If you’re struggling to hear your game audio in OBS Studio while streaming or recording, you’re not alone. This issue can stem from a variety of causes, from misconfigured audio settings to hardware conflicts. Understanding and fixing the problem involves checking multiple settings to ensure everything is properly set up.
Common Reasons Why Game Audio Is Not Working in OBS
Before diving into solutions, let’s go over the most common reasons why you might not be hearing game audio in OBS:
- Incorrect Audio Output Settings: Your system may be outputting audio to a different device than the one OBS is capturing.
- OBS Audio Mixer Muted: The game audio may be muted within OBS itself.
- Windows Sound Settings Mismatch: The selected default audio device may not be the one set up in OBS.
- Exclusive Mode Enabled: Some applications take exclusive control of an audio device, preventing OBS from capturing the sound.
- Outdated or Faulty Audio Drivers: If your audio drivers are outdated or corrupted, OBS may struggle to capture your game audio.
How to Fix OBS Game Audio Not Working
Let’s go step by step to diagnose and resolve the issue.
1. Check OBS Audio Mixer
The first thing to check is whether OBS is actually receiving audio input from your game.
- Open OBS Studio.
- Look at the Audio Mixer section.
- If your game audio is missing or muted, unmute it and adjust the volume levels.
2. Set the Correct Audio Output Device
If OBS isn’t capturing the correct audio output, changing your output settings may help.
- In OBS, go to Settings > Audio.
- Ensure that your Desktop Audio device is set to the same output device your game is using.
- Click Apply and restart OBS.
3. Configure Windows Sound Settings
OBS may not be capturing audio if Windows is using the wrong default audio device.
- Right-click the Volume icon in the system tray and select Sounds.
- Go to the Playback tab and find your output device (e.g., headphones or speakers).
- Set it as the Default Device if it isn’t already.
- Restart OBS and test the audio again.
4. Disable Exclusive Mode
Some apps take exclusive control of your audio device, which can prevent OBS from capturing game sound.
- Go to Windows Sound Settings and navigate to the Playback tab.
- Right-click your default playback device and select Properties.
- Under the Advanced tab, uncheck Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
- Click Apply and OK, then restart OBS.
5. Update or Reinstall Audio Drivers
Outdated audio drivers can also cause issues with OBS capturing game sound properly.
- Press Win + X and select Device Manager.
- Expand the Sound, video, and game controllers section.
- Right-click your audio device and select Update Driver.
- Choose Search automatically for updated driver software.
- Once updated, restart your PC and test OBS again.
Additional Troubleshooting Steps
If the issue persists, try these additional troubleshooting steps:
- Run OBS as Administrator: This can sometimes resolve permission-related issues.
- Try a Different Audio Source: If your game audio still isn’t working, try capturing a different audio source (such as YouTube) to check whether OBS is receiving any sound.
- Use Audio Monitoring: In OBS, go to Advanced Audio Properties and enable Monitor and Output for game audio.
- Switch to an Alternate Audio Capture Method: If using Desktop Audio doesn’t work, try adding an Audio Output Capture source in OBS.
Final Thoughts
Being unable to hear game audio in OBS can be frustrating, especially if you’re setting up a stream or recording gameplay. However, by carefully going through each of the troubleshooting steps above, you should be able to pinpoint and resolve the issue. Whether it’s a simple setting change or reinstalling drivers, patience and testing different solutions can get your audio working again.