Top 6 Ways to Fix Games Not Opening in Full Screen on Windows 11

Quick Tips

• Ensure your display resolution matches your game’s settings for optimal full-screen performance.
• Press Alt + Enter to toggle between full-screen and windowed mode.
• Go to the in-game graphics settings and select the full-screen mode option.
• Keep your GPU drivers up-to-date to avoid compatibility issues with full-screen mode.

Fix 1: Use the Keyboard Shortcut

Sometimes, the games may open in windowed mode by default, and you might have hit the Maximize window shortcut on your computer. You can use the Alt + Enter keyboard shortcut to enable full-screen mode for a game that opens in windowed mode.

So, next time you launch a game, press Alt + Enter to switch to its full-screen mode.

Fix 2: Change In-Game Settings

Most modern games allow you to customize their display settings and configure them to launch in full-screen mode. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Launch a game and open its settings.

Step 2: Switch to the Graphics settings.

Every game may have a different structure or labeling system, which may be referred to as Graphics or Video.

Step 3: Choose Fullscreen for the Display Mode settings.

Then, save the changes and restart your game. Check if the game launches in full-screen mode. If not, try the next solution on the list.

Fix 3: Turn Off Full-Screen Optimization

Another quick solution you can try if games are not opening in full screen on Windows is to disable full-screen optimization. But do note that it can cause different display issues and not run the game properly.

Step 1: Right-click on your game’s shortcut and choose Properties from the context menu.

Step 2: Click the Compatibility tab.

Step 3: Uncheck the Disable fullscreen optimization box.

Step 4: Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.

Next, restart your computer and relaunch the game to check if it opens in full-screen mode.

Fix 4: Use Windows Compatibility Mode

You can use the Windows compatibility mode feature to play older or classic games on your Windows 11 PC. This feature creates an environment that emulates an older operating system, enabling the game to run on your computer.

Step 1: Right-click on your game’s shortcut and choose Properties from the menu that crops up.

Step 2: Switch to the Compatibility tab.

Step 3: Check the box next to Run this program in compatibility mode for. Then, choose the Windows version (ex., Windows 8) from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.

Fix 5: Change Windows Settings

Windows allows you to manually adjust the display scale according to your monitor. However, certain games may encounter issues entering full-screen mode if the display scale is set to a higher number than the recommended value for the game.

In such cases, the solution is to adjust the display scale value to the recommended number the game supports. You can do that by following the below steps:

Step 1: Press the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app.

Step 2: Choose System from the left sidebar and click the Display option in the right pane.

Step 3: Select the drop-down icon next to the Scale option and choose Recommended value.

After that, restart your computer and check for the issue.

Fix 6: Update the Graphics Driver

If the full-screen still keeps minimizing or the game fails to enter full-screen mode at all, you can try updating the graphics driver.

So, visit your graphics card manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) and download available updates for your graphics driver. Alternatively, you can use the Device Manager to download the update. Here’s how:

Step 1: Press the Windows + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and choose Device Manager from the list.

Step 2: Double-click on the Display adapters.

Step 3: Right-click on your graphics driver and select Update driver.

Step 4: Choose the Search automatically for drivers option.

Windows will search for and download the latest available graphics driver. After that, restart your computer, and you will see that you are no longer facing the issue.

Sometimes, games might fail to launch in full-screen mode for various reasons. Fortunately, you can stop games from minimizing and enjoy them in full-screen mode using the above solutions.