How to Enable Auto HDR for SDR Games Only on Windows 11

Windows 11 includes an Auto HDR feature that converts Standard Dynamic Range SDR games to High Dynamic Range HDR automatically. This improves color range and brightness in many titles, but it applies to all games that support it by default. You may want to enable Auto HDR only for specific SDR games while leaving others unchanged. This article explains how to control Auto HDR per application using Windows 11 settings and the Xbox Game Bar.

How Auto HDR Works on Windows 11

Auto HDR is a Windows 11 feature that analyzes the luminance and color data of SDR games and remaps them into HDR output. It requires a display that supports HDR10 and a graphics card that meets the minimum requirements: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1000 series or newer, AMD Radeon RX 5000 series or newer, or Intel integrated graphics Gen 11 or newer. The feature is enabled globally in Display settings and is active only when HDR is turned on in Windows.

When Auto HDR is on, Windows applies HDR conversion to every DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 game that does not natively support HDR. This includes both modern titles and older games that were built for SDR. The conversion is performed by the GPU driver and the Windows Display Driver Model WDDM, not by the game itself. The result is broader color gamut and higher peak brightness in supported scenes.

Not all games benefit equally from Auto HDR. Some titles may appear oversaturated, washed out, or have incorrect contrast. In those cases, you want to disable Auto HDR for that specific game while keeping it enabled for others. Windows 11 provides two methods to achieve this: the global toggle in Settings and the per-game toggle in Xbox Game Bar.

Steps to Enable Auto HDR for Specific SDR Games Only

Method 1: Turn On Auto HDR Globally in Windows Settings

Before you can control Auto HDR per game, the feature must be enabled at the system level. If Auto HDR is off globally, no game will use it.

1. Open Windows Settings
   Press Win + I to open Settings. Go to System > Display.
2. Enable HDR
   Under the Brightness and color section, find Use HDR. Toggle it to On. If your display does not support HDR, this option will be grayed out.
3. Turn on Auto HDR
   Click HDR to expand the HDR settings page. Locate the Auto HDR toggle and set it to On. This enables Auto HDR for all compatible SDR games.

Method 2: Disable Auto HDR for a Specific Game Using Xbox Game Bar

After Auto HDR is on globally, you can selectively turn it off for individual games. The Xbox Game Bar provides a per-game toggle.

1. Launch the game
   Start the SDR game you want to exclude from Auto HDR. The game must be running in windowed or borderless windowed mode for the Game Bar to detect it.
2. Open Xbox Game Bar
   Press Win + G to open the Game Bar overlay. If the overlay does not appear, ensure the game is a supported DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 title.
3. Go to Settings
   Click the gear icon Settings in the Game Bar toolbar. In the Settings window, select Gaming features from the left sidebar.
4. Toggle Auto HDR for this game
   Under Auto HDR per game, you will see the current game listed. Click the toggle to set it to Off. The game will now run in SDR while the global Auto HDR remains on for other titles.

Method 3: Enable Auto HDR for a Game That Was Previously Disabled

If you turned off Auto HDR for a game and want to re-enable it, repeat the steps above and set the toggle to On. The Game Bar remembers the setting per game even after a restart.

Common Issues and Things to Avoid

Auto HDR Toggle Is Missing in Xbox Game Bar

The per-game Auto HDR toggle appears only when the game is a DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 title and HDR is enabled in Windows. If the toggle is absent, verify that your display supports HDR and that HDR is turned on in Settings > System > Display > HDR. Also check that Auto HDR is enabled globally. If still missing, update your GPU driver to the latest version from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel.

Game Bar Does Not Detect the Game

Some games run in exclusive full-screen mode, which prevents the Game Bar from recognizing them. Switch the game to borderless windowed or windowed mode in its video settings. If the game does not offer that option, you can try running it with the -windowed command-line argument or use the Alt + Enter shortcut to toggle windowed mode.

Auto HDR Causes Visual Artifacts or Performance Drop

If a game looks oversaturated, has incorrect black levels, or suffers from lower frame rates after enabling Auto HDR, disable it for that specific game using the Game Bar method. The issue is typically caused by the game’s original SDR color grading conflicting with the HDR remapping. No driver update or Windows update fixes this because it is a per-title compatibility limitation.

Resetting Per-Game Auto HDR Settings

If you need to clear all per-game Auto HDR preferences, delete the profile files stored in the GameDVR folder. Press Win + R, type %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\GameDVR\AutoHDR, and press Enter. Delete all files in that folder. The next time you launch a game, Windows will apply the global Auto HDR setting. This does not affect other Game Bar settings.

Global Auto HDR vs Per-Game Auto HDR Control

Item	Global Auto HDR Settings	Per-Game Auto HDR via Game Bar
Scope	Applies to all SDR DirectX 11/12 games	Controls one game at a time
Location	Settings > System > Display > HDR	Xbox Game Bar overlay Settings > Gaming features
Requires HDR on	Yes	Yes
Persistence	Survives reboots	Survives reboots per game
Override priority	Baseline for all games	Overrides the global setting for that game

Auto HDR on Windows 11 gives you fine-grained control over which SDR games receive HDR conversion. Enable the feature globally, then use the Xbox Game Bar to disable it for any game that does not benefit from the conversion. This approach preserves HDR quality for well-behaved titles while avoiding visual issues in problematic ones. For games that still look off after disabling Auto HDR, check the game’s own display settings for a separate HDR or brightness calibration option.