Games are always best enjoyed when they’re at their most immersive. That usually happens when you’re playing them in full-screen mode on a good monitor or a VR headset if you happen to have one.
However, at times games might refuse to work full screen. In this article, we’re going over how you can make a game full screen if it isn’t already.
Use Windows shortcuts
The default shortcut for making a game or program in general run in full-screen mode is Alt + Enter. The shortcut will work for just about anything except when the program specifically overrides this shortcut for something else.
Do keep in mind that this shortcut doesn’t work in browsers. If you’re playing a browser-based game, use the F11 key instead.
Also read: How to turn off mouse acceleration in Windows 10?
Check in-game settings
Most games will have in-game settings that’ll let you set the game to a full-screen mode. Games have different display mode settings to suit the preferences of different players. Make sure yours is set to full screen with a resolution that matches your desktop’s native resolution.
Scale your display
Programs will not display in full-screen mode properly if you’ve set different scaling settings in Windows. Make sure you’ve got the OS recommended scaling setting set in Windows. Here’s how.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + I to open Windows Settings and click on Display
Step 2: Scroll down to Scale and layout and ensure you’ve got the recommended setting applied.
Now try launching the game again, and it should run in the full-screen mode.
Also read: What does Private DNS mean?
Check your Graphics card settigns
Depending upon whether you have an Nvidia, Intel or AMD graphics card, you might need to tweak your graphics card’s settings to ensure that your games run in full-screen mode.
Do keep in mind that if you’re using a laptop with a dedicated GPU, this solution might not work for you as dedicated GPU settings on laptops are quite limited in terms of scaling program windows and resolutions, as these two are often controlled by your integrated GPU, and that’s where you should be controlling these settings.
Try switching the main monitor
Dual or even triple monitor setups are pretty standard these days. However, while running multiple monitors can be pretty productive, they can cause issues with your games. Try switching your primary monitor to see if that solves your problem.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + I to open Windows Settings and click on Display.
Step 2: Try switching your main display from here to see if that solves your problem.
Also read: How to undo/redo in Vim?
Run the game in compatibility mode
Sometimes a Windows update can cause conflicts with games or programs on your PC. Try running the game in compatibility mode to check if that resolves the issue.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for your game. Click on Open file location.
Step 2: Right-click on the game’s icon and click Properties.
Step 3: Head over to the Compatibility tab and check the Run this program in compatibility mode for option.
Step 4: If you’re using Windows 10, select Windows 8 from the dropdown. Similarly, if you’re using Windows 8, set the dropdown to Windows 7.
Restart your PC and try relaunching the game. It should work on full screen without any issues.
Also read: How to fix Curl command not found on Linux?
