Focus on gaming

Find your games and gaming tools in one place

Open the Games app and then:

To play a game, tap .
If you don't have any games yet, tap Download games and choose one from Play Store.
To adjust display settings, prevent interruptions, and turn off gestures during games, tap Settings.
To see moments you captured during games, tap .
To turn Gametime on or off for a game, tap .

Turn Gametime on/off

To turn it on/off for all games:

Open the Games app.
Touch and turn Gametime on or off .

To turn it on/off for a specific game:

Open the Games app and touch .
Touch a game to add or remove it.

Open sidebar

Use the sidebar to quickly adjust settings during a game.

To open it, you can either:

Tap .
Swipe right.
Swipe right but don't show . This gives maximum space for and interferes least with gaming.

Reposition

Drag to the top, middle, bottom, or opposite side of the screen.

Reposition

Swipe right.
Tap Settings > Sidebar access.
Tap next to Swipe right from the edge.
Select top, middle, or bottom third of screen.

Customize tap or swipe to open

Open the Games app.
Tap > Sidebar access
Do one of the following:
- To tap , select Tap the icon.
- To swipe right, select Swipe right from the edge.
- To swipe without showing , select Swipe right from the edge, then tap and turn Show visual hint off .

Remove the sidebar

If you don’t want to use the sidebar, you can remove it. Open the sidebar and tap > Sidebar access > Hide the sidebar.

Turn off calls and notifications

From sidebar

During a game, open the sidebar.
Tap to block calls and to block notifications.
When Block calls is on , calls from starred contacts are allowed as exceptions:
- To block starred contacts as well, or to permit calls from all contacts, tap > Caller exceptions.
- To permit urgent calls if the same person calls a second time within a 15 minute period, turn Allow repeat callers on .

From Games app

Open the Games app.
Tap .
Turn Block notifications and Block calls on or off .
When Block calls is on , calls from starred contacts are allowed as exceptions. To block starred contacts as well, or to permit calls from certain contacts, tap Caller exceptions.

Turn off gestures that conflict with game controls

Some gestures may conflict with game controls. You can turn them off while you’re playing games.

Turn off all gestures

To disable all gestures (system navigation, swiping for quick settings, and gestures like flashlight) during your game, open the sidebaropen the sidebar and tap to turn Locked mode on .

Turn off individual gestures

During a game, open the sidebar and tap .
Tap Block Gestures and turn on the gestures you want to block.

Customize display and sound for gaming

During a game, open the sidebar.
Tap Settings and adjust settings:
- To improve display, adjust Display refresh rate.
- To keep brightness at a fixed level while gaming, turn Disable adaptive brightness on .
- To hide labels below sidebar icons, turn Show labels off .

TipFor the smoothest motion, be sure the display refresh rate is set to the highest rate.

Use social apps while you play

Stream on Twitch

During a game, open the sidebar and tap .
If you haven't installed or set up Twitch, follow onscreen instructions to do so.
Log in and follow onscreen instructions to stream.

For help streaming, go to help.twitch.tv.

Other social apps

You can add up to two shortcuts in the sidebar to social apps such as WhatsApp or Discord, for quick access to your gaming friends. When you open the app during a game, it appears in a small freeform window that you can reposition.

To add apps:

Be sure the app you want is installed. If it isn't, download it from Play Store.
During a game, open the sidebar and tap .
Select the apps to add.

To use the apps:

During a game, open the sidebar and tap the app's icon.
Drag the app window where you want it.
Use available app features as you normally do. Some app features might not be available in freeform mode.

Record or take screenshot during game

During a game, open the sidebar.
To record your screen, tap . Learn more.

To take a screenshot, tap .
To share it, tap .

Allow game play over mobile data

To save mobile data, Gametime prevents games from using mobile data when Wi-Fi is available. But you can change settings and allow games to use mobile data.

Open the Games app.
Tap .
Turn Use mobile data on or off .