How to Fix Discord Game Detection Not Working

Let's foster a seamless gaming and social experience within Discord.

Discord’s game detection feature automatically identifies and showcases the game you’re currently playing on the profile status. This lets you share your gaming activities with friends and community members. It can be annoying, however, when the feature fails to recognize certain games, resulting in inaccurate or missing information. Therefore, let us fix the Discord game detection not working issue on your Windows PC.

Discord game detection not working

How to Fix Discord Game Detection Not Working

Game detection can be enabled or disabled in the Discord settings, and games can be manually added if they are not detected automatically. Occasionally, this feature might encounter an error and forbid you from sharing your gaming experiences with friends or joining gaming-specific voice channels. For that, let us first identify the cause of the error and further troubleshoot it effectively to restore this functionality.

Quick Answer

First, ensure both the game detection feature and the Discord activity status are enabled. If yes, refresh the internet connection and add the game manually by following these steps:

1. In Discord, click on the gear icon next to your avatar.

2. Under Activity Settings, click on Registered Games.

3. Click on Add it next to Not seeing your game.

4. Select the game from the menu and click on Add Game.

Why is the Discord game detection not working?

There can be many possible reasons for discord game detection not working some of them are:

  • Game Detection is not enabled
  • The game is not being detected correctly.
  • Any form of bug Discord bug.
  • Outdated app or hardware compatibility issues
  • Improper configuration in settings.

These are a few methods you can try to resolve the issue.

Method 1: Basic Troubleshooting methods

1A) Fix Internet Connection

Check the internet connection if your Discord game activity isn’t working. A slow or unstable connection can interfere with your ability to connect to the Discord servers and cause issues with game detection. To fix this go through our guide 10 Ways to speed up your internet connection

1B) Restart Game

Restarting your current game is another possible workaround for the issue. This is due to the fact that, occasionally, if the game was already running when Discord started, it might not have been properly detected. So, restart the game, and see if that works out. 

1C) Close Background Apps

Sometimes apps running in the background too interfere with the functionality of this feature. Closing them if they are not in use could solve the issue.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch the Task Manager.

2. Click on Processes, to see the list of apps running.

Click on Processes, to see the list of apps running

3. Click on the inactive apps running in the background.

4. Then click on End task.

Then click on End task

Start the game again and check whether Discord can now detect it once you have terminated any unneeded background programs.

1D) Disable VPN

VPN creates a secure and encrypted connection to the internet, allowing you to browse the web and use online services anonymously. However, disabling it could fix discord game detection not working. Refer to our guide on How to disable VPN.

Method 2: Run Discord as Administrator

Suppose the preliminary methods didn’t work out. Then you can try to fix it by running Discord as an administrator. Doing so enables the application to get around limitations that your system might have put in place to keep it safe, like access to specific files or system resources.

1. Search for Discord App and click on Run as Administrator.

Click on Run as Administrator.

2. Play the game and see if this resolved the error.

Method 3: Enable Discord Activity Status

The difficulty with game detection not working can be resolved by enabling Discord Activity Status. You can share your current activity, such as the game you’re playing, with your pals on the platform.

1. Open Discord App.

2. Click on the user settings icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.

3. Under Activity Settings choose Activity Privacy from the user settings menu.

Under Activity Settings choose Activity Privacy from the user settings menu

4. Switch the toggle next to Display current activity as a status message.

Switch the toggle next to Display current activity as a status message

Reopen Discord to see if the issue still persists. If it does, try playing the game in Windowed mode. A windowed mode is an option for running a game in a smaller window instead of a full-screen. 

5. Launch the game in the Discord app.

6. Click on the restore down icon to exit the full screen.

Also Read: How To Use Botify On Discord

Method 4: Add Game Manually

If Discord fails to detect a running game or open application, you can manually add it to your activity tab to get it to appear. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Discord and click on the gear icon next to your avatar.

2. Under Activity Settings, click on Registered Games.

 Under Activity Settings, click on Registered Games

3. Next to Not seeing your game, click on Add it.

Next to Not seeing your game, click on Add it

4. In the box, select the game from the menu and click on Add Game.

In the box, paste the path to the game's executable file

Once you’ve added the game, it should show up in your activity tab, and Discord should be able to detect it.

Method 5: Update Discord App

Not using an updated app, can also lead to the issue. However, usually, the app gets updated when you use it. But sometimes, it might miss out.

1. Launch the Discord App and navigate to the settings.

2. Open the System Tray, which is at the right end of the taskbar.

Open the System Tray, which is at the right end of the taskbar

3. Update and install any updates available, and hopefully, this should fix the problem.

Also Read: 28 Best Discord Game Bots

Method 6: Disable Windows Defender (Not Recommended)

Generally, Windows Defender keeps our system safe from malware. But sometimes it may cause interference in the functionalities of an app. Disabling it can fix the game detection not working on the Discord issue. Follow our guide on What is Windows Firewall and How to Turn It On or Off?

Method 7: Play Authentic Version of Game

Discord may not detect your game if you are not playing the authentic game. This happens because it recognizes your game by comparing it to data in its database that game publishers have provided. If you are using a pirated version Discord won’t be able to recognize it and update your activity status.

Method 8: Reinstall Discord

Now, after trying all the fixes if nothing worked out for you. The last go-to solution would be to reinstall the app. Reinstalling the Discord app will give you a fresh and current installation of the software, which can assist to fix problems with Discord game detection.

1. Close the Discord app completely.

2. By heading to the Control Panel, choose Programs and Features.

3. Click on Discord to Uninstall it.

Click on Discord to Uninstall it.

4. Download Discord from the Microsoft Store.

Also Read: 13 Best Apex Legends Discord Servers

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Why is Discord not detecting any input?

Ans. There could be a few reasons why Discord is not detecting any input. One of which is your microphone may be set as the default input device in both Discord and your computer’s audio settings.

Q2. Did Discord get rid of game activity?

Ans. No, discord has not gotten rid of game activity. Game activity is still a feature that is available on Discord, and users can display their current game status to their friends.

Recommended: How to Change Username Color on Discord

Ultimately, the Discord platform’s game activity function is a helpful tool for communicating with pals about your gaming activities. We hope we were able to resolve your problem of Discord game detection not working. Follow the methods, and let us know in the comments which one was successful for you.

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