Recorded gameplay preview causes stuttering in games if Steam window is open in the background

[Nitue]

Your system information

• Steam client version (build number or date): 1738026274

• Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): Fedora 41 Workstation

• Opted into Steam client beta?: No

• Have you checked for system updates?: Yes

• Steam Logs: steam-logs.tar.gz

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

You can enable game recording in Steam settings. After recording some gameplay, Steam displays post-game summary in the library where a preview of the recorded video is shown. The preview cycles through still images of the video.

If you are playing a game while having the Steam window open, it will cycle through the images in the background (attached screencapture below). This causes noticeable stuttering in the game for a few of seconds. If you minimize Steam window, the issue disappears. However, most people probably leave the Steam window open after starting a game.

I noticed this especially in Helldivers 2 where the performance in the game takes a very noticeable hit.

Screencast.From.2025-02-07.22-36-56.webm

Steps for reproducing this issue:

1. Enable "Game Recording"
2. Record gameplay of a game. For example, issue was noticed in Helldivers 2.
3. Exit the game. Record another short gameplay.
4. Exit the game again. See the "Post-game summary", it should have video preview that cycles through still images of your gameplay sessions.
5. Start the game again. Leave Steam window open.
6. Game has noticeable stuttering every time a still image changes in the background.
7. Minimize Steam window. The stuttering disappears.