Fix: ‘Fullscreen Exclusive’ Option Missing in Warzone 2/MW2

This issue mostly occurs if Focused Mode is enabled in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. The third-party applications running in the background and the display adapter setting in-game can often prevent your game from fullscreen exclusivity. In most cases, NZXT CAM is the culprit for not allowing your game to go to the standard fullscreen mode. However, it can vary in different circumstances.

Since the reasons for the problem can differ from one to another, we have compiled a list of various methods you can use to resolve the missing option issue in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 or Warzone 2. Let us start right away.

1. Disable Focused Mode

Call of Duty MW2 introduced a new option in game settings called Focused Mode that helps you better focus on your game by dimming the second monitor if you have one when the game window is active.

We have found that focused mode can prevent your game from using the Fullscreen Exclusive display mode. This is because focused mode requires the game to be either windowed or fullscreen borderless, and as a result, it removes the Fullscreen Exclusive option from the display mode drop-down menu. 

To fix this, you will have to disable focused mode in your game settings. Follow the instructions below:

1. Open Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 on your computer.
2. Navigate to Graphics settings by going to Settings > Graphics.

   

3. Locate the Focused Mode option and use the slider to turn it off.

   

4. Apply the settings and see if the problem has been resolved.

2. Change In-Game Display Adapter

Call of Duty Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2 allows you to change the display adapter you would like the game to use. This can be helpful when you have multiple graphics drivers, especially in the case of integrated graphics.

In some scenarios, the game may show you two display adapters even if you have one. This seems to be a bug with the game itself and can prevent you from using Fullscreen Exclusive mode. To resolve this, you will have to change your Display Adapter in-game. Follow the instructions below to do this:

1. Open the Settings menu by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner.

   

2. From the menu, choose the Graphics option.

   

3. On the Graphics screen, change your Display Adapter via the drop-down menu provided.

   

4. With that done, click the Apply button at the bottom and see if the problem has been resolved. 

3. Optimize the Game with GeForce Experience (if applicable)

GeForce Experience has an optimization feature that allows you to optimize every game on your computer per your hardware. When you optimize a game on your computer with GeForce Experience, the best settings possible for the game are applied automatically.  

Thus, if your issue is caused due to a settings inconsistency, GeForce Experience optimization should fix it for you. To do this, follow the instructions below:

1. Start by opening GeForce Experience on your computer.
2. On the Home tab, click on Call of Duty Modern Warfare II.

   

3. If you don’t see the game on the Home tab, click the three dots in the top-right corner and choose Scan for games & apps.

   

4. Afterward, click the Optimize button on the game screen.

   

5. With that done, launch the game to see if you can use Fullscreen Exclusive mode.

4. Disable Always on Top on Task Manager

If you use the Task Manager window on a second monitor while playing the game, there is a good chance an option of the Task Manager is causing the issue.

Task Manager comes with an Always on Top option that allows it to be on top of other applications at all times, even if it is not active. This can prevent MW2 or COD Warzone 2 from going into exclusive fullscreen mode. To fix this, you will have to remove Task Manager from always being on top. Follow the instructions below:

1. Start by right-clicking on your taskbar and choosing Task Manager from the menu that appears. Alternatively, you can right-click the Windows icon on the taskbar and select Task Manager from the follow-up menu.

   

2. Once the Task Manager window is open, click on the gear icon at the bottom-left corner to switch to the Settings menu.

   

3. Under Windows Management, uncheck the Always on Top checkbox.

   

4. With that done, restart your game and see if the problem persists. 

5. Reinstall Graphics Drivers

You might be missing the Fullscreen Exclusive option in some scenarios due to your graphics drivers. Graphics drivers are vital because they are the bridge of communication between the game and the graphics card installed on your motherboard.

This can be caused due to an issue with the graphics drivers because of an update or something similar. In such a scenario, you can resolve the issue by reinstalling the graphics drivers on your computer. You will be using a third-party utility called Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to uninstall your graphics drivers. 

Once the drivers are removed, you must download the latest ones available from your manufacturer’s website and install them to resolve the issue. Follow the instructions below to do this:

1. Start by downloading Display Driver Uninstaller from the official website here.
2. After downloading the utility, run it and extract the files to any desired location.
3. Navigate to the folder and open the Display Driver Uninstaller.exe file.
4. Once DDU starts, you will be shown a General Options screen. Here, you can click the Close button at the bottom-right corner.

   

5. After that, choose GPU from the Select device type drop-down menu.

   

6. Once you have selected the device type, choose your graphics card manufacturer from the Select device drop-down menu.

   

7. Finally, click the Clean and restart button to uninstall your graphics drivers.

   

8. After uninstalling the graphics drivers, head to your manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers available for your graphics card.
9. Install the new drivers and check if the problem has gone away.

6. Perform a Clean Boot

If the above methods do not fix the problem for you, it is very likely the issue is caused by a third-party program running in the background. This happens when a background application takes fullscreen priority, due to which the game is not able to use exclusive fullscreen mode.

You can perform a clean boot to verify your suspicion if this applies to you. If the problem goes away in a clean boot, it will be evident that a third-party application is causing the problem. In such a scenario, you can enable the services one by one to find the culprit.

A clean boot starts your Windows operating system with only the required services running in the background. This means no third-party applications are allowed to start on startup. Follow the instructions below to perform a clean boot:

1. Start by pressing the Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
2. In the Run dialog box, type in msconfig and hit Enter.

   

3. On the System Configuration window, switch to the Services tab.
4. There, click on the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox.

   

5. After that, click the Disable all button and follow it up by hitting Apply.

   

6. With that done, switch to the Startup tab and click on the Open Task Manager option.
7. On the Task Manager window, select each app one by one and click the Disable option to stop the application from running on startup.

   

8. Once you do that, restart your computer and see if the problem still occurs.