Surely, if we play PC games, most of them we will have purchased from Steam. This is the main platform that we can find to buy all kinds of titles, and it is that, except for isolated cases, we can literally find any game that interests us. In addition to allowing us to buy, download, update and launch our games, Steam offers us many other functions and features with which to improve (or at least try to) our gaming experience. And one of them is the Steam interface that appears when we launch a title.
What is the Steam interface
The Steam interface is a screen superimposed on our game that we can launch while playing with the keyboard combination Shift + Tab . From it we can access different information related to our Steam account, such as our list of friends (and open chats with them), achievements, community guides and we can even open the Steam browser itself. Steam to browse the Internet without having to exit the game itself.
This interface can be useful in many cases when we play online. Above all, when we do it with other people, since it allows us to have their chats at hand. Or when we are chasing achievements, since we can have them controlled and know what we have left to unlock them. But not everything are advantages.
There is a lot of evidence indicating that Steam’s overlay screen affects gaming performance quite a bit. And that this is usually the cause of FPS drops, and even that some games close completely while we are playing for no apparent reason.
Therefore, whether we are experiencing any of these problems, or if we want to play without distractions, it is very easy to disable this overlay screen of the game to prevent it from loading and appearing. Next, we are going to explain, step by step, how to do it.
disable the function
Luckily, Steam allows us to disable this feature so that if we don’t want it to appear or don’t plan to use it, we can forget about it. To do this, what we must do is open our Steam client, and log in with our account. Once inside, in the list of games, we will open the “Steam” menu , and, from it, we will access the “Parameters” section.
Once the “Parameters” window is open, we will select the ” In the game ” section to, within it, look for the option that we mark below: ” Enable the Steam interface while you are in the game “.
Now that we have this option unchecked, this overlay screen will no longer appear while playing on PC. Also, since we are in this same section, we can find other interesting options that we can configure, such as, for example, the direct access to open this overlay screen, or activate some of the in-game functions of the Valve client, such as the counter of FPS, or the screenshots.
We accept the changes using the button at the bottom of the screen and that’s it. From now on, when we launch a game, it will open normally without displaying this overlay screen.
Disable (or enable) the interface only in some games
If we prefer, instead of deactivating this feature in all games, we can apply the change only to some. This is interesting, for example, if we are only experiencing problems with a certain title, but do not want to stop using this interface in other titles. Or vice versa, if we only want to use it in some specific games but, by default, it does not appear in others.
To do this, what we must do is choose the game for which we want to disable this interface, and right-click on it to open the ” Properties ” window. Within the new window that will appear, we will select the ” General ” option, and, from there, we will uncheck the ” Enable the Steam interface in the game ” box.
Ready. From now on, when we launch this particular game, it will do so without the screen overlay.
Other alternatives to the Steam interface
The Steam interface stands out for being integrated with the games, and with the entire social network that forms the Valve platform. But it is not that it is neither the most aesthetically cared for, nor the one that offers us the most features. Nowadays we can find many other overlay screens that are loaded on top of our games to offer us a different experience, both for better and for worse:
- uPlay – Ubisoft’s game client has its own screen overlay. From it we can access the functions and characteristics of this platform. And it can be useful, especially if we usually play with other people, since we have access to chat and we can send invitations.
- Origin – EA’s client, just like uPlay, also has its own overlay screen that we can launch while playing. It is also a simple screen that comes in handy to invite other people to our group and to always have the chat at hand.
- Game Bar – A screen overlay of Windows itself. We can launch it with the keyboard (Win + G) or with any command. And from it we will be able to access a large number of options and functions that range from all the social functions of the Xbox platform to a performance meter. It also allows us to access game capture and recording functions. Without a doubt, one of the most complete.
- NVIDIA/AMD : Graphics cards also have their own panels that are loaded on top of the game with which they seek to improve the user experience. Among its functions we can highlight, for example, being able to record the PC screen in a simple way, control the performance of the PC, or apply certain effects to change the appearance of the games (as occurs with NVIDIA Ansel).
Our recommendation is that, unless we need to, we keep the game as free as possible from these interfaces. By default all of them will try to load at the start of the game, and this can be a problem. Therefore, it is best to disable them all and, in the best case, let only one allow us to access system information, for example, the Windows Game Bar. And, if we deactivate it too, much better.