Discord Is Developing a Game Mode to Reduce CPU and GPU Usage

Discord is working on a new Game Mode for its desktop client that will kick in when you launch a game. Instead of changing game settings, it will trim the app's animations and some visual effects so more CPU and GPU resources stay available for play; Discord has not said when the feature will arrive.

Game Mode will automate settings similar to Discord's existing Reduced Motion option, which users can enable manually to limit animations. The new feature is designed to make those changes on its own when it detects a game running.

Discord has also been working to improve the Windows client's memory use. The company said it fixed more than nine issues, including memory leaks, deadlocks, and buffer overflows; after those fixes, p95 memory usage fell by about 5%.

The company also experimented with automatically restarting the client when its memory use exceeded 4 GB. Discord said normal operation should use less than 1 GB of memory and described the restart as a temporary measure.

A September update moved Discord to Electron 42. Median CPU usage fell by about 17% after the change, while median memory use rose by approximately 4%; a separate change to the rendering system reduced CPU load by a further 3%.

Could Discord's automatic Game Mode make a noticeable difference while you play, or do you already notice the client affecting your games?