How to change a game’s launch priority

Easy Gamer Utility lets you launch your games using Normal, Above Normal or High process priority.

Increasing the launch priority tells Windows to give your game more processor attention when it is competing with launchers, browsers and other programs running in the background.

Easy Gamer Utility Free includes Normal and Above Normal priority. Easy Gamer Utility Pro unlocks High Priority for users who want to give their selected game the strongest priority available in the Game Launching tool.

What is a game’s launch priority?

See also: How to remove a game from Easy Gamer Utility Article

Windows runs many programs and background processes at the same time.

Each running program is given a process priority. This helps Windows decide which programs should receive processor time first when several programs need to use the CPU.

Easy Gamer Utility lets you choose the priority that should be applied when your game launches.

The available options are:

• Normal
• Above Normal
• High with Easy Gamer Utility Pro

Using a higher priority can help Windows focus more attention on the game when other programs are also using processor resources.

Why change a game’s launch priority?

Changing the launch priority can be useful when you normally have other programs running while gaming, such as:

• Steam or another game launcher
• Discord
• Web browsers
• RGB software
• Hardware monitoring tools
• Recording software
• Music applications
• Background utilities

These programs can all request processor time.

Launching your game at a higher priority can help Windows favour the game over ordinary background applications when the processor becomes busy.

This may help produce a smoother experience on systems where background activity is competing with the game.

Results will depend on the game, computer and programs running in the background, so it cannot guarantee a specific FPS increase.

How to change a game’s launch priority

See also: How to add and launch a game with Easy Gamer Utility Article

Follow these steps:

1. Open Easy Gamer Utility.
2. Click Launch at the top.
3. Select Game Launching.
4. Add your game if it is not already shown in the list.
5. Move the priority slider to Normal, Above Normal or High.
6. Click Save Settings.
7. Select the game from the list.
8. Click Launch Game.
9. Wait for Easy Gamer Utility to start the game.
10. Check the priority message shown underneath the controls.

Easy Gamer Utility will look for the selected game process after launching it and apply your chosen priority.

Understanding the three priority options

Normal Priority

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Normal is the standard process priority used by most Windows programs.

Choose Normal when you want the game to run with its usual Windows priority.

This is useful when:

• The game already performs well
• Very few background programs are running
• You want to compare Normal against a higher setting
• You want Windows to manage the game in the standard way

Normal is available in Easy Gamer Utility Free.

Above Normal Priority

Above Normal gives the game more processor priority than ordinary programs running at Normal priority.

This is a useful option for gamers who want to give their game an advantage over everyday background applications without moving directly to High Priority.

Above Normal may be particularly helpful when you keep programs such as Discord, a browser or a game launcher open while playing.

It is a good setting to try when:

• Background applications are using CPU resources
• The game occasionally stutters while other programs are running
• You want Windows to favour the game
• You are using Easy Gamer Utility Free
• You want a balanced priority increase

Above Normal is available in the free version of Easy Gamer Utility.

High Priority

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High Priority is available with Easy Gamer Utility Pro.

It tells Windows to give the selected game a higher level of processor priority than most normal background applications.

This is the strongest priority setting available through the Game Launching slider.

High Priority can be especially useful for gamers who:

• Regularly have several programs running
• Use Discord or voice chat while gaming
• Keep browsers or media applications open
• Run game launchers and gaming utilities in the background
• Want greater control over how Windows prioritises their game
• Want to launch a game and apply High Priority from one place

Instead of opening Task Manager and changing the setting manually each time, Easy Gamer Utility Pro attempts to apply High Priority automatically after launching the selected game.

Why unlock High Priority with Easy Gamer Utility Pro?

The free version lets you test the Game Launching tool using Normal and Above Normal priority.

Upgrading to Easy Gamer Utility Pro unlocks High Priority, giving you the maximum priority option available through this launcher.

With High Priority unlocked, you can:

• Give your selected game stronger processor priority
• Apply the setting while launching the game
• Avoid changing the priority manually through Task Manager
• Save your selected priority inside Easy Gamer Utility
• Launch and prioritise the game from the same screen
• Combine the feature with other Easy Gamer Utility Pro gaming tools

This makes Pro useful for gamers who want more control over how Windows handles their games without repeatedly changing Windows settings themselves.

How to unlock High Priority

To unlock the High Priority option:

1. Open Easy Gamer Utility.
2. Click the Settings cog.
3. Open Activate PRO.
4. Enter your Easy Gamer Utility Pro product key.
5. Complete the activation.
6. Return to Launch > Game Launching.
7. Move the priority slider to High.
8. Click Save Settings.

The title at the top of the program should display Easy Gamer Utility PRO after successful activation.

You can also use the upgrade option inside Easy Gamer Utility to view the available Pro plans.

How to add a game before changing its priority

A game must be added to the Game Launching list before Easy Gamer Utility can launch it.

To add one:

1. Open Launch > Game Launching.
2. Click Browse.
3. Find the game’s main .exe file.
4. Select the file.
5. Click Open.
6. Click Add Game.
7. Click Save Settings.

The game will now appear in the launch list.

An .exe file is the Windows application file used to start the game.

How to launch a game with Above Normal Priority

To use the free Above Normal option:

1. Open Easy Gamer Utility.
2. Go to Launch > Game Launching.
3. Move the priority slider to Above Normal.
4. Click Save Settings.
5. Select your game.
6. Click Launch Game.
7. Wait for the game to start.

Easy Gamer Utility should display:

Now Running In Above Normal Priority

This confirms that the selected priority was applied to the detected game process.

How to launch a game with High Priority

High Priority requires Easy Gamer Utility Pro.

To use it:

1. Make sure Easy Gamer Utility Pro is activated.
2. Open Launch > Game Launching.
3. Move the priority slider to High.
4. Click Save Settings.
5. Select the game from the list.
6. Click Launch Game.
7. Wait for the game to open.

Easy Gamer Utility should display:

Now Running In High Priority

This means Easy Gamer Utility found the selected game process and applied High Priority.

Does Easy Gamer Utility remember the selected priority?

Yes.

Clicking Save Settings stores the current priority slider position in the Easy Gamer Utility configuration.

The saved priority will be restored when you open the program again.

This means you can set your preferred priority once and then continue launching added games using that setting.

The slider is a general Game Launching setting. It is not currently saved as a different priority for every individual game.

Change the slider before launching when you want to use a different setting for another game.

How is this easier than using Task Manager?

Windows Task Manager allows priorities to be changed manually, but you normally need to repeat the process every time the game opens.

The manual process usually involves:

1. Starting the game.
2. Opening Task Manager.
3. Opening the Details tab.
4. Finding the correct game process.
5. Right-clicking it.
6. Opening Set priority.
7. Selecting the new priority.
8. Confirming the change.

Easy Gamer Utility combines launching and prioritising into one process.

Select the priority, click Launch Game, and Easy Gamer Utility attempts to handle the process change for you.

Easy Gamer Utility Pro makes this particularly useful by unlocking High Priority without requiring you to find the game process manually each time.

Will changing launch priority increase FPS?

Changing priority can help when the game is competing with other programs for processor resources.

Possible improvements may include:

• More consistent processor attention
• Reduced interference from ordinary background apps
• Smoother performance during busy CPU usage
• Fewer slowdowns caused by competing programs

It does not add extra processing power to the computer, so results will vary.

Games that are already receiving enough processor time may show little difference. Games affected by busy background programs may benefit more.

The easiest way to find the best setting for your computer is to test the same game using Normal, Above Normal and High Priority.

How to compare the priority settings

Use the same area of the same game when comparing results.

For example:

1. Launch the game using Normal priority.
2. Play for several minutes.
3. Make a note of any stuttering or slowdowns.
4. Close the game.
5. Change the slider to Above Normal.
6. Launch and test the game again.
7. Easy Gamer Utility Pro users can repeat the test using High Priority.

Keep the same in-game graphics settings during each test.

This gives you a clearer comparison.

Can High Priority help while using Discord or a browser?

It may help when those programs are actively using processor resources.

High Priority tells Windows to favour the game over programs running at lower priorities.

This can be useful if you commonly game while also using:

• Discord
• Chrome, Edge or Firefox
• Spotify
• Hardware monitoring software
• RGB control software
• Game recording tools
• Other desktop applications

The actual difference will depend on how busy your processor is.

Does changing priority affect the graphics card?

Launch priority mainly controls how Windows schedules processor time for the game process.

It does not directly change:

• Graphics card clock speed
• GPU power limits
• Video memory
• NVIDIA Control Panel settings
• AMD Software settings
• Intel Graphics settings

However, helping the game process receive CPU attention can still be useful in games affected by processor or background application activity.

Does the priority stay changed after closing the game?

The process priority applies to the current running game process.

When the game closes, that process also closes.

The next time you start the game through Easy Gamer Utility, the program will attempt to apply your saved priority again.

Launching the game normally outside Easy Gamer Utility may use the game’s standard Windows priority.

What does “Could not change Priority” mean?

This message means the game opened, but Easy Gamer Utility could not change the detected process priority.

Common reasons include:

• The game launched using a different .exe
• The selected file only opened a separate launcher
• The game process had not fully started
• Easy Gamer Utility needed administrator permission
• Anti-cheat software protected the game process
• The game changed its own priority

The game may still run normally, but the chosen priority was not applied.

Try running Easy Gamer Utility as administrator

Some game processes run with higher Windows permissions.

To give Easy Gamer Utility matching permission:

1. Close the game.
2. Open Easy Gamer Utility.
3. Click Run EGU as admin.
4. Click Yes when Windows asks for permission.
5. Return to Launch > Game Launching.
6. Select your priority.
7. Launch the game again.

This may allow Easy Gamer Utility to access and prioritise a game process that Windows previously protected.

The launcher opens instead of the game

Some .exe files only start a game launcher.

The launcher may then open the real game using another executable.

For example:

1. Easy Gamer Utility starts GameLauncher.exe.
2. The launcher starts Game-Win64-Shipping.exe.
3. The actual game runs under the second process name.

Easy Gamer Utility may not be able to apply the priority if the added file is only the launcher.

Look inside the game installation folder for the main game executable.

It may be inside a folder named:

• Binaries
• Win64
• x64
• bin
• Game
• Shipping

Add the main game executable when the game allows it to be launched directly.

Some games require their original launcher, so this may not work with every title.

How to check the current game priority

You can check the priority through Windows Task Manager:

1. Launch the game through Easy Gamer Utility.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
3. Open Task Manager.
4. Select Details.
5. Find the game process.
6. Right-click it.
7. Open Set priority.

The active priority should have a mark beside it.

Make sure you check the actual game process rather than the game launcher.

What is Force Game High Priority?

Easy Gamer Utility Pro also includes a separate Force Game High Priority tool.

The normal Game Launching priority slider applies the selected priority when you launch a game through Easy Gamer Utility.

Force Game High Priority is intended to make Windows automatically use High Priority for a selected game executable.

The launch slider is the easiest place to begin because it lets you select and test each priority before using the separate force option.

Both tools give Pro users more control over how games are prioritised.

Which priority setting is best?

For Easy Gamer Utility Free users, Above Normal provides a useful priority increase over the standard Windows setting.

For Easy Gamer Utility Pro users, High Priority provides the strongest available option and is worth testing when you want Windows to focus more processor attention on the game.

A useful starting point is:

• Normal for standard launching
• Above Normal for an easy free priority boost
• High for the strongest Pro priority option

Test the settings with your favourite game and keep the one that provides the best experience on your computer.

Changing a game’s launch priority in simple terms

Open Easy Gamer Utility and go to Launch > Game Launching.

Move the slider to Normal, Above Normal or High.

Click Save Settings, select your game and click Launch Game.

Above Normal is available in Easy Gamer Utility Free and gives the game more priority than ordinary background programs.

Easy Gamer Utility Pro unlocks High Priority, allowing you to give the game the strongest priority available through the Game Launching tool without changing it manually in Task Manager every time.