Support → SoundSource

Resolving audio issues caused by Game Mode in SoundSource

Some users have reported audio issues when playing games while SoundSource is running. If you hear crackling, distortion, or intermittent audio only when playing games in full-screen mode, but audio works normally in all other apps, you’re likely encountering a conflict between SoundSource and MacOS’s “Game Mode” feature.

Quick fix: Disable Game Mode for your game

For an immediate solution, follow these steps:

1. Launch your game and enter full-screen mode.

2. Click the Game icon in the menu bar.

3. Select Turn Game Mode Off.

Game Mode will remain disabled for this specific game, even after you quit and relaunch it.

To learn more about why this works, read on.

Details

In MacOS 14 (Sonoma) and higher, Apple offers Game Mode to enhance gaming performance. When a game enters full-screen mode, Game Mode automatically activates and provides several optimizations in an attempt to make the game run optimally. You can find more details on Game Mode in Apple’s Game Mode documentation.

Unfortunately, the optimizations Game Mode makes can conflict with SoundSource. SoundSource needs consistent CPU resources to process audio in real-time, but Game Mode reduces the system priority for background tasks like SoundSource. As a result, SoundSource may sometimes not receive enough processing time, resulting in audio dropouts, crackling, or distortion. This is specifically a conflict between Game Mode’s resource prioritization and SoundSource’s need for continuous audio processing.

Recognizing Game Mode-related issues

You’re likely experiencing a Game Mode conflict if:

• Audio distortion occurs only when playing games in full-screen mode
• Moving your mouse to reveal the menu bar temporarily improves audio quality
• The issue disappears completely when you exit full-screen or quit the game
• Audio works normally in all non-gaming applications

Detailed steps to disable Game Mode

Here are specific steps to disable Game Mode:

1. Launch the game that’s experiencing audio issues with SoundSource.

2. Enter full-screen mode. This will automatically activate Game Mode.

3. Look for the Game icon in the menu bar, and click it.

4. Select the Turn Game Mode Off command from the menu.

   

5. Continue playing—the setting is saved immediately.

The next time you launch this game, MacOS will not enable Game Mode, and SoundSource should work normally.

Tradeoffs in disabling Game Mode

When you disable Game Mode, you ensure SoundSource’s audio processing capabilities remain reliable, at the cost of limiting Game Mode’s performance optimizations. For many users, the benefits of SoundSource’s audio processing outweigh Game Mode’s optimizations.

If you’re playing a particularly demanding game and don’t need SoundSource’s features during full-screen gameplay, you can instead add that game to SoundSource’s Excluded Applications list, found in the Settings window. Once you do, SoundSource will not have any effect on the game’s audio.

If issues persist

If disabling Game Mode doesn’t resolve the audio problems you’re experiencing, the issue may have a different cause. You can also try:

• Adding the game to SoundSource’s exclusion list in Settings (allows Game Mode to remain active)
• Restarting your Mac to clear any temporary audio processing issues
• Checking for updates to both SoundSource and the game itself

We’re continuing to investigate ways to improve SoundSource’s compatibility with Game Mode. If you’re still experiencing audio issues after trying these steps, please contact our support team with details about your Mac model, MacOS version, and which game you’re using.

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