Force close a frozen game or app from a Stream Deck key
To force close a frozen game or app from a Stream Deck, add Force Close Keys for Windows and hold its Not Responding key until the bar is full. The keys show which apps Windows reports as frozen and keep working while the screen is stuck, so you can end a frozen full-screen game when Task Manager is out of reach.
Stream Deck plugin · Works on Windows 10 or later with the Stream Deck app 6.9 or later.
What you can do
See frozen apps: the Not Responding key counts the visible apps Windows reports as frozen and shows the program name. Hold to end them.
Reach a stuck full-screen game: the Stream Deck keys work while the screen is stuck, and the plugin finds the frozen program behind the stand-in window Windows puts in front.
Close the app in front: Close Front App asks the active window's app to close with a short press, so it can ask to save, and ends it with a hold.
Close a chosen program: Close App does the same for every process with a file name you choose, and shows RUNNING while it runs.
Avoid accidents: ending takes a hold of 1 to 3 seconds, and releasing early cancels. The target is fixed at the press and checked again first.
Wait out loading screens: choose how long an app must be frozen before it is counted, from immediately up to 30 seconds.
Protected by design: Windows' own processes, the desktop and taskbar, and the Stream Deck app are always left running.
Know it worked: ENDED appears once the process is gone, read back from Windows.
Runs on your PC: nothing is logged or sent. English and Japanese.
How it works
Install the plugin from the Elgato Marketplace. In the Stream Deck app, drag Not Responding (or Close Front App) onto a key.
When an app freezes, the Not Responding key shows a number and the app's program name after a few seconds.
Hold the key until the bar on it is full (1.5 seconds unless you changed it). The key says ENDED when the program is gone; release early to cancel.
Whether an app is not responding is Windows' own judgment: the plugin asks Windows the same question Task Manager asks.
How do I force close a frozen game with a Stream Deck?
Put a Not Responding key on your Stream Deck. When the game freezes, the key shows it; hold the key until the bar is full and the game is ended, the same as End task in Task Manager. A short press ends nothing.
What is the difference between a short press and a hold?
A short press asks the program to close, like its own close button, so it can ask you to save. A hold ends a frozen program immediately, the same as End task: anything that was not saved in it is lost.
My game was loading and the key counted it. Will it close the game?
Nothing is ended unless you hold the key. Set Count after to 10 or 30 seconds if your game does this often.
Can it close a program automatically when it freezes?
No. Nothing is ever closed or ended without your press or hold, so you stay in control.
Why does the key say FAILED?
Windows refused, or the process was still there. Most likely the program runs as administrator or is protected by anti-cheat or security software.
Limits
Windows only (Windows 10 or later). Not for Mac.
A hold works like End task: unsaved work is lost, and processes the app started keep running.
Some programs close on a short press without asking to save.
A loading game may count as not responding; set a longer wait.
Hidden windows and other virtual desktops are skipped. One frozen window ends its whole process.
Exclusive full-screen games may behave differently, and a key may show nothing for such a game.
Programs run as administrator or protected by anti-cheat may refuse (FAILED).
Online games can have their own rules about tools that act on the game: check them before you use one.
