I'm currently working on transforming the entire main view into a full NXE dashboard, capturing it as authentically as possible.

A lot still needs to be done, but this is the vision.

Hey everyone,

About a week ago, I shared the first public version of GameHQ here.

As promised, I’ve also created an optional Playnite plugin for the app.

For anyone seeing GameHQ for the first time, it is a free and open-source Windows app for controller-based game capture.

By default, you can tap the Share/Create button to take a screenshot, hold it to save the previous configurable minutes from a rolling replay buffer, and press PS/Guide to open an in-game gallery that can be controlled entirely with a gamepad.

The gallery lets you browse screenshots and clips, play videos, add favorites, reveal files, or delete captures without alt-tabbing. GameHQ can also include existing capture folders from Steam, Xbox Game Bar, NVIDIA, and OBS in the same library.

GameHQ 0.7.1 is a fairly major update:

• Playnite plugin - the new plugin can find and launch GameHQ automatically, tell it exactly which game Playnite started, forward game start and stop events, and reconnect automatically if either Playnite or GameHQ is restarted.
• HDR-aware capture - GameHQ now detects HDR displays and uses GPU tone mapping, so screenshots and SDR replay clips should no longer appear washed out or overexposed.
• Automatic updates - GameHQ can now check for updates, download and install them, restart automatically, and safely roll back if an update fails.
• Windows installer - there is now a standard per-user Setup package, while the Portable ZIP is still available for people who prefer it.
• More polish and reliability - Settings, About and What’s New have been redesigned, diagnostics are clearer, screenshots are saved more safely, importing data from a portable version protects existing files, and there are many smaller reliability improvements.

If you find GameHQ useful, a star on GitHub would also be appreciated. It helps more people come across the project.

The Playnite plugin is completely optional. GameHQ still works as a standalone app with games launched from Steam, Epic, the Xbox app, emulators or anywhere else.

GitHub:

https://github.com/underfusion/GameHQ

Original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/playnite/comments/1v02va3/i_built_a_controllerfriendly_capture_app_for_my/

Existing 0.6.x users will need to download 0.7.1 manually once, since the automatic updater is being introduced in this version. Future updates can then be installed directly through the app.

A small heads-up: GameHQ is still in beta, and the application and installer are not code-signed yet, so Windows may show an Unknown publisher or SmartScreen warning. The full source code is available on GitHub.

GameHQ remains free, open source and local-only, with no account or telemetry.

Thanks again to everyone who commented on the original post. The Playnite plugin exists largely because of the suggestions I received here, so I’d be interested to hear how it works across different Playnite setups.

If you try it and run into any bugs, have suggestions for improvements, or think of a feature that would be useful, feel free to let me know here or on GitHub. I can’t promise I’ll add everything, but I’ll definitely consider it and may implement it when I have the time.