Desktop vs Exclusive Fullscreen

While exclusive fullscreen mode can offer better performance, desktop fullscreen (also called borderless fullscreen) provides several important advantages that often make it the preferred choice for modern games.

Faster Alt+Tab Switching

When using exclusive fullscreen, switching between applications takes several seconds as the display mode needs to change each time. With desktop fullscreen, players can instantly switch between your game and other applications, providing a much smoother multitasking experience.

Multiple Monitor Support

Desktop fullscreen works better with multiple monitors. Players can interact with other applications on their secondary monitors while your game runs on the primary display. In exclusive fullscreen, switching focus away from the game often minimizes it or causes display flickering on all monitors.

Stream Compatibility

Desktop fullscreen works more reliably with streaming software like OBS or Discord's screen sharing. Exclusive fullscreen can sometimes cause capture issues or black screens.

Here's how you might implement a configuration option for this:

1#include <SDL.h>
2#include <iostream>
3
4enum class FullscreenMode {
5  Windowed,
6  Desktop,
7  Exclusive
8};
9
10void SetFullscreenMode(
11  SDL_Window* Window,
12  FullscreenMode Mode
13) {
14  switch (Mode) {
15    case FullscreenMode::Windowed:
16      SDL_SetWindowFullscreen(Window, 0);
17      break;
18    case FullscreenMode::Desktop:
19      SDL_SetWindowFullscreen(Window,
20        SDL_WINDOW_FULLSCREEN_DESKTOP);
21      break;
22    case FullscreenMode::Exclusive:
23      SDL_SetWindowFullscreen(Window,
24        SDL_WINDOW_FULLSCREEN);
25      break;
26  }
27}

The performance difference between the modes is often minimal on modern systems, so many players prefer the convenience of desktop fullscreen over the slight performance advantage of exclusive fullscreen.