How To Get Game To Open On Second Monitor

To get a game to open on your second monitor, use the game’s display settings menu and select the desired monitor before launching.

Have you ever wanted a game to display on a different screen than your main one? It’s a common desire, especially if you use dual monitors. Knowing how to get game to open on second monitor can greatly improve your gaming or working experience. This article will quickly explain how to do it.

How to Get Game to Open on Second Monitor

So, you’ve got a sweet dual-monitor setup, and you’re ready to level up your gaming experience, right? But sometimes, games just stubbornly open on your main screen instead of that glorious second monitor you’ve got waiting. It can be a real head-scratcher, but don’t worry, it’s a common issue, and there are a bunch of ways to make those games play where you want them to. We are diving into all the details you’ll need to know to achieve gaming bliss across two screens.

Understanding Display Settings

Before we jump into game-specific solutions, let’s talk about your display settings in Windows. Think of these settings as the foundation of how your computer understands where your monitors are located. If things aren’t set up right here, you might run into problems with games always starting on the wrong screen. These settings influence how applications, including games, are launched. Having a good grasp on these settings gives you better control over your display configuration.

Identifying Your Primary Display

Windows needs to know which monitor you want it to consider the main one. Usually, this is where your start menu and taskbar appear. Sometimes you might want your primary monitor to be your gaming monitor or the other monitor which you want to keep as secondary, or vice-versa. Here’s how to check and change it:

Right-click on your desktop and select “Display settings.”
You’ll see a diagram of your monitors. Click on the monitor you want to be primary.
Scroll down and check the box that says “Make this my main display.”
Click “Apply” to save the changes.

Remember, changing your primary display can affect how apps and games open.

Display Arrangement

Display arrangement also matters. The order of your monitors in the settings should match how they are physically placed on your desk. If your second monitor is to the left, make sure you drag the monitor icon in display settings to the left of the primary display. This alignment helps with smooth mouse movement between screens. If your monitors are not in the right arrangement, you might have issues with your mouse not appearing on the second monitor correctly and games not wanting to switch to that screen.

Display Resolution and Scaling

Make sure that your display resolution and scaling is correct for each monitor. If the monitor resolutions don’t match, or if one screen has scaling enabled that the other doesn’t, this might cause issues with moving games between monitors or it might cause that game always launches on the main monitor even if you want it on second monitor. Right-clicking and going to display settings, you can find out all of your monitor’s scaling and resolution settings to make sure they are correct.

Right-click on the desktop and go to “Display Settings.”
Select each display one at a time.
Ensure the resolution is set to the recommended value for each monitor.
Adjust the scaling for each monitor to your desired level; 100% is generally recommended unless you require larger text and icons.

Game-Specific Settings

Many games have built-in settings that let you choose which display they open on. Exploring these settings is the next step after ensuring your windows display settings are correct.

Fullscreen and Windowed Modes

Games usually run in either fullscreen, windowed, or borderless windowed mode. These modes greatly impact how you can move a game between displays. Fullscreen mode often locks the game to a specific monitor, while windowed and borderless modes usually offer more flexibility.

Fullscreen: The game takes over your entire screen and typically defaults to the primary monitor. This can provide optimal performance but less flexibility with monitor placement.
Windowed: The game appears in a movable window, just like a regular application. This lets you drag the window between displays. It usually doesn’t offer the same performance boost as fullscreen mode.
Borderless Windowed (or Windowed Fullscreen): This mode looks like fullscreen but actually runs in a windowed mode. It lets you switch between monitors more easily than true fullscreen while maintaining a fullscreen appearance. This option can be the best of both worlds for some people.

You will almost certainly find these display mode options inside your game’s settings menu. It usually lives inside a ‘graphics’ or ‘display’ settings submenu.

Finding Display Options Inside Game Settings

To find the display options within a game, here are some general steps to follow:

Launch the game.
Look for an options or settings menu. It’s often represented by a gear icon.
In the settings, navigate to sections labeled “Graphics”, “Display”, or “Video”.
Look for options to choose the display monitor or to change between fullscreen, windowed, or borderless modes.
If the display monitor is available in the game settings, select the monitor you want to display on.
Save your changes and restart the game, if necessary.

Not all games have a dedicated monitor selection setting. In these cases, using the windowed or borderless windowed mode is your best bet for moving the game to your desired monitor.

Force Game to Open on Second Monitor

Sometimes, even with display settings and game settings adjusted, a game might insist on opening on your primary monitor. When this happens, you need to use some other methods to get the game on your second monitor. These methods can be useful for games that don’t allow you to select which monitor the game opens up on.

Using the Windows Key + Shift + Arrow Keys

One of the quickest and easiest ways to move any active window, including a game, between monitors is by using a keyboard shortcut. Here’s how:

Launch your game, even if it appears on the wrong monitor.
Press the Windows key + Shift key + Left Arrow or Right Arrow key. This should move the game window to the other monitor.
Repeat this key combination if you have more than two monitors.

This shortcut helps you quickly move between displays without having to drag and drop a window.

Dragging the Game Window

For windowed and borderless windowed mode, you can use your mouse to drag the window from one monitor to another. This may seem obvious, but it’s effective. Here’s how:

Make sure your game is running in either windowed or borderless windowed mode.
Click and hold the title bar of the game window (the bar at the very top of the window where the name of the game is displayed).
Drag the window across to the other monitor.

This method works well, but it can be tricky if your game launches in full screen mode first.

Using DisplayFusion or Other Third-Party Tools

If you’re still struggling to get games to launch on the correct monitor, some third-party applications are designed to help with multi-monitor setups. DisplayFusion is one of the more popular choices. These tools offer much more control over window management. DisplayFusion and tools like it offer more flexibility, you can do things like having specific applications always open on specific monitors. Here’s what to consider:

DisplayFusion: A powerful tool that allows you to control exactly how your windows behave across your monitors. This includes features to move window, customize title bars and automatically launch applications and games on a certain monitor.
Other Similar Software: Research some other third-party apps such as Actual Multiple Monitors or UltraMon. These applications provide different levels of control over multi-monitor setups.

These tools might require a purchase, but they often provide an easier experience with lots of useful features. Using applications like DisplayFusion can significantly improve your experience with dual monitors.

Before using third-party software, make sure it’s safe by doing a little research, checking reviews, and making sure you are downloading it from a reputable website. After you have done that, the program should give you much more specific control over your multi-monitor setup.

Changing Launch Settings

For some games, especially on PC gaming platforms like Steam, you can change the launch options to force the game to start on your secondary monitor. This method is often more technical, but it provides more specific control of how a game launches. Here’s a generalized way of how you might do it on Steam:

Open Steam.
Find the game in your library.
Right-click on the game and select “Properties”.
Click on the “General” tab.
Look for the “Launch Options” section, and put in the following command (or commands), separated by a space if necessary:
-monitor [monitor_number]
Replace [monitor_number] with the number of your desired monitor to use. Monitors are usually numbered starting from 0, so your second monitor will be either 1 or 2, depending on the number of monitors you have.

This method can vary depending on the game you are trying to play. Some games or launchers may require slightly different commands. Consult a specific game’s support forums if you have any trouble.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even if you followed these steps, there still might be issues. Here are a few common problems and how to handle them.

Game Still Opens on Primary Monitor

If your game stubbornly continues to open on your main monitor, go over the previous steps again, you may have missed something. Confirm your primary monitor settings, the game’s display mode and try the shortcuts to move the window across screens.

Double check that the correct primary monitor is selected in Windows display settings.
Ensure that you have saved your display settings in the game.
Make sure your video card’s drivers are up to date. Outdated video drivers may cause some issues.

Game is Stuck on One Monitor

Sometimes, a game may seem to be “stuck” on the monitor you launched it from. This can happen if the game is having issues with the different screen resolutions. Try changing the game to windowed mode and then dragging it to your desired display.

Check the game settings to see if the resolution matches the monitor’s resolution.
If possible try a different display mode, or change the resolution to see if that allows the game to move across monitors.

Cursor Issues When Switching Screens

Sometimes your mouse cursor may get stuck when trying to switch between monitors. This can happen when resolutions or scaling is different on the different monitors. To fix this, first, try changing the display scale settings, and also verify the resolutions match the monitor’s recommended resolution. A restart might be required for some changes.

Game Flickering or Glitching

When moving games from one monitor to another, you can sometimes experience screen flickering or other visual glitches. This can be a driver problem, or sometimes a compatibility problem with the game.

Try updating your graphics card drivers, and making sure they are up-to-date.
Lower some of the video settings to see if that fixes the problem.
See if other users have reported these issues in game specific forums.

If none of the suggested solutions work for you, it might be necessary to ask for help on a more specific forum, such as the game’s forum or support forums. Be sure to describe all of the settings you are using as this will help the people helping you solve the issue.

Getting your games to play on your second monitor can sometimes take a bit of effort, but with a few settings tweaks, you should have your games playing where you want them. Remember to double-check your Windows display settings, explore your game’s settings and try some of the extra keyboard shortcuts to move your games between monitors. Using a third party program or making modifications to a game’s launch options can also help in certain situations. It will take some time to find the exact settings for each game, but once you get it right, you’ll be enjoying your games on the second screen in no time!

How to Open Games on a Certain Monitor (Best Tutorial)

Final Thoughts

To get your game onto the second monitor, first check its in-game display settings. Select the correct monitor there if the game permits. You may also try using Windows display settings. The ‘Extend’ display option will usually allow you to drag and drop the game window.

If those don’t work, try using the keyboard shortcut Windows key + Shift + Left/Right arrow. This action moves the active window between displays. That method is very effective if in game settings does not have monitor specific setting. Using one of these methods should help you how to get game to open on second monitor.