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When I switch the game back to the desktop, opening any window also causes the game window to pop up.

Anonymous
2025-03-18T08:37:11+00:00

When I set my game to "Exclusive Fullscreen" and use Alt+Tab to switch back to the desktop, opening any window keeps the game window in the background. However, when my game is set to "Windowed (Borderless)" or "Windowed (Fullscreen)", using Alt+Tab to return to the desktop and opening any window or double-clicking to open a file on the desktop causes the game window to pop up along with the new window.

My question is: How can I keep the game in "Windowed (Borderless)" mode without the game window popping up when I open other windows? I can't find a solution to this issue, and it seems like I'm the only one experiencing it. Since Destiny 2 will no longer support exclusive fullscreen in the future, I have to find a solution to this problem.

System Information:

Windows 10 Pro 22H2 (OS Build 19045.5608);

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti;

I have only one monitor, so there are no multi-monitor options;

The games I play include Destiny 2, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, etc., but as long as they are in "Windowed (Borderless)" mode, this issue always occurs.

What I've tried:

• Disabled Windows Focus Assist;

• Disabled Windows Game Mode;

• Turned off game replay recording;

• Disabled fullscreen optimization for the game application;

• Created a ForegroundLockTimeout key in the registry (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop) and set it to 0.

Edit:

Thanks to Microsoft Community Support representative Nicholas.Z. I have already submitted a piece of feedback to the Microsoft developers. If you have a similar issue, please upvote this feedback. Feedback Link: https://aka.ms/AAv48qq

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Gaming

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-03-19T06:57:38+00:00

    Hi, Skypia4656

    Welcome to Microsoft Community.

    We understand that you are experiencing an issue where opening any window while switching the game back to desktop also causes the game window to pop up, this issue sounds annoying and again, as a Windows user and gamer, I fully understand your frustration!  Going by your description, this is actually related to the Windows focus design logic, I have previously played games upstream on Windows 10 and tended to experience the same issue as you when setting the game to windowed mode, the issue occurs on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. This can be due to the fact that Windows recognizes that the game is running at the same time as other programs, but since the game is not full-screened with exclusive focus, the problem you describe occurs at that point.As per the current case, the issue is related to the Windows development logic and there is no relevant setting or registry function to modify the focus locking feature.As we are only support staff, not Microsoft engineers and Microsoft employees, we cannot make creative changes for the functional flaws of Windows, so regarding the problem you are experiencing, we suggest that you can press Windows+F to give your official feedback to Microsoft about your problem and comments, only if you give your feedback, the development team will be aware of the problem situation.After submitting, please share the feedback link here as this will allow others on the forum (including me) to vote for your submission. More votes will increase the attention and priority of the development team. Thank you for your understanding!If you need more help, feel free to reach out.

    Best Regards

    Nicholas.Z - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-03-20T01:05:36+00:00

    Hi, Skypia4656

    Thank you for your reply! Due to the limitation of my work computer, I will use my account in my free time to vote on your feedback to increase the attention of the Windows maintenance team. Thanks for sharing! I hope the maintenance team will be able to fix this problem in the next updates.

    If you encounter other issues in the future, you can visit the Microsoft Community again!

    Best Regards

    Nicholas.Z - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-03-19T09:27:03+00:00

    Thank You! Nicholas.Z.
    I have already submitted a piece of feedback to the Microsoft developers.
    Feedback Link: https://aka.ms/AAv48qq

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