12 Best Game Recording Software for Windows

While consoles might be on the rise, a large number of gamers still rely on PCs for their gaming needs. There are all sorts of games available for you to try out, ranging from multiplayer games to FPS games to strategy games, and more. And the fun is doubled when you share your gameplay with your friends and other players worldwide. While streaming is one way to go about it, it usually takes a toll on your internet and depends heavily on your bandwidth. That’s why I prefer recording my gameplay and then sharing it video sharing platforms. If you also want to do the same, here are the 12 best game recording software for Windows to help you out.

Best Game Recording Software on Windows (2021)

Most of these tools will record raw videos without any kind of compression. This leads to huge video size. So, it is recommended that you only record videos to the drive that has enough space. When you get the video, make sure you compress it before sharing anywhere.

Also, unless specified, the maximum resolution that these software can record in would be the same as your display. Lastly, you’d get the standard options of 30fps or 60fps in all of them. Finally, if you want to record yourself while playing games, you can check out our list of the best webcam software to get going.

1. Open Broadcaster Software

Probably the best tool of the lot, simply because of its open-source nature and flexibility, Open Broadcaster Software or OBS is the preferred tool for a lot of gamers out there. Be it simply recording your gameplay or even streaming it side by side, OBS is the tool for you. You are not required to change any special settings, just select the source which you would like to record and start recording.

However, there is a learning curve to it, which you can get accustomed to in time. OBS is capable of recording in MP4 and FLV formats and it uses your PC’s GPU for High-Quality streaming. It records at a 1:1 ratio, meaning the same way as your panel. Apart from basic video recording and saving features, it has many other side features perfect for video tutorials. These features include Picture-in-Picture mode, Custom Watermarks, and Push-to-Talk mode.

Pros:

• Free and open source
• Cross platform support
• Various plugins to enhance experience
• Support for most live streaming platforms
• Huge community support

Cons:

• Steep learning curve
• Not the most user friendly UI

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8 and 7, macOS (10.11 and newer), Linux (Ubuntu 14.04 and newer)

Pricing: Free

Download OBS

2. Streamlabs OBS

If you’re just starting out and you find OBS’s interface a bit too complicated then you should definitely check out Streamlabs OBS. Streamlabs OBS is a video recording and streaming platform which aims to simplify OBS’s interface for beginners. The software is quite easy to use and is chock full of integrated features that will help you record and stream your games.

Since the software connects to your Streamlabs account, it allows you to import all the tools directly from the company’s website without copying and pasting a number of URLs. The software boasts of many of the same features as the original OBS albeit with a simplified interface, making it more like a skinned version of OBS.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Includes a variety of plugins to enhance user experience
• Easy to set up
• Saves resources and settings on the cloud

Cons:

• More likely to crash with all its add-ons
• Fewer encoding options than OBS
• Currently in beta so you might face some issues
• No cross platform support

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8 and 7

Price: Free

Download Streamlabs OBS

3. Nvidia GeForce Experience

If you have an Nvidia GPU, you must have already received prompts to install GeForce Experience on your device. Well, apart from just updating your Nvidia drivers, the software includes Nvidia’s Shadowplay feature as well, allowing you to record games easily. One of the best features of ShadowPlay is that it uses the GPU (Nvenc) to handle the video encoding, which means it doesn’t require much in the way of CPU power.

The software can record at the same resolution as your display, so if you have a 4K panel, your recordings will also be in 4K. In case you have an Nvidia GPU, the GeForce Experience software is a must try, since it doesn’t cost a penny, and usually works quite well for basic gameplay recording.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Simple and straightforward
• Uses GPU to handle encoding

Cons:

• Works only with Nvidia GPUs
• Doesn’t have as many features as other software on the list

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8 and 7

Pricing: Free

Download Nvidia GeForce Experience

4. Radeon ReLive

So Nvidia has its own recording software, don’t you think AMD would have one too? Enter Radeon ReLive (earlier called AMD ReLive), which is the company’s proprietary software for recording gameplay on an AMD card. Like the Nvidia solution, AMD’s ReLive utilizes the GPU for most of the encoding, saving your CPU cycles for other stuff. The impact on framerates is pretty small (5-10 percent in most cases), but for more complex streaming setups it can fall short. What’s more, is that the software comes with support for upscaling as well. As such, if you’re playing at 1080p, you can still record at 4K UHD. If you have an AMD GPU, then you should definitely give Radeon ReLive a shot.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Easy setup and simple to use
• Support for upscaling

Cons:

• Works only with AMD GPUs
• Doesn’t have as many features as dedicated recording software

Compatibility: RX Vega, 500 Series Graphics products; Radeon RX 400 Series; Radeon R9 Fury, R9 300, R7 300 Series; Radeon Pro Duo; AMD Radeon R9 200, R7 200, R5 300, R5 240 Series; AMD Radeon™ HD 8500 – HD 8900 Series; AMD Radeon™ HD 7700 – HD 7900 Series

Pricing: Free

Download Radeon ReLive

5. Bandicam

Bandicam screen recorder it is one of the most known software in terms of screen recording. While positioned as a screen recorder for Windows, the software with its great ability of recording at high bitrates and frames, doubles up as a great recording software for games as well. You can record videos at customizable frame rates and 4K Ultra HD resolution. Even at such high quality, it offers small size video recordings due to its built-in compression feature that makes sure there is no sacrifice on quality and you get the smallest file size. The recordings can be adjusted for gaming or other PC activities and the size of the window can be decreased on increased.

Pros:

• Two capture modes
• Ability to resize capture area
• Support for numerous codecs and formats
• Built-in compression feature

Cons:

• Quite costly
• Videos might have some lag issues

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 and Vista

Pricing: Free Trial, $60 for 1 license

Download Bandicam

6. Gamecaster

Gamecaster is one of the easiest yet power-packed recording tool out there. Apart from streaming, the software can be easily used for recording your gameplay in high quality. You can start recording with a single press of a button, and Gamecaster will configure the settings for you according to your PC.

What’s more is that you can use features such as picture-in-picture mode, watermarks, video annotations, and social media integration. Gamecaster also gives you the ability to edit videos with a built-in video editor and manage all the recorded videos easily and share them with the world.

Pros:

• Free software with all features you need
• Intuitive and Clean UI
• Provides option to record locally or stream to all popular platforms with one click
• Partner integrations

Cons:

• Not for advanced users

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, and 7

Pricing: Free, Premium Licenses starting at $8.32/mo

Download XSplit Gamecaster

7. Fraps

Fraps is another highly popular game recording software for Windows and it’s very simple to use. Unlike other recording programs that come with overwhelming settings and configurations page, Fraps is all about ease of use. You just go to the “Movies” section and start recording, that’s it.

However, Fraps gives you a few essential options: you can set the video capture frame rate manually and it can go from 30 to 120FPS. There is also an option to enter custom FPS value where you can set the frame rate even below 30. Next, Fraps has the ability to record audio through both external input and system sound which is pretty awesome.

And best of all, you can show your cursor, just like OBS Studio while recording games on your Windows PC. Not to mention, you can also get a live frame rate counter in the corner of the screen which is very helpful for heavy gamers. So to put it straight, Fraps is a lightweight screen recording tool and it can be a great utility for users who want a seamless experience while recording their gameplay on PCs.

Pros:

• Lightweight and simple to use
• Can set custom FPS value; Supports 120FPS video recording
• Has a live FPS counter
• Highlight cursor and capture audio from an external input device

Cons:

• Recorded video size is high

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP

Pricing: Free; $37 for Full Version

Download Fraps

8. Movavi Screen Recorder

Movavi has released a new screen recorder with loaded features in terms of screen capturing and post-editing. But the prime feature of this screen recorder is its modern user interface and easier navigation which I think many users would appreciate. You can record the screen with built-in audio and it supports resolution up to 4K. In addition, you can sync webcam and microphone voice-over with an on-going screen recording and I think that is an awesome feature to have.

Besides that, you have an option to record a part of the screen in the windowed mode. As I said, Monavi Screen Recorder has a lot of post-recording tools so you can convert a video into GIF; trim, cut and join videos; add animated titles and special effects and much more. Overall, if you want a game recording software with a healthy dose of editing tools then Movavi Screen Recorder can be a good pick. As an alternative to Movavi, you can also check out the Gecata game recorder.

Pros:

• Feature-packed
• Comes with many editing tools
• Supports screen resolution up to 4K
• Can record a part of the screen
• Convert screen recording to GIF instantly

Cons:

• A bit expensive
• Limited free trial

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7

Pricing: Starts at $39.95

Download Movavi Screen Recorder

9. Dxtory

Dxtory is yet another simple tool in this list that offers tons of features while being very light on the system. In fact, it is one of the lightest software, yet quite robust. The interface is extremely simple and makes it very easy to understand all settings and tweak them. It captures lossless videos at Highest quality to ensure you get the best video (huge size, though).

Audio settings are also quite robust being able to record two sounds simultaneously, like game sound and microphone’s sound which can be edited later separately. In the Video settings, you can specify video codec, frames per second from 10-120, sources, size and format. You can force the software to automatically record the game when it is started and also balance whether the software put pressure on GPU or CPU for recording.

Pros: 

• Basic UI
• Intuitive user experience
• Plenty of customization options

Cons:

• Annoying trial notification
• Not for casual users

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP

Pricing: Free Trial, $35 for 1 license

Download Dxtory

10. Action!

Action! is one of the best game recording software that you can use right now, that is if you have a powerful computer. The software makes use of your GPU to accelerate recordings and put less pressure on CPU. You can create high-quality videos up to 4k resolution, high frame rates and even add live commentary to it.

What’s more is that the videos can be streamed over all popular services like, YouTube, Hitbox, Twitch, Livestream, and Ustream, etc. Action! also comes with Time-Shift mode, but it is limited to 10 minutes instead of 20 minutes. Your videos can also be edited, like cropping, effects like slow motion and other basic editing features.

Pros:

• Feature rich
• GPU acceleration
• Easy to use
• Great options for file sharing
• High definition playback

Cons:

• Higher frame rates take up more memory
• No option to customize frame rates
• Quite costly

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 and Vista

Pricing: Free Trial, $29.95 per user

Download Action!

11. D3DGear

D3DGear might look like a simple and basic tool, but it is extremely useful. The game recording software doesn’t require any special set up. In fact, you just install it, and you’re a click away from recording your gameplay footage. Along with a lightweight design, it also has a built-in compression system that will compress all videos recorded with it.

The videos are compressed in real-time, which means even if you have less space in the drive, you may still be able to record a video. Despite its small size, it also uses GPU acceleration to put pressure on GPU, not the CPU. The software automatically identifies games and connects with them, you just need to press the hotkey to start or stop recording.

Pros:

• Basic UI
• Easy to use
• Real-time compression
• Also great for streaming on popular live-stream websites

Cons:

• Limited features
• Outdated UI design

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP

Pricing: Free 15 Days Trial, $29.85 for 1 License

Download D3DGear

12. Xbox Game Bar (Replaces Windows Game DVR)

Chances are you’re running Windows 10 while reading this review. If that’s the case, and you just need a simple tool for recording your gameplay and nothing else, Xbox Game Bar should do the trick. Video recording (default shortcut of Win + Alt + R) allows you to specify 30 fps or 60 fps recording, as well as standard (720p) or high (1080p) quality and an audio bitrate, and that’s it.

Alternatively, you launch the Game Bar by pressing the keyboard shortcut (Win + G). The fact that it is so easy to use and is completely free makes it an easy recommendation for anyone. However, it is only suitable for beginners, and if you’re looking for something more advanced you can select one of the other aforementioned options.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Comes inbuilt with Windows 10

Cons:

• Limited features
• Available only on Windows 10

Compatibility: Windows 10

Pricing: Free

Record Your Gameplay with Game Recording Software

The above-mentioned game recording software provide complete control over recording your game while playing. All of them record at high quality but might differ in features and ease of use. Some may lack a few features but are very simple to use making them perfect for beginners. Others may be left best for professionals who want to make a career out of streaming and video game tutorials.

Either way, the above list of game recording software should satisfy your needs. That being said, is there any other software you feel should have been on the list? Let us know in the comments below. Also, check out our article on how to record screen on Windows 10 to find out how you can screen record your PC when you are not playing a game.