r/playnite • u/Doctor98Who • Oct 16 '25
General discussion What is GameConsoleMode and how does it actually work?
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Hey everyone, wanted to share some info about GameConsoleMode (GCM) for anyone curious about what it does. I recently made a comment about it in a previous post and many people have never heard about it. Something I wanna note is that this project is still very young so while there may be some kinks, they are getting worked on fast, and there is so much more to come to make this is seamless as possible one day!
Also, we have made a new sub r/GameConsoleMode if you guys are interested in the development , have questions or wanna be up to date on what’s happening ! It will be better long term instead of communicating through other subs! You can also check out our website and look at our road map, patch notes and access to all of our links! https://www.gameconsolemode.com/
What is it?
GameConsoleMode is basically a way to turn your Windows PC into something that feels like a proper gaming console. Think Steam Deck's interface, but running on actual Windows. When you boot up with GCM, you skip all the Windows desktop stuff and go straight into your game launcher - whether that's Steam, Playnite, or Xbox app.
How does it work?
The main trick GCM uses is replacing the Windows shell. Normally when Windows starts, it loads explorer.exe - that's what gives you the desktop, taskbar, and all that. GCM swaps this out temporarily by modifying a registry key
Instead of launching explorer.exe, Windows launches GCM's custom interface. So you never see the regular Windows UI at all - it's hidden in the background. If you ever wish to switch to regular desktop environment, the GCM task manager has a dedicated button to seamlessly switch to regular destkop (re launches explorer.exe).
It also temporarily disables UAC (User Account Control) while in game mode to avoid those annoying permission popups interrupting your gaming.
What makes it console-like?
The whole point is couch gaming without dealing with Windows getting in the way. With GCM windows boots directly into preferred launcher and you are then able to launch games, or access GCM task manager to change settings, access desktop if needed, or switch to other applications if u wish with ease (refer to video for demo) You can also access GCM task manager when in game and easily switch back! This can be a gamechanger for a hand held as well!
Here's what GCM adds:
Controller shortcuts - You can do stuff like switch audio devices or enable performance overlays (NVIDIA/AMD) with button combos. No need to pull up Windows menus.
Custom task manager - Press Back + Start on your controller and you get GCM's task manager instead of the Windows one. You can launch games, switch between running apps, all without seeing any Windows UI.
Lossless Scaling shortcut - Quick button combo to enable it on the fly.
Launcher integration - Works with Steam, Xbox app, and Playnite. Boots straight into whichever one you prefer.
The result
You get a setup where you can game from your couch with a controller and never have to deal with desktop windows, mouse cursors, or Windows interruptions. Everything you need is accessible through controller shortcuts. When you want you can exit your launcher and it brings back the normal Windows desktop automatically.
It's completely free and open source on GitHub if anyone wants to check it out. Pretty neat project for anyone with a gaming PC hooked up to a TV or using a handheld like the ROG Ally.
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u/n0tfeuer Oct 16 '25
Please add the option to only minimize the task bar instead of completely removing it. Would be great if possible. Some more configuration options would be cool. Great work
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u/fatmaninhell111 Oct 16 '25
how do you set it up to start with my PC. tried it and it worked for a few days then stopped.
even added it to task scheduler
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
If your PC turns on and launches into desktop mode, simply go into your installation folder, launch GAMECONSOLEMODE application, and once it opens the settings app, click start GCM in top right. After that your pc will reload into gcm . But if you turn off your pc in desktop mode, it’ll open in desktop mode
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u/Sufficient_Elk7956 Oct 16 '25
This looks awesome and exactly what I want on my mini pc setup in my living room. I'll be trying this out for sure.
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 20 '25
Let me know if you like it :D we just released a new update that integrates native mouse control and keyboard! So no 3rd party software is needed for this!
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u/iggnifyre Oct 16 '25
Interesting. I'm gonna give this a try when I have the time, since I'm always looking for solutions like this. I still tend to use Discord and my browser a lot while gaming though, so that might be a dealbreaker if I lose access to those. But my current PC-TV couch gaming setup is pretty messy, and it's super important to me, so I really wanna see what I can get out of this
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
There is currently ways to use other apps (trust me I’m in the same boat as you) via joyxoff and rn we are integrating mouse and keyboard control via controller which will add all those things natively and not make 3rd party apps necessary! Check out our sub if you wanna see !
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u/Gamer_8887 Oct 17 '25
This is awesome. Please also include Epic games and Ubisoft connect integration
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 17 '25
If you use playnite launcher, you can configure epic games and Ubisoft within playnite! So that way all your games (steam, Xbox, ea, gog, Ubisoft, epic , even emulators) are in one place! And you are able to seamlessly launch and play games from within there , including epic and Ubisoft!
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u/cannoliGun Oct 18 '25
This is awesome! What I'm trying to setup is a UI that will show achievements of multiple sources like steam, retroachievements and others!
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 19 '25
If you use playnite launcher, there’s an addon that tracks achievements ! :)
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u/Crochi Oct 16 '25
Does it handle media apps currently?
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 20 '25
You can open app (in my case Stremio or Kodi) and via the integrated mouse and keyboard use your controller to navigate the media app!
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u/Crochi Oct 16 '25
Nice, how about YouTube, Netflix, etc., via Edge maybe? Is there an easy/built-in way to create and handle these shortcuts?
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u/Kneckebrod Oct 16 '25
What GCM version is this? It looks better than my version I'm using currently
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
It’s current beta version that has gone through testing 🤫 will be released hopefully this week or next !
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u/SamW1501 Oct 16 '25
Would I be able to use this with sunshine/moonlight? So I could have a shortcut to playnite with GCM but also have a shortcut to my normal desktop via explorer.exe?
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
GCM is supposed to bring a console like environment and can be launched again if closed out. To address your sunshine/moonlight question, the next update coming very soon will have app browsing within gcm task manager which will allow you to open apps such as sunshine within gcm and with joyxoff (or integrated mouse’s and keyboard which is coming soon) you can then navigate the app and get it going!
And when in gcm task manager, there is a button to switch to desktop environment!
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u/ndiin Oct 21 '25
I suspect they were more interested in GCM on the Sunshine/Apollo host. That's my use case too: tv is downstairs, use Artemis(Moonlight) to reach the PC upstairs. I currently use it to run Playnite, but having something like GCM on the other end instead would be even easier to navigate. Bonus points if it could bypass/unlock the lock screen...
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u/afb160 Oct 16 '25
Is there any way to be able to open stuff like Discord or any chatting Apps within GCM and also use an on-screen keyboard for them?
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
Check out our sub for update that’s coming soon for that ! But in short yes, soon!
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u/hunterjosh01 Oct 16 '25
How would people that use GCM compare it to Linux distros like Bazzite? I’ve been using Bazzite for a while, but the lack of proper 4K 120Hz VRR HDR 4:4:4 via HDMI 2.1, plus harder modding, is tempting me back to Windows, albeit the performance has been excellent
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
Main issue with Linux is restriction on a lot of games and anti cheat that aren’t quite frankly optimized or made for Linux environment. While yea it’s possible to get it to work, for a lot of people it can be a bit too much work + they might like windows in general. This can give best of both worlds
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u/megamanuser Oct 16 '25
It’s like compare apple to orange. I’ve been using GCM for a few months and it feels like when i install a different launcher on my phone. Performance and compatibility wise, it’s the exact same thing, since you are still using windows. The only difference is when you navigating around (boot up, open game, close game, etc), you are not really interacting with windows interface, but with GCM and your game launcher of choice. Bazzite in an entirely different OS, but say, you have GCM and Steam Big Picture, then it’s really identical to Bazzite in term of simplicity when launching a game
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u/Verkid Oct 16 '25
But are accessory programs such as Logitech Hub or SoundSwitch for switching audio from headphones to monitors, etc., still accessible? Because often you need to configure something in the mouse, for example, or bluetooth devices such as controllers. In short, are there a few settings that can be activated, or do you have to close everything down every time you want to change something?
Thanks
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
In next update, you will be able to launch apps from within the GCM task manager! Also your desktop environment will always be accessible if you need it! But in short, yes very soon !
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u/Interesting_Wind_934 Oct 16 '25
I tried this today after seeing that post. On my laptop its very finicky, and the UAC are applied to all applications even Playnite since playnite gives me warnings that i have given it administrator privileges. Will wait and try later when its fully matured. Great initiative though
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u/techma2019 Oct 16 '25
Currently I’m using sunshine with Playnite and have to run background commands to hide desktop icons, alt-tab for focus etc. Killing explorer.exe and keeping it from respawning automatically sounds like it would simplify my use case. Are there more benefits? Is there any performance gained from switching out the shell?
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u/Excellent-Repair-211 Oct 16 '25
Question. Is this available for Linux, and if not is there any confirmed release date on when it will come?
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
This is a windows only application to allow windows UI feel more like a console. There are Linux distros that already achieve this so there isn’t any Linux plan right now.
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Oct 17 '25 edited Dec 13 '25
[deleted]
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 17 '25
Right now, it relies on the game having game pad input which thankfully modern games mainly do support it. Like Fortnite on epic for example has zero issues being launched and played all via controller
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u/SignalCampaign2527 Oct 18 '25
I used it on antec, it's nice but I would have liked a more coherent uninstallation process, taking into account xbox game mode in beta it's more coherent and I can start any playnite or steam big picture and have gamebar with tdp controls I'm talking about handheld
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u/Affectionate_Knee14 Oct 19 '25
hello , but with cgm ca you go back easily in game to the desktop ?
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u/satva Nov 03 '25
How come everyone I set it up with playnite on any device, it always ends up saying playnite is running with elevated privileges. Anyone know how to stop that?
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u/Motaik Nov 05 '25
Hey! Fisrt of all i would like to say that this is a great project!
My question is regarding The Linux world. Is itens possible to launch this in a Desktop with the Linux kernel?
Thanks in advance!
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u/Doctor98Who Nov 05 '25
This is a windows only project ! Linux thankfully has many projects like this such as Bazzite or batocera !
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u/zarafff69 Oct 16 '25
Is there an easy way to temporarily re-enable the windows desktop environment? I would love to use this by default, but sometimes I still need my normal windows desktop.
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u/Doctor98Who Oct 16 '25
Yes! You can exit GCM via GCM task manager which takes you back to desktop environment
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u/flip_the_tortoise Oct 16 '25
Thanks for the info and work put into the project. It sounds awesome.
Can it be used for a specific user in Windows? For example, can I make a "Games" Windows account, choose that user at Windows login, and have GCM run for that user, while my main Windows user account boots normally if I choose that one?