Second Screen Gaming Wishlist on Steam

Game on one screen. Everything else on the other.

A two-monitor desk with a game on the left screen, a web browser on the right screen and a controller on the desk 01Game keeps running 02Browser has focus 03Controller still drives the game

Your game keeps running, playing sound and taking your controller while you use the other monitor.

Wishlist on Steam See features

What it is

A Windows app that keeps your game working while you use your other monitor.

Clicking another screen takes focus away from the game, and most games react badly: they minimize, go quiet, pause or stop listening to the controller. Second Screen Gaming finds the game while it runs, shows the fixes that game can take, and applies the ones you turn on.

  1. Start your game and open the app. It finds the game on its own.
  2. Turn on the fixes it lists for that game.
  3. They apply by themselves every time the game starts.

For 64-bit Windows 11. No administrator rights needed.
Hands on a controller while a browser is open on the second monitor

Controller Experimental

Your controller stays with the game.

Browse, chat or type on the other screen while the pad keeps playing.

Keep your controller working after alt-tab

Window and mouse

On the screen you pick, every launch.

Borderless and fitted to that monitor, with the mouse kept on it until you alt-tab.

Make a game open on your second monitor
A two-monitor gaming desk at night with a game on the left screen
Gaming headphones on a desk in front of a monitor showing a game

Sound and focus

Nothing pauses. Nothing goes quiet.

The game keeps running and playing sound while another window has focus.

Keep game audio on when tabbed out

Features

Everything keeps working while you use your other screen

All features in detail

Footprint

Tiny. Near-zero overhead.

The main window closes completely when you are done with it. What keeps your fixes working is a small tray agent that runs on your own PC: no browser engine inside, no Windows service, no network connection. It uses less memory than Windows' own window manager and so little CPU that Task Manager shows 0%.

  • 22 MB of memory, less than Windows' own window manager
  • 0.03% of CPU while fitting a game
  • 10 MB for the tray agent on disk
  • 0 Windows services or drivers installed
Memory in use, beside other background processes on the same PC
Steam client Game store
Windows Explorer Windows
NVIDIA driver services Graphics driver
Desktop Window Manager Windows
Microsoft Defender Windows
Second Screen Gaming Tray agent

Measured on 12 September 2026 on a Windows 11 PC with a 20-thread Intel Core Ultra 7 and 64 GB of RAM, running Second Screen Gaming 1.24.0. Memory is the private working set, the Memory column in Task Manager, summed across each product's processes and averaged over one minute. CPU is a share of the whole PC, as Task Manager counts it, averaged over an hour of fitting a game. Other PCs, versions and settings give different numbers.

Guides

Common two-screen problems

  1. Controller not working after alt-tab? Keep it in the game
  2. Game minimizes when you click your second monitor? Fix it
  3. No sound when alt-tabbed? Keep game audio on in the background
  4. How to use a second monitor while gaming
  5. Game opening on the wrong monitor? Fix it for good
  6. Game freezes when you alt-tab? Keep it running tabbed out
  7. Stop a game pausing when you alt-tab or lose focus
  8. Lock your mouse to one monitor while gaming
  9. Per-game fixes that apply the moment a game starts
  10. Borderless windowed vs fullscreen, and how to force it
  11. Minecraft borderless windowed on any version, no minimizing
  12. How to make Minecraft not pause when you alt-tab
  13. Terraria alt-tab: stop it pausing and minimizing
  14. How to tab out of Skyrim: alt-tab fix without black screens
  15. Fallout 4 alt-tab fix: stop minimizing and pausing
  16. Elden Ring alt-tab black screen? Fix it for good
  17. Can you play two games at once on Steam? Yes, here's how
  18. Minecraft minimizing on your second monitor? How to stop it

Questions

Before you get it

Which games does it work with?
Windows games it can catch while they run. Source and Unreal games get fixes written into their configuration. Runtime assists, such as the borderless fit and the focus assist, work on games with a normal window, Unity games included. A game in exclusive fullscreen needs switching to windowed or borderless first.
How much does it cost?
It is a one-time purchase on Steam, with no subscription. The Early Access price, set in October 2026, is USD 9.99, and it rises to USD 14.99 at full release. Buying during Early Access includes the full release at no extra cost. Steam shows the price in your local currency.
Is it safe to use with online games?
Where anti-cheat is detected, runtime assists are switched off; the borderless fit and configuration fixes stay available, and nothing ever tries to get around anti-cheat. Controller assistance loads a helper into the game, which can break a game's terms of service or lead to a ban, so it asks for your acknowledgment before it can be turned on. Use it with single-player games.
Does it need administrator rights?
No. Everything runs as your own user, and nothing is installed system-wide.
Can I undo what it changes?
Yes. Turning a fix off is the same switch that turned it on. Configuration files are backed up before the first edit, and each setting is put back individually, so undoing one fix never undoes another.
Does it slow games down?
No. The main window closes completely when you are done with it. What stays running is a small tray agent that re-applies fixes as games start. Measured on 12 September 2026, it used about 22 MB of memory and 0.03% of CPU while fitting a game.
Which versions of Windows are supported?
64-bit Windows 11.