OBS Game Capture Black Screen? 3 Solutions

Quick Answer: The #1 cause of black screen is lack of permissions. Close OBS, right-click the shortcut, and select "Run as Administrator". This allows OBS to hook into the game process.

Solution 1: Run as Administrator (The Magic Fix)

Games like Call of Duty, Destiny 2, and Valorant have anti-cheat that blocks OBS if it's running as a normal user. Running as Admin bypasses this restriction legally.

Solution 2: The Laptop GPU Switch (NVIDIA Optimus)

If you are on a laptop, your desktop might be running on the Intel/AMD integrated graphics, while your game runs on the NVIDIA GPU. OBS can't capture across GPUs easily.

  1. Go to Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
  2. Add OBS Studio (obs64.exe) to the list.
  3. Click Options.
  4. Choose High Performance (NVIDIA GPU).
  5. Restart OBS.

Solution 3: Anti-Cheat Compatibility Hook

If Game Capture still fails:

  1. Go to your Game Capture source properties.
  2. Uncheck "Use anti-cheat compatibility hook".
  3. Or try checking it if it was off.
  4. Some games (like CS2) require you to add `-allow_third_party_software` to launch options (Warning: lowers Trust Factor).

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