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How Do I Close a Full-Screen Game on My Computer?

Use the game’s Quit command to exit, switch apps to leave it running, or force-close it if it is unresponsive. Here are the Windows and Mac shortcuts.
Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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First decide whether you want to quit the game or simply leave full-screen mode. To quit, use the game’s Quit or Exit command; if needed, Windows users can try Alt+F4 and Mac users can try Command-Q. To leave the game running, switch apps instead. If the game is frozen, use your operating system’s force-close tool.

Quit the game normally

Save your progress if possible, then use the game’s Quit or Exit command. This gives the game a chance to save or close cleanly. NVIDIA cautions that quitting without saving can lose progress or prevent saves from syncing to a cloud service.

On Windows

With the game active, press Alt+F4. This asks the active game to close; it may not work if the game has stopped responding. You can also choose Quit or Exit from the game’s menu.

On macOS

Press Command-Q, or choose Quit from the game’s menu. Apple notes that when an app quits normally, it can do what it needs to do before quitting, such as saving changes.

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Leave full-screen mode without quitting

Switching apps is not the same as closing the game. On Windows, try Alt+Tab; on macOS, try Command-Tab. The game may remain open, although its display behavior after switching depends on the game.

Some games have a shortcut to change display mode. Shortcuts vary, so check the game’s documentation rather than assuming one works everywhere. For example, The Elder Scrolls Online documents Alt+Enter on Windows and Option+Return on Mac OS to switch display mode. Its instructions say not to have a text field or in-game menu selected.

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Force-close a frozen game

Use these steps only if the game will not close normally or has stopped responding. Force-closing can discard unsaved progress.

On Windows

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Select the game in the list of apps or processes.
  3. Choose End task.

If Task Manager does not open or is not usable, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to open the Windows security screen, then choose Task Manager.

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On macOS

  1. Press Option-Command-Esc to open the Force Quit window.
  2. Select the unresponsive game.
  3. Click Force Quit.

If Force Quit does not work, Apple recommends restarting the Mac. If the Mac will not restart, Apple describes holding the power button for up to 10 seconds as a last shutdown option.

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If you use Linux

The procedures above are for Windows and macOS. Linux shortcuts and force-close tools can vary by desktop environment and game. Check the game’s documentation and your desktop environment’s help for the appropriate way to switch display modes or close an unresponsive app.

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