How To Full Screen Steam Games

To full screen Steam games, press Alt + Enter during gameplay. Alternatively, check the game’s video settings for a fullscreen option.

Ever launched a game on Steam and found yourself stuck in a small window? It’s frustrating, right? Many players wonder how to full screen Steam games for a more immersive experience.

This quick guide will show you the simplest methods. We will explore keybind shortcuts and in-game menu options for maximizing your gaming window, so your gameplay is truly borderless.

How to Full Screen Steam Games

Ever get annoyed when your awesome Steam game isn’t filling up your whole screen? It’s like watching a movie with big black bars around it – not the best way to play! The good news is, getting your games into full-screen mode is usually pretty simple. This article will guide you through all the ways you can make your games take over your monitor, making your gaming experience more immersive and fun. We’ll explore different methods, so whether you’re a seasoned gamer or just starting out, you’ll find the solution that fits best for you. Let’s dive in!

Using In-Game Settings

The easiest and most common way to make a game full screen is by using its own settings menu. Most games have a graphics or display settings area where you can choose how the game is shown. Here’s how you do it:

Finding the Graphics Options

First, start the game you want to play. Once you’re in the main menu or the game itself, look for a button or menu labeled “Options,” “Settings,” “Graphics,” or “Display.” The exact wording can vary between games, so don’t worry if it doesn’t say exactly what I’ve listed. You might see a little gear icon or something similar to indicate settings.

Changing the Display Mode

Once you’ve found the settings, look for a dropdown menu or a set of buttons related to the “Display Mode” or “Screen Mode”. It’s usually among other options such as screen resolution and brightness. There will typically be three options:

Windowed: The game plays inside a window on your desktop, like a browser window.
Fullscreen: The game takes over your entire screen, hiding everything else. This is what we’re aiming for!
Borderless Windowed (or Windowed Fullscreen): This makes the game appear fullscreen, but it actually runs in a window without borders. This is good if you like to quickly switch between the game and other programs.

Select the “Fullscreen” option from the dropdown. You may need to click on an “Apply” or “Save” button to make the changes happen.

Adjusting the Resolution (Optional)

While you’re in the graphics settings, you might also see an option to change the screen resolution. It’s a good idea to match your game resolution to your monitor’s native resolution for the best picture. If your game looks blurry or stretched, this is the place to adjust that. For example, if you have a monitor with a resolution of 1920×1080, try setting your game to the same resolution. It is better to use the monitor’s native resolution, but not mandatory, but to have a better visual. You will have to play around to see what best fits your monitor screen and taste.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Sometimes, games don’t have easy-to-find fullscreen options in their menus. Or maybe you just like shortcuts! Thankfully, there are keyboard combinations that often work to toggle between windowed and fullscreen. Here are some commonly used ones:

Alt + Enter: This is the most common shortcut to switch to and from full screen. Try this first!
F11: Some games will respond to the F11 key to switch to full screen. It’s worth a try if Alt + Enter doesn’t work.
Function keys: Depending on your system, you might find other function keys work. Experiment with F1 to F12 and see if any toggle the full screen option, but generally we use F11 key for this action.

It’s important to note that while these shortcuts work in most games, they may not work in every game. In that case, there will always be the in-game settings to use for such needs. So, if a shortcut doesn’t work for you, move onto the next step of finding the full screen settings in the graphics or display options of the game.

Steam Launch Options

Steam has its own set of options you can use to force a game to launch in fullscreen mode. These options can be very useful if a game is not behaving normally, or if you just want to make sure it starts in full screen every single time. Here’s how you can do it:

Accessing Launch Options

1. Go to your Steam library and locate the game you want to play in full screen.

2. Right-click on the game’s name, and a menu will appear. Select “Properties”.

3. A new window will pop up. In the “General” tab, you’ll see a section called “Launch Options.” This is where we will enter the special command.

Using the -fullscreen Command

In the launch options text box, type -fullscreen. Make sure there are no typos. This command tells Steam to try to start the game in full screen mode. Close the properties window, and start the game. It should now launch in full screen automatically.

Using the -windowed Command

On the other hand, if you want to make a game start in windowed mode, you can use -windowed. Although this article is about full screen, this command is the opposite of the one we are looking for, but might be handy for some cases.

Also, if you encounter issues like black screens or performance problems, try the opposite command. So if the game is starting in windowed mode, and you want it to start in full screen then you should use the -fullscreen command, but if you want the opposite, you will use the -windowed command.

Other Useful Launch Options

There are other launch options you can use in combination with, or instead of, -fullscreen. Here are some useful ones:

-w [width] -h [height]: These allow you to set the resolution the game will launch in. For example, -w 1920 -h 1080 sets the game to 1920×1080 resolution.
-noborder: This option makes the game a borderless window (like the “Borderless Windowed” setting within some games). It is handy to use if you want to easily switch between the game and other programs as well.

You can use multiple launch options together, separating each option with a space. For example, -fullscreen -w 1920 -h 1080 will launch the game in full screen at 1920×1080 resolution. If the settings are not saving, try to first exit the steam application, and then re-open again, then perform the changes.

Dealing with Game Issues

Sometimes, even with all these methods, a game might still not want to go full screen. Here are a few things to try if you’re running into trouble.

Driver Updates

If your game is experiencing unexpected behavior like a black screen, flickering, or refuses to go full screen, outdated video drivers might be the culprit. Here’s how to make sure your drivers are up to date:

Find Your Graphics Card: First, figure out what kind of graphics card (GPU) your computer has. You can usually find this in the “Device Manager.” To open device manager, go to windows search bar, and then type device manager, then select it from the list. After the device manager has loaded, click on Display adapters and you should be able to see your graphic card model.
Visit the Manufacturer’s Website: Once you know your GPU, go to the website of the graphics card maker (like NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel).
Download the Latest Drivers: Look for the “Drivers” or “Support” section on the website. Download and install the latest drivers for your graphics card. If you don’t feel confident, there are programs that can do the installation for you, that will detect your GPU automatically, and install latest updates.
Restart Your Computer: After installing the new drivers, it’s a good idea to restart your computer for the changes to take full effect.

Keeping your drivers up-to-date can also improve gaming performance and fix other display problems.

Compatibility Mode

If you’re playing an older game, it might not be fully compatible with your current operating system. In this case, you can try to run the game in compatibility mode.

Find the Game’s .exe File: Go to the folder where your game is installed on your computer. You can find the directory by going to Steam, right click on the game, then go to manage and select “Browse Local Files”, this will open the file explorer for you with the game directory.
Right-Click and Select Properties: Find the game’s main executable file (.exe file), right-click on it, and choose “Properties.” Usually the .exe file has the same name as the game itself.
Go to the Compatibility Tab: In the Properties window, go to the “Compatibility” tab.
Enable Compatibility Mode: Check the box that says “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and choose an older version of Windows. You can experiment to see which one works best with your game. Usually Windows 7 or Windows XP options do the trick.
Apply the Changes: Click “Apply” and then “OK”. Try running your game again to see if this has helped.

Verify Game Files

Sometimes, game files can get corrupted or go missing, causing problems with full screen mode. Steam has a built-in tool to check and fix these kinds of problems. To verify game files:

Go to the Game’s Properties: In your Steam library, right-click on the game and select “Properties”.
Go to the Installed Files Tab: Go to the “Installed Files” tab from the menu.
Click “Verify Integrity of Game Files…”: Click the “Verify Integrity of Game Files…” button and wait for Steam to check your files. If Steam finds something wrong, it will fix it automatically.

This can take a while, depending on the game size, but it’s a simple way to make sure your game files are in good condition.

Monitor Scaling

Sometimes the issue might not be the game, but your monitor’s scaling settings. If your monitor is set to zoom in or has other scaling options active, it might affect the way games appear. To check these settings:

Go to Display Settings: Right-click on your desktop and choose “Display settings”.
Check Scaling Options: Look for the “Scale and layout” settings. Make sure the “Change the size of text, apps, and other items” option is set to 100%. If not, change it to 100%, and start the game again to see if full screen mode is activated.

Third-Party Software Interference

Sometimes, other programs running on your computer might interfere with your games. This is very rare, but if the issue persists, you might need to close some background programs to see if this fixes the issue. Examples of software are overlays, or other recording programs.

Close Unnecessary Programs: Close any background apps or overlays that might be running. This is useful if you have a lot of programs open that run in the background. Examples of these programs can be screen recording programs or other programs that take up a lot of memory.
Restart your PC: If this does not work, try restarting your PC, that will close all the programs running, and will provide a clean environment for your game.

After closing all unnecessary programs, start your game and check if full screen mode works.

And there you have it! You’ve learned many different methods to get your Steam games into fullscreen mode. Starting with in-game settings, exploring keyboard shortcuts, setting specific Steam launch options, and how to tackle some common issues that prevent games from playing in full screen. Remember to check your graphics drivers, consider compatibility mode for older games and explore other options to achieve the best gaming experience. Don’t give up if the first method you try doesn’t work. One of the methods above will get your game into full screen and you can go back to enjoying the action!

How to Start Steam Games in Windowed or Full Screen [Easy Guide]

Final Thoughts

To full screen Steam games, the most common method is pressing Alt + Enter during gameplay. Another option involves checking the game’s video settings menu for a full screen or windowed mode selection. Ensure your game resolution matches your monitor’s for the best visual experience.

Sometimes, games launch in windowed mode initially. If the Alt + Enter shortcut doesn’t work, navigate to the settings within game. You can adjust display options for that specific game from there.

Essentially, these straightforward approaches will teach you how to full screen steam games. Most game configurations are handled within the game’s settings themselves.