On an Apple silicon Mac with macOS Sonoma 14 or later, run a supported game in full screen so Game Mode turns on automatically. On macOS Tahoe 26, press Command-Escape to open Game Overlay and confirm Game Mode is enabled.
Use a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS Sonoma 14 or later. The game must support macOS full-screen mode, shown by the standard green full-screen button in its window.
Open the game and click its green full-screen button. Game Mode turns on automatically and gives the game priority access to the CPU and GPU while reducing background-task usage.
3
Confirm Game Mode on macOS Tahoe
While the game is full screen, press Command-Escape to open Game Overlay, or click the Game icon in the menu bar. Click Settings, then confirm Game Mode is on.
4
Set the preference for this game
Use the Game menu or Game Overlay to turn Game Mode on or off for the current game. macOS remembers that choice for the game, so turn it back on there if a later full-screen session does not enable it automatically.
5
Reduce avoidable interruptions
Quit apps you do not need and use a Gaming Focus if notifications are distracting. Do not force-quit unfamiliar system processes in Activity Monitor.
6
Test the game
Play the same scene with the same in-game graphics settings before and after enabling Game Mode. Exit full screen or quit the game when finished; Game Mode then turns off automatically.
Video walkthrough
If it does not work
If Game Mode does not appear, confirm the Mac has Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later, and that the game uses macOS full-screen mode.
Turning Game Mode off for one game keeps it off for that game until you turn it on again.
ⓘ Sources and verification
Checked against official documentation on . Scope: macOS.
Follow the linked first-party guidance if labels differ after a platform or app update.
