Game Mode on Mac: how it works and how to turn it on or off

Updated October 25, 2026

Yes, your Mac has a Game Mode. It turns on by itself when you play, and it helps. But it doesn't close the apps that slow your game down. Here's how it works and how to get the rest of the way.

What is Game Mode on Mac?

Game Mode arrived in macOS Sonoma and is part of every version since, including macOS 26 Tahoe. While it's on, macOS gives your game the highest priority on the CPU and GPU, turns down background work, and doubles the Bluetooth sampling rate so AirPods and wireless controllers respond faster.

How to turn on Game Mode on Mac

There's no switch for it. Game Mode turns on automatically when you:

Open a game (an app the developer lists in the Games category).
Put it in full screen. Click the green button at the top left of the window, or press Fn F.

A game controller icon appears in the menu bar while Game Mode is on. If you don't see it, the game is probably in a window instead of full screen.

How to turn off Game Mode on Mac

Click the game controller icon in the menu bar.
Choose Turn Off Game Mode.

Leaving full screen turns it off too. You can turn it back on from the same menu.

What Game Mode doesn't do

Game Mode lowers the priority of other apps, but they stay open and keep using memory. On a Mac with 8 or 16 GB, that's often what causes stutter and long loading screens. Game Mode doesn't:

Close Chrome, Slack, Xcode or the other apps still holding gigabytes of memory.
Pause Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive while they sync in the background.
Stop notifications from popping up over your game (that's a Focus, set separately).
Keep your screen from dimming during long cutscenes or downloads.
Put your work back when you're done playing.

How to free up your Mac before you play

Quit the heavy apps. Browsers with many tabs, chat apps and developer tools use the most memory. Activity Monitor › Memory shows you which ones.
Pause cloud sync in Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive from their menu bar icons.
Turn on a Focus such as Gaming or Do Not Disturb in Control Center, so nothing interrupts you.
Plug in if you're on a MacBook, so it doesn't save power during the game.
Play in full screen so Game Mode turns on.

That works, but it's a lot of clicks before every session, and afterwards you have to reopen everything and find your windows again.

Do all of it in one click with MacModes

MacModes' Game mode closes or pauses the apps you choose, pauses Dropbox and Google Drive, turns on your Gaming Focus, keeps the screen awake and starts Steam. When you're done, Home puts every app, window and browser tab back where it was.

Try MacModes free for 7 days