Notifications & Focus Assist: Stop Interruptions While Gaming

It is completely normal to experience technical issues with your Windows machine while gaming. This could include being interrupted by a Windows alert that causes your game to lose focus. Sometimes you will get a blue screen error.

To avoid this type of problem you need to turn off all non-essential features of Windows. To do this go into Settings. From there click on System, then Notifications & Actions and scroll down to “Show notifications from these apps.” Select Off for every app.

Additionally you should turn on Do Not Disturb while gaming. To do this go to Settings, then System, and finally Focus Assist. Then toggle the button next to “When I'm playing a game” to the On position.

Windows notifications are intended to enhance productivity by alerting you to emails, calendar events, etc., however, they are completely counterproductive to the gaming process as they frequently interrupt your gaming experience by stealing focus, causing micro-stuttering, producing audible distractions, and sometimes minimizing your game altogether.

Fortunately, Windows has included a function called Focus Assist (also referred to as Do Not Disturb in Windows 11), which is specifically designed to suppress notifications in order to prevent these distractions during gaming sessions.

In this article, we will explain how to set up Focus Assist to prevent Windows notifications from interfering with your gaming experience.

Quick Answers

Why do notifications disrupt my gaming?

Windows notifications operate at a higher priority than your gaming applications. When a Windows notification occurs, Windows creates a toast notification and plays a notification sound. In addition, depending upon the notification's configuration, Windows will either render the notification directly above your game or switch the window focus to the notification's source application. Depending on the size of your game window, this can result in your game losing focus, stuttering, or even being minimized.

Is Focus Assist effective when I am playing games in full screen mode?

Yes. Windows 10 includes an automatic rule to engage Focus Assist whenever you are running a full screen application. Windows 11 includes a similar capability in the form of Do Not Disturb. Therefore, you can easily set this option to automatically engage whenever you start playing a full screen game.

Will I miss important notifications?

No. Focus Assist does not eliminate notifications; rather, it silences them. Any notifications that occur while Focus Assist is active are placed in the Action Center and become visible again when you terminate your game session or disable Focus Assist. You can also configure a list of priority contacts in Focus Assist to receive notifications regardless of whether Focus Assist is active.

How do notifications impact gaming?

There are three primary ways in which notifications can affect your gaming experience:

Focus-stealing. Some notifications will create a new window for their associated application. If this occurs while you are playing a full screen game, your game window will be minimized or lose focus. You will need to Alt+Tab back to your game and the temporary loss of focus may cause additional stuttering or even cause your game to crash.

Audio interruptions. Notification sounds will play over the sound effects and music of your game. If you are competing in a game where audio cues are important (hearing enemy movements in Valorant or ability activations in Apex Legends) the noise caused by a notification may mask a critical sound.

Micro-stutters. Even if the notification does not cause your game to lose focus, rendering a toast notification uses both Processor and Video Card resources. As Microsoft's DirectX team explains, most modern “fullscreen” games actually run in an optimized borderless windowed mode thanks to Fullscreen Optimizations — meaning the Desktop Window Manager still controls the display. Notifications render on top of your game through this compositing layer, causing brief frame drops in borderless windowed mode. This won't tank your average FPS, but it can cause the kind of micro-stutter that ruins a clutch moment in competitive play.

Configuring Focus Assist for gaming

Windows 10

To set up Focus Assist for gaming, perform the following steps:

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Select Focus Assist.

4. Under Automatic Rules, select the checkbox next to “When I'm playing a game.”

5. Set the dropdown menu to “Alarms only” to maximize the silence.

6. Optional: Select the checkbox next to “When I'm using an app in full-screen mode.”

Windows 11

To set up Focus Assist for gaming in Windows 11, complete the following steps:

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Click on Notifications.

4. Scroll down and expand “Turn on Do Not Disturb automatically.”

5. Check the box next to “When playing a game.”

6. Optional: Check the box next to “When using an app in full-screen mode.”

Disabling non-essential notifications

You can also disable notifications from individual applications beyond configuring Focus Assist. Navigate to Settings → System → Notifications. Scroll down to see a list of all the applications that can display notifications. Remove the notifications from applications that are unnecessary to you: Microsoft Store suggestions, tips & suggestions, and application update notifications.

Common issues

“I've turned on Focus Assist but I continue to receive notifications.” Although Focus Assist can block most Windows notifications, certain applications will use custom notification systems that are independent of Windows' notifications. For example, Discord and Steam have their own notification overlays that you must disable individually in each application.

“My game continues to minimize randomly.” Focus Assist can block notification-related minimization, but there are other factors that can cause your game to lose focus: Windows Update prompts, antivirus scans, background application crashes. Try checking the Event Viewer to identify the cause.

“I missed important calls/messages.” You can set up a priority list within the Focus Assist settings to add contacts whose notifications will always reach you, even while gaming.

“Do Not Disturb doesn't engage automatically.” Verify that the “When playing a game” automatic rule is enabled. Some games may be running in borderless windowed mode instead of true full screen and therefore won't trigger the fullscreen rule.

“Notification sounds continue to play.” Focus Assist should mute sounds, but some applications (Discord, Steam, browser notification sound settings) will produce sounds through their own audio channel. Check these separate settings.

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