An Xbox Game Bar alternative for sound, music and messagesKOL — Katam's Overlay
Xbox Game Bar comes with Windows and is good at what it was made for: capturing clips and screenshots, showing how your PC is performing, and keeping you close to your Xbox friends. KOL is made for something else: the sound, music and messages you reach for while you play.
So it's less a replacement than a different tool, and many players will want both. Here is what each one is for, so you can choose.
What KOL does over your game
Small cards on top of whatever you're playing, each doing one job, all opened with your own shortcuts.
- A volume mixer with live levels, for every app and device
- VoiceMeeter strips, buses and outputs, if you use it
- A music player with karaoke-style lyrics
- WhatsApp and Discord messages, with replies from the card
- ScratchPad for notes and to-dos, and a small web browser
Any part of the screen, on a card
Drag around part of the screen or a window, a map or a chat, and it stays live on a card of its own, even when you minimize that window.
- It shows, it doesn't record
- Freeze a card to keep a still picture
- Never takes the keyboard from a full-screen game or video
What KOL doesn't do
- Record clips or take screenshots
- Show frame rate, CPU or GPU stats
- Achievements, Xbox friends or party chat
For those, keep using Game Bar. KOL doesn't use Win+G, so each one opens with its own key.
Start in three steps
- Get KOL from the Microsoft Store. It's a free beta for Windows 10 and 11, open to beta testers for now.
- Run the short setup. Choose your sound devices and apps, and what KOL shows.
- Press Alt+~ in your game for sound, or Ctrl+Alt+P for music. You can change every shortcut in Settings.
Good to know
- The cards show over borderless and windowed games and over full-screen videos. Over a game in exclusive full screen we can't promise it, because Windows decides what shows there; most games have a borderless option.
- Tested on a second PC with games like Fortnite, FIFA and Roblox, with no anti-cheat issues. That is a test result, not a promise.
Questions
Does KOL replace Xbox Game Bar?
Not fully. KOL doesn't record clips or screenshots and doesn't show performance stats. It's for sound, music, messages and quick tools over your game.
Can I use both?
Yes. They open with different keys and don't depend on each other.
Does KOL record my screen?
No. A selected card shows a live part of your screen on your own PC and never saves it. Only a picture you freeze is kept, until you close that card.
How much does it cost?
KOL is a free beta. No account and no ads.
Never stop what you're doing.
One shortcut and KOL is there. One more and you're right back where you were.
Open to beta testers for now · available to everyone in the coming days
Beta testers: on the page that opens, click “Show in Microsoft Store app”, signed in with your invited Microsoft account.
On Windows the button opens the Microsoft Store app. Sign in there with your invited Microsoft account.
Not a beta tester yet? Write to us to join, or ask us to tell you when it's public.
Windows 10 (version 1809 or newer) or Windows 11 · Free beta