Play at native fullscreen and keep your apps visible — on one monitor
Run your game at native fullscreen and keep chat, a browser, video, or a dashboard live beside it — on a single monitor. No borderless FPS penalty, no alt-tab, no second screen.
What you can keep visible
Dock any live, clickable app into a zone beside the game. Pick what belongs next to yours.
Teams, Slack & work chat
Keep work comms docked beside the game so you can glance at a message without alt-tabbing out.
See Teams & Slack while gamingA second display — without minimizing
Get the "two screens" benefit on one monitor. Clicking the app beside the game never minimizes it.
A second monitor without minimizingTwitch chat, live
Watch chat scroll beside the match instead of flipping away to a browser tab mid-fight.
Watch Twitch chat while gamingVideo & picture-in-picture
Dock a stream, a video or a guide beside the game — it keeps playing while you play.
Picture-in-picture while gamingAlt-tab without pausing
Reach another window without the game minimizing — because the game runs on its own display.
Alt-tab without minimizing the gameSim racing dashboard & telemetry
Dock SimHub or your telemetry dashboard right beside the sim so you can read it without ever looking away.
A sim racing dashboard beside the raceAn AI assistant beside the game
Keep ChatGPT, a wiki or a build guide docked next to the game so you can check a strategy without alt-tabbing.
An AI assistant while gamingKeep any window on top
Pin a browser, notes or a reference window over your fullscreen game so it never disappears behind it.
Always on top over a fullscreen gameStock & crypto charts
Dock TradingView or your charts beside the game to keep an eye on the market while you play.
Watch stock & crypto charts while gamingA speedrun split timer
Keep LiveSplit visible over your fullscreen game so every split stays in view during the run.
LiveSplit on top of a fullscreen gameThe complete guide
How to keep any app visible while gaming — without alt-tabbing or a second monitor.
Read the guideWhy not just…?
Every common fix solves one piece and breaks another. Here is how they compare.
| Approach | Native FPS? | Any app live beside game? | One screen? | No minimize on click? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borderless windowed | ||||
| Second monitor | ||||
| Overlay (Discord / GPU) | ||||
| Staged (virtual display + zones) |
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep an app visible while my game runs fullscreen on one monitor?
Yes. Staged runs the game on its own virtual display at native fullscreen and docks your other apps into zones beside it. They stay live and clickable, and the game keeps its screen — all on a single monitor.
Will this lower my FPS like borderless windowed mode does?
No. The game runs in true native fullscreen on its own virtual display, so it avoids the desktop-compositor overhead borderless windowed adds. There is no borderless FPS penalty and zero frame lag from Staged.
Does the game minimize when I click the app beside it?
No. Because the game lives on its own display, clicking a window next to it does not take the game's screen, so it does not minimize. Staged prevents the minimize-on-click that normally forces you to alt-tab.
Do I need a second monitor?
No. Staged creates a virtual display on the one screen you already have, so you get the side-by-side benefit without extra hardware — and it works on a laptop.
Will my game still keep running while I use the app beside it?
It stays visible and is not minimized. A few games are coded to pause themselves whenever they lose focus, regardless of display; those usually offer a "run in background" setting — enable it and they keep playing beside your other apps.
How much does Staged cost?
Staged is a paid app launching on Steam. Add it to your Steam wishlist to be notified at launch.
Keep your game and your apps in view
Native fullscreen, your apps live beside it, on one monitor. Staged is coming to Steam — wishlist it and be first to play.