So, you fired up Streamlabs, launched your favorite game, hit the “Go Live” button… and bam! All your viewers see is a black screen. Your game isn’t showing up. 😩 Don’t sweat it — this is one of the most common issues for streamers using Streamlabs.
TL;DR
If Streamlabs isn’t capturing your game, don’t panic. Double-check your capture source, make sure you’re running the correct GPU settings, and try switching to windowed or borderless mode in-game. Also, check if your antivirus or admin permissions are blocking anything. We’ll walk you through the fixes step by step!
1. Check Your Game Capture Source
Streamlabs won’t know what to capture unless you tell it. Make sure you’ve added a game capture source correctly.
- Open Streamlabs.
- Click the “+” sign in the Sources box.
- Select Game Capture.
- Choose “Capture specific window”.
- Select your game from the dropdown menu.
If your game doesn’t show up in the dropdown, try launching the game first, then adding the source.
2. Check Display or Window Capture Instead
Still not working? Maybe game capture isn’t the best method for your setup.
Try Window Capture or Display Capture:
- Window Capture: Good for borderless windowed games.
- Display Capture: Captures your whole monitor.
These are great fallbacks if game capture is being fussy.
3. Run Both Programs as Administrator
Sometimes Streamlabs just needs a little authority.
Here’s how:
- Right-click your Streamlabs shortcut.
- Click “Run as administrator.”
- Do the same for your game.
This can fix weird access issues where Streamlabs can’t read the game’s display.
4. Use the Same GPU for Both
This is a big one if you’re on a laptop or dual-GPU PC.
Streamlabs and your game MUST run on the same graphics card.
To fix:
- Open NVIDIA Control Panel (or AMD equivalent).
- Go to Manage 3D settings → Program Settings.
- Choose your game and set it to use your high-performance GPU.
- Do the same for Streamlabs.
This ensures they don’t get split over different cards, which causes blank screens.
5. Change Game to Windowed or Borderless
Full-screen games, especially older ones, can be real troublemakers.
Try switching your game to Windowed or Borderless Window mode.
This helps your computer display the game in a way that Streamlabs can “see” it.
Not all games love being captured in full-screen!
6. Turn Off Hardware Acceleration
Hardware acceleration can mess with Streamlabs, Chrome, Discord, and more.
In Streamlabs:
- Go to Settings → Advanced.
- Turn OFF Hardware acceleration.
Also check in your browser or other software running in the background!
7. Disable Game Mode or Game Bar
Believe it or not, Windows’ “helpful” features sometimes cause more trouble than good.
Try turning off:
- Game Mode
- Game Bar
- Xbox DVR
Do this through Windows settings.
Here’s how:
- Open Settings → Gaming.
- Turn off Game Bar and Game Mode.
This alone has fixed streaming issues for plenty of gamers!
8. Update Your Graphics Drivers
Old or buggy drivers can cause screen capture issues.
So make sure you’re up to date!
You can:
- Update via GeForce Experience (NVIDIA users).
- Use AMD Adrenalin software (for AMD folks).
- Or download the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
The newer your drivers, the better Streamlabs performs.
9. Check for Antivirus or Firewall Blocking
Sometimes your antivirus thinks Streamlabs is spying on you (rude!).
Whitelist Streamlabs in your antivirus and firewall settings.
Each antivirus is a little different, but usually, you can:
- Open your antivirus software.
- Go to exceptions or exclusions.
- Add Streamlabs’ folder to the whitelist.
This helps make sure nothing is silently blocking your screen captures.
10. Reinstall or Repair Streamlabs
Okay, nothing else working? Might be time to go nuclear.
Uninstall and reinstall Streamlabs.
Be sure to save your scene collections and settings first!
Sometimes corrupted installs just refuse to cooperate.
Bonus Tips!
- Try capturing a different game to see if the issue is game-specific.
- Make sure your stream canvas resolution matches your game resolution.
- Close other screen-recording software like OBS or Radeon ReLive.
Final Thoughts
Streaming is awesome, but tech can be frustrating. Hopefully, one of these tips helped you get your game back on screen.
Let your viewers see that amazing gameplay again!
If all else fails, consider checking the Streamlabs subreddit or support forums. You’re definitely not alone. 🎮📡
