reason is that OBS is blocked. To fix the issue, you need access from the administrator. If OBS runs as administrator, the game capturing will be efficient.

It's easy to run OBS as an administrator. You have two ways to set it.

How to run OBS as administrator to fix OBS capturing game with a black screen:

Method 1. Click the OBS Studio icon and hit "Run as administrator". 

Method 2. Right click the OBS Studio icon. Navigate to the "Properties" option. You will see the settings window. Then, click "Compatibility" and enable "Run this program as an administrator". 

If you have finished running OBS as an administrator, you can restart the OBS Studio. Check if OBS can capture the gameplay without a black screen. This method is also suitable for OBS not capturing game audio. Capture game audio in OBS also needs help from the administrator. 

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obs game capture not working league of legends

Fix 3. Switch GPU

One possible reason to cause OBS record black screen is that your computer is running on two GPUs. Logically, there are two GPUs, including dedicated and integrated graphics cards. Most game software is using dedicated GPU. If the OBS Studio is under integrated status, it will be different from the graphics card used on the game software. For that reason, the black screen will show. 

To solve that issue, you need to adjust the graphics card position used on OBS Studio. 

How to switch OBS's GPU to the dedicated graphics card:

Step 1. On Windows, you need to select the Start menu. Hit "Settings" > "Display" > "Advanced Graphics". 

Step 2. Then, select OBS Studio from various applications on the desktop. Choose the "Options" button and then you need to click "High performance". Here, you set it as the dedicated graphics card.

Step 3. Once done, click "Save". Also, shut down your computer and then open it. Then, perform OBS Studio. 

Fix 4. Enable Compatibility Mode

Another situation that causes OBS game capture black screen is the compatibility problem. Sometimes, the setting is in an incompatible operating system. Therefore, you can choose the related mode to handle the issue. 

How to enable compatibility mode to fix OBS not capturing game:

Step 1. First of all, click the OBS icon on the desktop. Then, find the "Properties" option and click it. The OBS Studio Properties window will show and you need to select the "Compatibility" tab. 

Step 2. Enable the "Run this program in compatibility mode for" option. Then, click the arrow-down option and choose the operating system you need. 

Step 3. Once you have chosen the system, hit the "Apply" button. Finally, restart the OBS program and check if OBS captures the game effectively. 

Fix 5. Try OBS Alternative

If you still don't have these issues solved, then you can choose one OBS alternative to capture the gameplay video. Some recorders like EaseUS RecExperts can meet almost all recording functions as you can imagine. Recording game video in the desired bitrate is what you can achieve in this recorder. Basically, you can record the game screen with audio (system/external) and a webcam. 

What's more, when capturing gameplay with EaseUS RecExperts, taking screenshots, choosing the output settings, using the custom hotkeys, and other functions are accessible. Most importantly, this best game recorder won't make you face the black screen for game capture. 

Key Features of EaseUS RecExperts

Without registration, free download this game video and audio recorder on Windows and Mac.

How to capture gameplay video without the black screen on Windows 10, using EaseUS RecExperts:

Step 1. Launch the gameplay that you want to record. Next, open EaseUS RecExperts and click on the "Game" button on the left.

Record gameplay

Step 2. Click on the "Select Game" option to choose a Game Window or Game Process. Then, you can enable the audio and webcam recording if needed. When all are done, click the big REC button to start the gameplay recording.

Choose gameplay

Step 3. A floating toolbar will appear, and you can pause or stop the recording. Besides that, the camera icon enables you to take a screenshot, and the timer icon lets you stop the recording automatically.

Start gameplay recording

Step 4. After saving the recorded gameplay video, a media player will pop up. It gives you a built-in tool to trim the recording, extract audio from the video, and add an opening & ending part. You can find the tool at the bottom of the player.

View gameplay recording

Conclusion

Believe that you have fixed the problem that OBS will show a black screen when recording. Try the above five methods to solve the recording issue. If you think the first four methods are inefficient, then you can try an alternative to OBS Studio, EaseUS RecExperts. It meets multiple functions to record the gameplay video. You can record game videos with different audio resources and a webcam.

FAQs About OBS Game Capture Black Screen

Some related information is gathered from the public. 

1. How do I fix black screen on game capture OBS?

There are several solutions to solve this issue. 

1. Update OBS Studio.

2. Choose Game Capture Mode in OBS.

3. Switch OBS's GPU.

4. Solve the Compatibility Issue.

5. Use an Alternative to OBS.  

2. Why does OBS capture black screen?

There are some reasons that can lead to OBS capturing black screen. First of all, you didn't choose Game Capture mode as the recording source. And some game software can not be shown in the full-screen mode. So you need to change it into partial screen mode. Secondly, OBS is using an unsuitable GPU source. Thirdly, it's due to the compatibility issue. Or, you use an old version of OBS Studio. 

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About the Author

author Crystal Chen

Crystal Chen

Crystal Chen is very interested in technology products. Experiencing many technological applications, She is willing to solve users' problems through writing tech-related articles. Through her words, you can find various solutions to solve one issue.

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