15 Best Game Recording Software to Capture Gameplay Like a Pro

Gaming has evolved tremendously over the past decade. What used to be a hobby and leisure activity has now turned into a full-fledged profession for many.

With the rise of Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming, gamers are making big bucks by live streaming and posting pre-recorded videos of their gameplay. Top gamers like Ninja and Shroud are earning millions per year just by playing and recording games from their home.

But to start your journey as a gaming content creator, you need the right tools. A good game recording software is crucial to capture smooth, lag-free videos of your gameplay.

In this guide, we will discuss the 15 best game recording software to help you record gameplay videos like a pro.

Why You Need Game Recording Software

Here are some key reasons why you need dedicated game recording software:

• Gameplay Recording – It lets you easily record your screen and gameplay footage without lags or freezes. You can capture the full action as it happens.

• Editing Features – Most game recorders come with editing tools to add overlays, effects, captions etc. to your videos after recording. This improves production quality.

• Webcam & Mic – You can add webcam footage and commentary to your videos for a more engaging viewing experience. Viewers get to see your reactions too.

• Live Streaming – Many game recorders allow you to live stream your gameplay directly to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook etc. while recording locally too.

• Performance Optimization – Game recording software is designed to capture videos smoothly without slowing down game performance, unlike general screen recorders.

• Highlight Recording – Instantly capture highlight moments in games by just pressing a hotkey. You don‘t miss epic gameplay moments.

• Different Recording Modes – Record any area of your screen, fullscreen, webcam only, mic only etc. according to your needs.

Now let‘s look at the 15 best game recording software to capture and produce amazing gameplay videos.

1. OBS Studio

OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) Studio is the most popular open source software for video recording and live streaming. It‘s completely free and packed with features.

OBS is used by most professional streamers due to its flexibility and extensive capabilities. You can record and stream gameplay, webcam, computer screen, etc. with OBS.

Some key features of OBS Studio:

• Record games in high quality without lags. Supports 4K at 60 FPS.

• Live stream to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Live etc. directly.

• Add webcam, overlays, effects, transitions and more while recording.

• Available for Windows, macOS and Linux. Completely free and open source.

• Extensive audio mixing capabilities. Record game audio, mic etc.

• Create separate scenes for recording, streaming, webcam overlays etc.

• Hotkey support to start/stop recordings and other functions.

• Modular plugin system to add more features from community.

Overall, OBS Studio is the most flexible free game recorder available with unlimited options for professional use. It has a learning curve, but beginners can get started easily too.

2. Xbox Game Bar

The Xbox Game Bar is a handy built-in tool in Windows 10 and 11 to record gameplay videos. Access it by pressing Win + G.

Xbox Game Bar allows you to:

• Easily record game footage by pressing Win + Alt + R.

• Instantly take screenshots using Win + Alt + Print Screen.

• Add webcam and microphone feeds.

• Chat with Xbox friends during gameplay.

• Supports most PC games including AAA titles.

• Hardware accelerated game recording for smooth performance.

• Trim and share captured videos without leaving the game.

Xbox Game Bar provides an easy way to capture gameplay moments without extra software. But it lacks advanced options for serious recording and streaming.

3. Nvidia ShadowPlay

Nvidia ShadowPlay is a popular game recording software included with GeForce Experience for Nvidia GPU users. It offers excellent performance and ease of use.

Some useful capabilities of Nvidia ShadowPlay:

• Record up to 130 Mbps video in 4K HDR quality. Supports desktop capture too.

• Minimal performance impact thanks to GPU-based encoding.

• Instant Replay to capture last 30 seconds of gameplay by pressing hotkey.

• Automatically detect highlights and record awesome gameplay moments.

• Share videos instantly to Facebook, YouTube and photo hosting sites.

• Stream games directly to Twitch, YouTube etc. at high quality.

• Available only for Windows with Nvidia GeForce 600 series or higher GPUs.

Nvidia ShadowPlay is great if you already own a compatible Nvidia graphics card. The recordings maintain high fidelity with little performance penalty.

4. AMD ReLive

The closest competitor to Nvidia ShadowPlay is AMD ReLive by AMD. It offers similarly great performance for recording and streaming gameplay if you use an AMD GPU.

Some prominent features provided by AMD ReLive are:

• Game recording up to 4K 60 FPS quality with hardware encoding.

• Live stream games directly to YouTube, Twitch and other services.

• Instant Replay to capture epic moments in games using hotkeys.

• Record audio from mic, in-game sounds, or both.

• Minimal performance impact and VRAM usage while recording.

• Free to use for AMD Radeon GPU owners running Radeon Software.

• Available on Windows only. Comparable to Nvidia ShadowPlay.

AMD ReLive is great game recording and streaming software if you own an AMD graphics card. It delivers superb performance compared to CPU-based recording.

5. Windows Game DVR

Windows includes a simple Game DVR (Digital Video Recorder) app since Windows 10 Creators Update to record gameplay moments.

To use Windows Game DVR:

• Open Settings > Gaming and enable "Record game clips, screenshots…".

• Use Win + Alt + R to start/stop recording when in a game.

• You can record last 30 seconds of action too by pressing Win + Alt + G.

• Adjust keyboard shortcuts under Xbox Game Bar settings.

• Captured clips are saved under Videos > Captures.

Windows Game DVR provides basic recording capabilities without installing anything extra. But it lacks advanced configuration options and produces compressed, lower quality videos compared to other game recorders.

6. Medal.tv

Medal.tv is a free game recording app built specifically for clipping highlights and sharing them. It‘s simple but packed with cool features.

Some reasons why Medal.tv is loved by gamers:

• Press a key to instantly record gameplay highlights.

• Smart clipping feature automatically records important game moments.

• Edit captured videos easily and share to social media.

• Find clips based on game, date etc using smart filters.

• Feature rich mobile app to view, edit and share clips on the go.

• Cloud sync to access your gaming moments on multiple devices.

• Completely free with no watermarks or time limits.

Overall, Medal.tv excels at clipping, organizing and sharing game highlights with friends. The instant replay feature helps capture fleeting gaming moments.

7. Flashback Express

Flashback Express by Blueberry is a completely free game recorder for Windows 7 and above. Key aspects:

• Simple and intuitive interface. Easy to get started.

• Record gaming footage smoothly up to 60 FPS at 1080p.

• Draw on screen, add webcam etc with free express version.

• No watermarks on captured videos.

• Schedule recordings for select times.

• Support for major games like Fortnite, PUBG, Minecraft etc.

• Save videos in MP4 or AVI format.

Flashback Express provides a straightforward way to record gameplay videos without lags for free. But advanced users may be limited by lack of configuration options beyond resolution, FPS etc.

8. NVidia GeForce Experience

Nvidia GeForce Experience is a companion gaming app for Nvidia GPU owners. It includes Nvidia Shadowplay discussed earlier along with many other features:

• Automatically optimize game settings for your PC.

• Download latest Game Ready drivers from Nvidia.

• Record, stream and share gameplay videos in high quality.

• Supports all popular games and benchmarks your PC.

• In-game overlay to monitor system performance.

• Freestyle game filter for customizing color, contrast etc.

• Available only on Windows for Nvidia GPUs. Needs a GeForce 600 or higher card.

GeForce Experience is great for getting the most out of Nvidia graphics cards while gaming. You get Shadowplay along with useful utilities in a unified app.

9. Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition

Similarly, Radeon Software is AMD‘s official gaming app for AMD GPU owners. It comes with the AMD ReLive recording software packed in:

Notable aspects of Radeon Software:

• Stream and record gameplay videos using AMD ReLive.

• Optimize game settings with one click for optimal performance.

• Fine-tune GPU profiles, overclocking, temperatures, fans etc.

• AMD Link mobile app to monitor PC performance remotely.

• Integrates with popular voice chat apps like Discord.

• Use cool visual effects like anti-lag, Radeon boost etc.

• Requires an AMD Radeon GPU on Windows 10. Provides ReLive capabilities too.

The Radeon Software app offers a unified solution to tweak AMD graphics cards and record/stream games efficiently. It‘s great for AMD users.

10. D3DGear

D3DGear focuses on recording high-quality, highly optimized gameplay videos with smooth performance. Core features:

• Record games in 4K 60 FPS quality with hardware GPU encoding.

• Low performance impact with background recording capability.

• Support for VR headsets like Oculus Rift for immersive gameplay videos.

• Record from multiple sources like webcam, external audio etc.

• Intuitive and clean interface. Easy to use.

• Directly stream gameplay footage to YouTube, Twitch etc.

• Available for Windows only. Good alternative to Shadowplay.

D3DGear is a great fit if you want buttery smooth performance while recording even the most demanding games in high resolution. The well-optimized codec produces great quality at smaller file sizes.

11. Action! Gameplay Recorder

Action! by Mirillis is a popular Windows game recorder used by YouTubers and streamers. Some of its capabilities:

• Capture gameplay in 4K HDR quality with hardware acceleration.

• Enable webcam with Chroma Key for cool effects.

• Live stream games to Twitch, YouTube etc. while recording.

• Record from HDMI capture cards, VR headsets, external cameras etc.

• Slow motion effects for stunning replays.

• Intuitive interface and wide format support for exported videos.

• Wide support for PC, console and mobile games.

Action! is easy to use yet packed with advanced recording and live streaming features. Great for producing high quality gameplay videos.

12. Streamlabs OBS

Streamlabs OBS is a fork of OBS Studio, optimized specifically for gamers and streamers. Extra tools added:

• Stream directly to YouTube, Twitch, Facebook etc.

• Library of themes, overlays, alerts etc. for your streams.

• Chat app for engaging with viewers.

• Cloud sync saves your scenes and settings automatically.

• Manage multiple streaming accounts in one interface.

• Built-in widgets for most used stream features and stats.

• Supports plug-ins like Streamlabs Facemasks.

If you plan to seriously stream games, Streamlabs OBS makes it much easier to manage and engage with your audience. More polish and streamer-centric tools compared to barebones OBS.

13. Windows 10 Game Capture

The Xbox app in Windows 10 provides an easy "Game Capture" option since the May 2020 update.

To use Windows Game Capture:

• Open the Xbox app and go to Settings > Game DVR.

• Enable "Record game clips, screenshots…" here.

• Press Win + Alt + R when gaming to start recording.

• You can set the microphone, video length etc. in Game DVR settings.

• Captured clips are saved to Videos > Captures folder.

This built-in option lets you avoid installing extra software for basic gameplay recording. But advanced users may find it limiting.

14. Fraps

Fraps is a popular and long-standing game recorder for Windows. Key highlights:

• Capture audio and video up to 120 FPS in high resolution.

• Perform real-time benchmarking in games.

• Monitor frame rate, temperature etc. with OSD overlay.

• Take screenshots with auto naming and time stamping.

• Support for all DirectX and OpenGL games.

• Simple interface with minimal impact on game performance.

• Output recorded videos in MP4 or AVI format.

• Additional paid license unlocks premium features.

Fraps offers a no fuss way to accurately benchmark games and record high FPS footage. But the free version has resolution limits, lack of live streaming etc.

15. Radeon ReLive (AMD)

AMD Radeon owners can use the Radeon ReLive app to record gameplay and stream:

• Stream and record up to 4Kp60 quality footage. Also capture desktop.

• Minimal performance impact from background recording.

• Support for multiple audio sources like mic, game etc.

• Chroma key filter for cool webcam effects.

• Direct streams to YouTube, Facebook and Twitch.

• Track performance metrics on-screen during game.

• Completely free when using Radeon Software.

Radeon ReLive provides an intuitive way to broadcast and locally save gaming videos for AMD GPU owners. Great integration with Radeon driver app.

Conclusion

This covers 15 of the top game recording software available currently for capturing gameplay videos easily and efficiently.

While free options like OBS Studio and Xbox Game Bar work for most, paid tools like Action! and D3DGear offer advanced recording and streaming capabilities.

Nvidia ShadowPlay and AMD ReLive are great fits if you already own GPUs from these vendors. They provide high performance game recording with minimal set up.

Make sure to choose a game recorder that provides the features you need while balancing performance impact. Having webcam, microphone inputs and live streaming support is also a major plus.

With the right game recording software, capturing engaging gaming content is quick and fun. You can embark on your journey to creating great gameplay moments for viewers on YouTube, Twitch and beyond.