Windows desktop companion
Alt+Tab out without losing the game. Game in Picture keeps it live in a corner, pauses it when you need to step away, and controls its sound.
Where it helps
GiP brings together the controls you actually reach for mid-session: stay aware, pause safely, handle audio, and place the overlay where it does not get in the way.
Alt+Tab without going blind. GiP follows the fullscreen window you just left and keeps it live in a compact picture-in-picture overlay.
Step away from a supported single-player or offline game and pause it manually, or automatically per game when you leave fullscreen.
Let a cutscene play out in the overlay while you get on with something else, instead of sitting locked into fullscreen waiting for it.
Mute, unmute and set volume for the tracked window straight from the overlay. Auto-mute silences it when you switch away.
Built around real interruptions
GiP starts with the moments that break a session: a game that will not pause, audio that needs fixing now, or a cinematic you cannot restart.
No pause button? Not a problem!
Plenty of games keep moving when their menu opens, Soulslikes most of all. For supported offline or single-player titles, GiP can pause and resume from its overlay, with optional per-game auto-pause when you leave fullscreen.
How to pause single-player PC games
Too loud? Too quiet?
Mute, unmute or change the tracked application's volume from the overlay. Auto-mute can quiet the game when you switch away and restore it when you return, without changing every other app.
Control individual game volume on Windows
Cinematic started?
Step out of fullscreen without turning the game into a mystery. GiP keeps the live scene visible in picture-in-picture so you can answer a message, check a guide or handle a quick task without missing the story beat.
Keep game cinematics visible while multitaskingSee it in action
Features
All of it exists for one reason: leaving the game should not mean losing track of it.
Stay aware
Instead of losing awareness the moment you leave fullscreen, GiP keeps a live view of your game within reach. Answer a message, check a guide, or reply to a friend without wondering what you walked away from.
Interruptions cost you less, and you pick the session back up where you left it instead of guessing what happened while you were away.
Pause and resume
Pause and resume supported single-player or offline games directly from GiP when you need to step away. Auto-pause can be enabled separately for each game, so GiP pauses it when you leave fullscreen and resumes it when you come back.
Audio & media
Control the tracked application's sound without opening the Windows volume mixer. Click the audio control to mute or unmute, then drag around it to adjust volume. Auto-mute can silence the tracked window whenever you switch away and restore its sound when you return.
For recognised browsers and media players, GiP also provides play/pause and previous/next commands when the application supports them.
Control and appearance
Source control
By default GiP automatically follows the fullscreen window you Alt+Tab away from. When you want tighter control, Explicit Tracking only changes the source when you hold the backtick ` key while Alt+Tabbing, while Manual Selection lets you choose a specific eligible window from the source list.
Pin Mode keeps GiP visible over fullscreen windows, so you can move between fullscreen apps while the overlay shows the window you switched away from.
Themes
Match GiP to the rest of your setup with a selection of coordinated visual themes. Each theme updates the interface consistently while preserving clear controls and readable information across different games and desktop environments.
Choose from Vapor, Monolith, Boreal, Gilded, FieldTested, Eleven, Allspice, Snow and Quicksilver.
Tray
Keep GiP available for long sessions without adding unnecessary desktop clutter. Send it to the system tray when it is not needed, restore it quickly, and use convenient tray actions to reach common controls and capture options.
Size & placement
Resize and position GiP to suit your screen, game and workspace. Keep the overlay pinned in a corner, move it wherever it avoids important on-screen information, or use a compact floating layout that stays useful without taking over your display.
| Capability | What it does |
|---|---|
| Source & tracking | |
| Automatic following | Follows the fullscreen window you Alt+Tab away from. This is the default. |
| Explicit Tracking | Only changes the source when you hold the backtick ` key while Alt+Tabbing. |
| Manual Selection | Choose a specific eligible window from the source list, including apps that are not games. |
| Pin Mode | Stays visible over fullscreen windows while you move between fullscreen apps. |
| Pause | |
| Manual pause and resume | Pauses supported single-player or offline games from the overlay, including titles whose own menu does not stop the action. |
| Per-game auto-pause | Enabled separately for each game. Pauses when you leave fullscreen, resumes when you return. |
| Online-aware warning | Flags games with online capabilities or active network traffic before pausing, so the call stays yours. |
| Audio & media | |
| Mute and unmute | Click the audio control on the overlay. No Windows Volume Mixer needed. |
| Volume for the tracked app | Drag around the audio control to set the tracked application's volume, without touching every other app. |
| Auto-mute | Silences the tracked window when you switch away and restores its sound when you return. |
| Media commands | Play/pause and previous/next for recognised browsers and media players, where the application supports them. |
| View & placement | |
| Resize and reposition | Drag the overlay anywhere and scale it to suit the screen, the game and the workspace. |
| Expanded View | Double-click to hand more of the window to the captured image and keep surrounding interface out of the way. |
| Fullscreen | Expands GiP across the entire display when you want the captured window and nothing else. |
| Appearance & system | |
| Nine themes | Vapor, Monolith, Boreal, Gilded, FieldTested, Eleven, Allspice, Snow and Quicksilver. |
| System tray | Send GiP to the tray when it is not needed, restore it quickly, and reach common controls and capture options from tray actions. |
Screenshots
Compatibility
Game in Picture needs a 64-bit processor and operating system.
FAQ
Picture-in-picture (also written picture in picture, and often shortened to PiP) means showing one application inside a small floating window on top of whatever else you are doing. Game in Picture applies that idea to PC games: when you Alt+Tab out of a fullscreen game, GiP keeps a live view of it in a compact overlay so you stay aware of what is happening instead of staring at your desktop.
Yes. By default GiP automatically follows the fullscreen window you Alt+Tab away from, so the game you just left is the one shown in the overlay. Pin mode keeps GiP visible over fullscreen windows, so you can move between fullscreen apps while the overlay stays on top.
Yes. You can pause and resume supported single-player or offline games directly from GiP. Auto-pause can be enabled separately for each game, so GiP pauses it when you leave fullscreen and resumes it when you return.
GiP can pause supported single-player or offline games even when their own menu does not stop the action. Support varies from game to game, so try it in a quiet moment first, and keep it to offline sessions. See the guide to pausing single-player PC games for the full workflow.
Yes for the overlay, which simply shows a live view of the window. Pausing is the one to think about: if a game has online capabilities or active network traffic, GiP flags it before pausing so the call stays yours.
Yes. Manual Selection lets you choose any eligible window from the source list, so you can keep a browser, a guide, a video or another application in the picture-in-picture overlay, and keep it visible over the fullscreen app you are using.
Yes. You can control the tracked application's sound without opening the Windows volume mixer: click the audio control to mute or unmute, then drag around it to adjust volume. Auto-mute can silence the tracked window when you switch away and restore its sound when you return.
For recognised browsers and media players, GiP also provides play/pause and previous/next commands when the application supports them.
There are three modes. Automatic following is the default and tracks whatever fullscreen window you Alt+Tab away from. Explicit Tracking only changes the source when you hold the backtick ` key while Alt+Tabbing. Manual Selection lets you pick a specific eligible window from the source list.
A 64-bit processor and operating system are required: Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 (May 2019 Update) or newer, a 64-bit dual-core CPU, 1024 MB RAM, a DirectX 11 capable GPU and 500 MB of available storage. Windows 11 with a 64-bit quad-core CPU, 2048 MB RAM, a dedicated DirectX 11 capable GPU and 1024 MB of available storage is recommended. See the full requirements.
Nine coordinated themes: Vapor, Monolith, Boreal, Gilded, FieldTested, Eleven, Allspice, Snow and Quicksilver. Each one restyles the interface consistently while keeping controls clear and information readable.
Game in Picture is on Steam. It is developed and published by Adosoft Interactive and runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
On Steam
Game in Picture is built for long sessions, frequent interruptions, and players who constantly multitask. The game waits for you.
