From the League of Legends to the Minecraft, the Overwatch to the Call of Duty, gamers are addicted to capturing the gameplays and sharing these game clips to social media like YouTube. The fact remains unchanged today and it seems to be the sheer passion that encourages gamers to consistently share the awesome moments in their favorite games. Consequently, choosing a powerful game recorder becomes quite important for gamers. In fact, capturing video game footage is easy as long as you choose the right tool.
However, how do you select a suitable game recorder for PC out of plenty of game recorders in the market? After an in-depth comparison, the article lists the best five free game recording software for Windows (10/11). Let’s check out together and start to record gameplay on PC!
What Is the Best Game Recorder for PC
What is the best game screen recorder? Before choosing a PC recorder for gaming, you'd better follow the criteria below.
Price
The top consideration is the cost-effectiveness of the game recorder. Is it priced reasonably? Free screen recorder that is available to record gameplay will be absolutely amazing, but be careful it might pop up annoying advertisements during usage.
Compatibility
A good game recorder should have high compatibility that supports operating systems not only Windows 7/8/10 but also the latest Windows 11.
Webcam Recording
It is common for gamers to add webcam overlay with voiceover while recording gameplay. Therefore, webcam recording is one of the must-haves that the best game recorder should have.
Video Quality
The importance of a high-quality video game recording is self-evident. Can the game recorder record gameplay while keeping original image quality and audio? Are there any FPS drops that influence the game performance? A good game recorder should be able to record HD video clips without lagging.
Instant Sharing
The function to share instantly on social media after recording gameplay clips brings a tremendous convenience for gamers. Hence, gamers should check if the game recorder supports instant sharing functionality, as well as the included social platforms.
2023 Top 5 Free Game Recorders for PC
No.1 Easy to Use Game Recorder for All Windows PCs – iTop Screen Recorder
Knowing the criteria of a good game recorder helps you make a wise decision. Based on those standers, the article lists the top five game recorders that make your game recording more enjoyable. iTop Screen Recorder is one of solidest game screen recorder for PC in the market. It offers an updated Game Mode, which makes it an ideal option to record graphically-intensive games such as Forza Horizon, Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, Final Fantasy XV, etc.
Main Features
● HD Recording
Adopting CPU acceleration technology, it takes up little space at runtime. Thus people can enjoy a smoothly lag-free recording at HD quality (up to 4K). Moreover, the game recorder supports webcam recording with a voiceover, making it possible for people to comment while recording games.
● No-lag Recording
It takes full advantage of hardware acceleration of Intel/AMD/NVIDIA GPUs enabling you to capture gameplay on PC in 1080p/60fps with no lagging. Thanks to low CPU-usage, you can handle multiple tasks during recording without slowing down the computer.
● Video Editing and Sharing
It has a lightweight video editor that allows you to cut, split, merge, rotate gameplay clips. You can also add special effects (like transitions, filters, stickers), music, text to the clip. What's more, you can share these edited videos directly on YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Instagram, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
● Completely Free to Use
The game recorder has unlimited recording time that you don’t need to pay a penny for the service. Moreover, it rolls out an online screen recorder making the gameplay recording more conveniently.
● Compatibility & Multiple Video Formats
The iTop Screen Recorder is considered one of the best screen recorder Windows 10, 8, 7 and the latest 11. Additionally, there is a wide range of outputs to choose from, including MP4, AVI, FLV, MKV, MOV, TS, and GIF.
Pros |
Cons |
1. Free game recorder with an intuitive interface 2. Game mode supported 3. 4K supported high-quality recording 4. Record gameplay with no watermark 5. Multiple video formats 6. Also available to record zoom meeting, streaming videos and any other content on your screen. |
1. Exclusive for Microsoft Windows 2. Built-in editor is not powerful enough |
No. 2 Built-in Free Game Recorder for Windows 10 PC – Xbox Game Bar
For people who don’t want to download and install a third-party game recorder, they can take advantage of the Xbox Game Bar, a built-in Windows 10 recorder for taking screenshots and recording PC games. The automatic clip recorder for PC gaming gives users quick access to an overlay with various widgets to take control of their gameplay recording. Take a look at the comprehensive review of the game screen recorder for PC below for more details.
Main Features
● No download or installation
Xbox Game Bar is a solid game recorder that needs no download or installation. For that reason, gamers can avoid problems like bundled junk software or malware attacks.
● Simple interface
Xbox Game Bar has a simple interface that is friendly to all-level users. It can meet the basic needs of gamers by providing flexible options on recording time, FPS, video quality, and bitrate.
Pros |
Cons |
1. Require no download/installation 2. Easy to use 3. Friendly to all-level users |
1. Low compatibility. Not applicable to lower Windows versions like 7 or 8. 2. A maximum of four-hour recording length. 3. Not support flexible capture region 4. Lack editing and instant sharing tool |
No. 3 Power-packed Game Recorder for PC – Bandicam
Bandicam is an all-in-one recorder that excels in gameplay recording. Similar to iTop Screen recorder, it has hardware acceleration to minimize CPU usage and reduce lagging while recording. Let's check the specs of this game screen recorder for PC.
Main Features
● High-quality video
The recording performance of Bandicam is fantastic. Thanks to the DirectX/OpenGL/Vulkan graphics technology, it can record games at a maximum of 4K UHD (3840×2160) resolution. It can also record VR gameplay.
● Three recording modes
Bandicam game recorder has three modes: screen recording mode, game recording mode, and device recording mode, which can meet people’s different needs.
Pros |
Cons |
1. Three recording modes to choose 2. High-quality video 3. Record screen with a webcam overlay 4. Upload in real-time to YouTube |
1. Works only on Windows 2. Obvious FPS drop on a low spec computer |
No. 4 Open-source Game Recorder for Windows – OBS Studio
Available on Windows, Mac, or Linux, OBS Studio is a free game recorder perfect for gameplay recording and live streaming. With little impact on computer performance, OBS Studio seldom causes lagging issues. The best part of this automatic clip recorder is that as an open-source application so that you can enjoy full features with no cost.
Main Features
● Real-Time Capture
OBS Studio can capture real-time video and audio in high resolution. It also supports customized settings with different parameters to achieve an ideal video output.
● Scene Changes
With OBS Studio, people can create multiple scenes like web browsers, webcams, Microsoft Office, application windows and seamlessly switch between these sources through custom transitions.
● Live Streaming
Gamers can directly stream to live streaming platforms like Facebook Live and YouTube Live.
Pros |
Cons |
1. Totally free to download and use 2. Powerful configuration options 3. Live streaming 4. Scene Changes |
1. Not friendly to beginners and has a higher demand on learning the software |
No. 5 All-purpose Game Recorder for Windows – Screencast-O-Matic
Screencast-O-Matic is a video recording solution suitable for education, work, game, or personal uses. It has free and paid versions. The deluxe/premier plan is featured by more functions like:
● Extensive Editing Tool
Screencast-O-Matic is favored by many gamers for its powerful video editing functions, including animated transitions, voiceover narration, overlay texts, green screen (chroma key) filter, picture-in-picture effect, and more.
● Instant Sharing
Screencast-O-Matic allows people to quickly share the game clips on YouTube and Google Drive with ease. Besides, they can also upload the recordings to their hosting account for sharing or storage.
Pros |
Cons |
1. Powerful editing tool 2. Simple interface 3. No watermark 4. Beginner-friendly |
1. A maximum of 15-minute recording length for the free version users. 2. A limited output formats: MP4, AVI, FLV |
The End
All the listed 2023 top 5 free game recording software for Windows (10) show off powerful ability to capture game video clips on PC. iTop Screen Recorder is the highest recommended game recorder. It features the unique Game Mode to record HD gameplay without lagging or fps drop. It enables you to record audios and webcam while capturing the game video. No time limit, you can record gameplay as long as possible with this best free game recorder. Now, try it to capture any great moments for games.
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