A very common error reported by Windows 10 users is the You’ll Need a New App to Open this MS-Gaming Overlay error. This error is related to the new Windows 10 feature, Windows Game Bar, that provides gaming features such as screen recording, screenshot capturing etc. All you need to do is press WIN + G keys together and the Game Bar application would open. But sometimes, when you use the key combination WIN + G for some other purpose, you might get the error You’ll Need a New App to Open this MS-Gaming Overlay. Continue reading, to learn how to fix this error using some very simple methods.
Method 1: Disable Game Bar
Case 1 – For Windows 10
The simplest solution would be to simply disable Game Bar to remove the reserved WIN + G key binding, thus letting you use the key combo for other apps.
1. We need to open the Windows Settings first. Either press the keys WIN+I together or you can search for Settings in start menu search bar to bring up the Windows Settings window. Once it opens up, click on the option Gaming.
2. You will now be able to see the Game Bar settings. You need to toggle the button off corresponding to the option Record games clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game bar.
That’s it. Check if your issue is resolved.
Case 1 – For Windows 11
1 – Press Windows key + I together to Open settings.
2 – Now, Click on Gaming from the left menu.
3 – Click on Xbox game bar from the right side.
4 – Now, Turn it off.
Method 2: Reset Windows Store Cache
Sometimes, the issue could be caused because of Windows Store cache. Please follow the steps below to reset your Windows Store cache.
1 – Search cmd in Windows search box. Right click and choose run as administrator
2 – Type wsreset in command prompt window and hit Enter key
3. The above step would launch a Command Prompt window. The resetting happens in the background. Wait patiently while the command executes to completion. Once the command has done resetting the cache, Windows Store app would launch. Check if your issue is resolved.
Method 3: Disable Key Binding Through Windows Registry Editor
The following steps involve making changes to your Windows Registry editor. It is highly advised to take a back up of your registry settings before you proceed with editing registry, as a corrupted registry can cause serious system instabilities.
1. First we need to open the Windows Registry. For that press WIN+R keys together and bring up the Run window. Then type in regedit and hit Enter key.
2. Now, navigate to the following path:
Computer --> HKEY_CURRENT_USER --> Software --> Microsoft --> Windows --> CurrentVersion --> GameDVR
Once you’re at the above path, in the left window pane, click on the folder named GameDVR. Now in the right window pane, right click on the entry named AppCaptureEnabled. Then click on the option Modify.
3. Under Value data field, make sure the value is set to 0. Also, make sure that Base is set to Decimal. Once you’re done, hit OK button.
4. As next, in Registry Editor itself, navigate to the following path:
Computer --> HKEY_CURRENT_USER --> System --> GameConfigStore
Make sure the path you have reached at, is correct. Click on GameConfigStore in the left window pane. Then in the right window pane, locate and right click on the entry that says GameDVR_Enabled. Then from the right click context menu, click on the option Modify.
5. In the DWORD edit window that opens up. Set Value data to 0 and make sure Base is set to Hexadecimal. Hit OK button once you’re all set.
6. That’s all. Restart your machine and check if the issue is resolved or not.
Method 4: Reinstall Missing Windows Apps
Sometimes the error You’ll Need a New App to Open this MS-Gaming Overlay happens because of missing windows apps. If none of the above listed methods worked for you, we can try re-installing the missing windows apps.
1. Open Windows File Explorer and navigate to the following path. Make sure to replace user_account with your user account name.
This PC --> C Drive --> Users --> user_account --> AppData --> Local --> Packages
If you are unable to view AppData folder, it means that you have to enable the viewing of hidden files.
For that, Search File explorer Options in Search box.
Now, Click on View Tab and the Select Show hidden files Options and then click on Apply and OK.
2. Now we are going to delete all the files in the Local/Packages folder. We will re-install everything in the next step. However, if you want to take a backup, now is the time. You can move all the contents in this folder to D drive or some other place that you want, just to be on the safe side.
Once you are all set, select all the files and folders in the Packages folder by pressing CTRL+A keys together and then hit the DELETE key. If any of the file/folder cannot be deleted because it is in use, skip it.
3. As next, we need to open Windows PowerShell in admin mode. Click on Start Menu Search bar and then type in powershell. Once the results come up, right click on Windows PowerShell and then click on Run as administrator.
4. When PowerShell opens in admin mode, copy paste the following command into it and then hit Enter key.
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
5. PowerShell will now re-install all the missing apps. Please wait for the whole process to finish before closing the PowerShell window.
6. Once it is all done, you can try restarting your PC. When the system is up, try checking if your issue is resolved or not.
Please drop in comments which method worked for you.
Used Method 1 and it worked perfectly! Finally got rid of that damn pop-up. Thank you so much!
Method 3 with the registry editor fixed it for me. Thank you very much.
Registry edited worked perfectly even though the bar was disabled everywhere else. Thank you!