Xbox Game Bar Plugin
`Microsoft.XboxGameOverlay` is the supplementary package named “Xbox Game Bar Plugin.” It belongs to the Windows Game Bar and Xbox environment, but it is not the main Game Bar app.
since 0.9.8.11
Purpose
Identifier: Microsoft.XboxGameOverlay
Setup Foundry can remove this package from existing user accounts and from provisioning for new accounts; removal is not selected by default.
Microsoft.XboxGameOverlay is the supplementary package named “Xbox Game Bar Plugin.” It belongs to the Windows Game Bar and Xbox environment, but it is not the main Game Bar app. The latter is distributed separately as Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay.
Microsoft does not publish a detailed technical description of the plugin. In particular, its public documentation does not identify which individual Game Bar features in current Windows releases still depend directly on this package. The visible interface, widgets, and capture features therefore should not be attributed to this package alone.
Notes
Additional effects
The plugin may be installed alongside Game Bar and other Xbox components. Dependencies have changed across Windows and Game Bar releases, and Microsoft does not provide a reliable cross-version list of features that strictly require the plugin.
Privacy and security
Microsoft does not document a separate data store or an independent transmission of data for Microsoft.XboxGameOverlay. This absence of package-specific information does not mean that the remaining Game Bar or Xbox components process no data.
Game Bar recordings can contain on-screen activity, system audio, and microphone audio when the microphone is enabled. These recordings are saved locally in the Captures folder. Removing the plugin does not delete existing captures or disable other Xbox packages or general Windows diagnostic-data flows.
Effects of the change
When removal is selected, the component supplied by this package is no longer available to existing user accounts and is not provisioned for newly created accounts.
The main Game Bar package, Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay, remains installed unless it is removed separately. It therefore cannot be stated reliably that removing this plugin alone disables Game Bar, Windows key+G, screen recording, or every widget. Depending on the Windows and Game Bar versions, integration features that still use this older supplementary package may nevertheless be unavailable or fail to operate correctly. Microsoft does not document the affected features in enough detail to provide a more specific result that applies to every supported version.
Removing the package does not delete installed games, saved games, or existing captures. Registrations belonging exclusively to the plugin are no longer available. The package can be installed again from Microsoft Store while Microsoft continues to offer it there.
Notes
Microsoft.XboxGameOverlay and Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay are distinct packages. The package covered here is “Xbox Game Bar Plugin,” with Microsoft Store product ID 9NBLGGH537C2, rather than the main Game Bar app.
Microsoft documentation
Microsoft Store: Xbox Game Bar Plugin
Microsoft Support: Record your screen with Xbox Game Bar