Nowadays, more and more users want to record gameplay and share the recording with their friends, relatives, or teammates. To complete this task, a good game recording program is needed. However, there are tons of different screen capturing applications on the market, and you may get confused while choosing the best free screen capture software for games. To satisfy your needs, we will share with you some best free screen capture software for both Windows and Mac users. Just continue reading to find more information.
1. EaseUS RecExperts
This brand new screen recording software will help you to record your game screen easily and quickly. If you want to demonstrate your reactions to the battlefield, you can use EaseUS RecExperts to capture the video from your webcam at the same time. Besides that, it enables you to use EaseUS Video Editor to process your recordings. If the recorded video and audio are not OK, you can rely on the editing functions of the application. Apart from that, you can improve the sound, cancel a noise, or crop unwanted parts of the video (some bad shots to your game enemy). Of course, if you want to, you can change the format of your recordings effortlessly.
Elgato Game Capture HD60 S and OS X software We apologize for the delay in releasing a version of Elgato Game Capture HD software that supports Elgato Game Capture HD60 S for OS X. New macOS software for Elgato Game Capture HD60 S has now been released. Game capture software should put your creativity first. It should empower you to perform, inspire you to create, and equip you with tools to make your content shine. To that end, Game Capture excels.
Using this software you can do the following things:
EaseUS RecExperts. This brand new screen recording software will help you to record your game screen easily and quickly. If you want to demonstrate your reactions to the battlefield, you can use EaseUS RecExperts to capture the video from your webcam at the same time. INDMEM Game Capture Card,HDMI Capture Card USB 3.0 1080P 60FPS,4K Video Capture Recorder Device Compatible with PC,Mac Linux YouTube VLC OBS OS X Switch for PS3 PS4 Xbox $45.99 $ 45. 99 Get it as soon as Wed, Sep 23.
- Supports special game mode
- Records the background sounds and a voice with your microphone simultaneously
- Supports creating recording tasks automatically and starts recording at a specific time
- Removes the background noise and boosts your audio
The steps of recording the games:
Step 1. Launch the game you're about to record and then the downloaded EaseUS RecExperts.
Step 2. Once you begin playing the game, click the 'Record Game' button to get in the game recording.
Step 3. Select the region and click the 'REC' button to start recording. And then you can choose to pause or stop the recording during the course of the gameplay.
Step 4. After saving the recorded gameplay video, you can directly save the video to a local disk or upload it to cloud storage, YouTube, Vimeo, and many other platforms.
2. Gecata
Platforms: Windows 7/8/10
Gecata is a lightweight and free game recording software for Windows PCs. You can use it to capture gameplay or a whole Windows desktop with one click. Making game videos with this screen capture software is easy, as it supports many hotkeys to control the recording without leaving the game. You can configure the bitrate to get a better quality, but you will get bigger file size. Moreover, Gecata offers two options: VBR (recommended), which is a simple slider from 'Smaller size' to 'Better quality,' and Custom (a field, where so you enter the wanted bitrate in kbps). The developers promise to add a Streaming mode soon, so the player can build its fans base on Twitch during real-time gameplay and keep recordings at the YouTube gaming channel.
Pros:
- Simple and easy to use free application
- Records games at 4K 60FPS
- Captures in fullscreen or windowed mode with webcam & overlay
- Intel and NVIDIA hardware acceleration to reduce CPU load
Cons:
- Limited settings to configure
- Puts a watermark (on the free version)
3. Streamlabs OBS
Platforms: Windows 10/8.1/8/7
The Streamlabs OBS is a video recording and streaming platform with a simple interface for the novice gamer. It gathers a lot of integrated features, which will help you to capture your best gameplay. You will need a Streamlabs account, and then the software allows you to import many tools directly from the company's website. It recognizes your supporters live on stream with fully customizable alerts, and you can choose the sources that appear in your live stream or recorded video.
Pros:
- Free to use streaming software with everything you need to stream to Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook
- Dynamic in-game overlay for single monitors
- Saves resources and settings on the cloud
Cons:
- More likely to crash with all its add-ons
- Fewer encoding options than OBS
- Currently in beta, so you might face some issues
4. Fraps
Platforms: Windows XP/7/10
Fraps is a prevalent game recording software for Windows, as it's simple to use. Fraps gives you some essential options, like setting the video capture frame rate manually - from 30 to 120FPS. You can record audio through both external input and system sound. Also, the software allows you to show your cursor while recording games on your Windows PC.
Pros:
- A lightweight game recording program
- Sets up custom FPS value
- Has a live FPS counter
Cons:
- Very large file size of the recorded video
- The last update was in 2013, so there are missing some advanced tools
5. Dxtory
Platforms: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP
Dxtory is another simple screen capture program that is going to record everything running under the DirectX/OpenGL platforms. It's one of the lightest software but provides several functions. The interface is simple, and you can tickle the settings very quickly. You can capture videos of your gameplay at the highest quality, and even it creates huge files. In addition, the software allows you to record two sounds simultaneously, like game sound and microphone's sound. Furthermore, you can adjust the video codec, the frames per second (from 10 to 120 FPS), the sources, the size, and the format of the video file.
Pros:
- Intuitive user experience
- Determines the resolution to record the game footage (record at 720p and play at 1080p at the same time)
- Creates several templates for each game you have
Cons:
- Annoying trial notification
- Not for casual users
- Leaves a significant lag when saving recordings during gameplay
6. Nvidia GeForce Experience
Platforms: Windows 10/8.1/8/7
If you have an Nvidia GPU, you should already receive prompts to install the tool GeForce Experience. It will update your Nvidia drivers, but the software includes the Nvidia's Shadowplay feature for recording your gameplay. ShadowPlay uses the GPU to handle the video encoding, so it will not overload the CPU. The software records at the same resolution as your display, including 4K.
Features:
- Uses GPU to handle video encoding
- Records gameplay videos for as long as you want, all at up to 4K at 60 FPS
- Uploads screenshots and recorded games on Facebook, YouTube, and Google
Cons:
- Works only with Nvidia GPUs
- Demands enough space in the hard drive
- Not possible to twitch streaming and shadow recording simultaneously
7. Radeon ReLive
Platforms: Windows
AMD also provides its gameplay recording software - Radeon ReLive (known before as AMD ReLive). This proprietary software uses an AMD graphic card for most of the encoding, saving your CPU power for other tasks. The impact on the framerate is small (usually up to 10%). The software supports upscaling, so if you're playing at display 1080p, you can record the video at 4K. It includes the ability to overclock your GPU in certain games (not for all).
Pros:
- Allows recording video in 4K resolution
- Enables to take screenshots while recording
Cons:
- Windows 7 needs to have Aero/DWM enabled
- Does not support systems with 2GB VRAM memory or less one
8. Monosnap
Platforms: macOS
This application represents a free screenshot editor for Mac users, which you can download directly from App Store. It includes many screen capture features, available in professional software like editing or annotation. It can stop your recording and then start it again. The free tool works well for many projects, including for gameplay recording. It allows you to make annotations and some editing to highlight important details with pen, text, arrows, and shapes. You can hide private information with the blur tool, save and share the recorded gameplay.
pros:
- Adds your FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, or S3 server
- Drag-and-drop right from the editor
- Shares your snapshots in one click
Cons:
- Saves the captured screenshots only to JPEG and PNG
- While the software is classified as free, it offers in-app purchases
9. TinyTake
Platforms: macOS and Windows
TinyTake makes capturing and recording your screen easy. It provides free cloud storage with 2GB of storage to share your clips. It's appropriate for small tasks and beginners. From simple mouse movements to adding voice to the video, TinyTake records everything you see and do. If you want more features like annotations, you have to buy the premium version.
Pros:
- Captures videos from the selected region and webcam up to 120 minutes
- Most convenient tool for annotating videos for product reviews, gameplay demos, fault or bug reporting
- Easily annotates the videos and move the annotations on the video frame to point a part of the video
Cons:
- The recording limit is 5 minutes
- The storage limit is 2 GB
- Can't stream games using this tool
10. Screencast-O-Matic
Platforms: macOS
This software offers intuitive and affordable video creation tools. With an easy-to-use screen recorder, you can capture any area of your screen with the option to add narration from your microphone and video from your webcam. You can enhance your video with a video editor, like adding text, shapes, and images. You can also create fun animations or fluid transitions. Whether you are playing Minecraft, Sonic, Roblox, or Fortnite, you can easily capture all the action on multiple devices.
Pros:
- Uploads to YouTube, Google Drive, or Dropbox with one click
- A built-in speech-to-text feature
- A great Chrome extension that is easy to use
Cons:
- Videos are watermarked
- The maximum length of 15 minutes
- Only the paid versions include editing tools
Conclusion
To capture your favorite gameplay, you will need a screen recording software. Whether it's the entire display, just a selected window, or area you'd like to capture, there are excellent screen recorders that can help you complete the task. On this page, you can learn 10 best free screen capture software for Games, and you can pick anyone to do the task.
For Windows users, the best choice is EaseUS RecExperts, as it allows you to edit your video file. You can add texts, lines, arrows to the recording, and export the recorded game video directly to Google Drive or Dropbox.
For game lovers, one of their pleasures would be recording the best moments of their gaming life and upload them on YouTube or other social media to share with their friends. Thus it’s important and necessary to own a professional game recording tool that can easily capture the gameplay with no lags.
Since there are various game recording software available in the market, which will make people dazzling and lost about which to choose, here we have collected the top 7 free game recording software for Windows and Mac after our test. Just keep reading to get the best one for yourself.
Best Free Game Recording SoftwarePart 1. Top 7 Free Game Recording Software for Windows and Mac
1. Bandicam
OS: Windows
Bandicam Game Recorder can be one of the top choices for gamers to record 4K UHD video and capture up to 480 FPS video. It enables you to record your gameplay and upload the recorded file to YouTube without converting (720p/1080p full HD video can be made).
- PROS
- Record various 2D/3D games such as Minecraft, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Roblox, World of Warcraft, and League of Legends that use the DirectX/OpenGL/Vulkan graphics technologies.
- Compress the video while recording, so you can get a smaller recorded file compared to other game recording software.
- Record 4K Ultra HD video at resolutions up to 3840 x 2160 in size and HD video with max. 480fps.
- Gamers can experience much less lag than with other free game recorders as Bandicam uses much lower CPU/GPU/HDD.
- Support for simultaneous Webcam and Screen recording.
- CONS
- Bandicam is not totally free gaming screen recorder, it only offers limited trial version.
- It lacks live streaming.
- It’s not armed with video editing tools to edit the recorded gameplay.
2. Apeaksoft Free Online Screen Recorder
OS: Windows, Mac
Apeaksoft Free Online Screen Recorder enables you to record games online for free. There is no need to install any software and it’s compatible with both Windows and Mac OS.
- PROS
- Totally free and no need to install desktop program.
- Record the gameplay skills and game video trailers to gain more likes on YouTube, Twitch, and more.
- Save videos and Music from streaming sites like YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, SoundCloud, etc.
- Grasp all the sound in your computer like built-in system audio and microphone voice.
- CONS
- Lacks video editing feature.
- Not able to record 4K gameplay, only 1080p supported.
3. Apeaksoft Screen Recorder
OS: Windows, Mac
If you think Apeaksoft Free Online Screen Recorder lacks the feature you want in a free game recorder program, we recommend you to use its pro version, the desktop program Apeaksoft Screen Recorder. It’s available in both Windows and Mac platform and provides you with professional way to record gameplay, any online and streaming video/audio in various popular formats and take snapshot of game and screen with high quality.
- Record games with up to 60fps frame rate and share with friends on Twitch, YouTube or Facebook.
- Record game screen and your camera screen as well as your sound simultaneously.
- Record any online video on YouTube, DailyMotion, Netflix, Hulu, etc. with any popular video/audio format.
- Customize recording area and preview the recording before you save it.
- The built-in video editing tools enable you to edit video/snapshot and draw new labels to the recorded file.
How to record a game with Apeaksoft Screen recorder?
Step 1Free download and install this game recorder on your computer according to your computer OS.
Step 2After launching the recorder, select “Video Recorder” option and choose the recording gameplay area according to your need.
Step 3If you want to record yourself playing the game, you also need to select the Webcam option to open the camera in your computer. And turn on System Sound and Microphone to record the game sound and your voice at the same time.
Step 4Then click “REC” button to start recording your gameplay. During the gameplay recording, you are able to make drawing or add annotations based on your need by clicking the writing icon.
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![Capture Capture](/uploads/1/1/8/2/118262824/101989039.jpeg)
Step 5If you want to finish recording when the game is finished, just click the red square on the top left corner and it will show you the recorded video.
You can preview the recording to clip the video length or take screenshot. If you are satisfied with the game recording, you can save the video to the location as you like.
4. OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software)
OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
OBS is also a free game recorder loved by many gamers, it’s mainly used for live game streaming on Twitch and YouTube as well as gameplay recording for YouTube.
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- PROS
- Free and open source game recording software for video recording and live streaming.
- Compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.
- High performance in real time video/audio capturing and mixing from multiple sources.
- Enable gamers to record screen and webcam simultaneously.
- Compatible with YouTube, Twitch, Facebook Live, Rstream.io, etc.
- CONS
- The software interface is not so user-friendly.
- OBS is only able to record gameplay at up to 30fps.
- There is no video editing tool built-in this free game recorder.
5. Camtasia
OS: Windows, Mac
Camtasia is an all-in-one screen recorder and video editor that is able to record and create professional-looking gameplay videos on Windows and Mac.
- PROS
- Record webcam to add a personal touch to your gameplay.
- The pre-made animations allows you to customize your recording by adding effects, music and sound effects.
- Support 4K Resolution Video recording and Editing.
- Provide tutorials to help you start easily.
- CONS
- Limited trial version.
- Does not support for live streaming.
6. Fraps
OS: Windows
Fraps is a free game recorder for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP that can be used with games using DirectX or OpenGL graphic technology.
- PROS
- Lightweight and easy to use.
- Show how many frames per second (FPS) you are getting in a corner of your screen. You can set the gameplay capture frame rate manually from 1 to 120 FPS.
- Highlight cursor and capture audio from an external input device.
- CONS
- The recorded file is in large size.
7. Dxtory
OS: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP
Dxtory is another game recorder for DirectX and OpenGL Applications. Since data is directly acquired from a surface memory buffer, it is very high-speed and works with small load.
- PROS
- Dxtory is light but quite robust game recording software with extremely simple interface.
- It can record game sound and your microphone’s sound simultaneously.
- Record the highest quality by lossless video source.
- Support third party VFW codecs, you can specify the video codec you like and set FPS from 10-120.
- CONS
- Annoying trial notification, you need to pay for full version.
- Lack video editing tools.
Part 2. FAQ about Game Screen Recording
How to record games with no lag?
To record games smoothly with no lag, it’d be better to reduce the video resolution and record the game in windowed mode instead of full screen. What’s more, the performance of your computer will also affect the game recording.
How do I record myself playing games?
To record yourself playing games, you need to turn webcam on and record the gameplay screen and your face simultaneously. You can use Apeaksoft Screen Recorder or OBS Studio to record yourself playing games.
Can I edit the gameplay or take a snapshot when recording the game?
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Most game recorders do not have the built-in editing function to let gamers edit their recording. If you need to edit the gameplay or take a screenshot during recording, among the top 7 free game recording software, Apeaksoft Screen Recorder and Camtasia can do you a favor.
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Conclusion
In this article we have recommended top 7 free gaming screen recorders, whether you want to record games online for free, or record gameplay on PC/Mac with no lag, hope you can find the best free game recording software for your demand here.