Excessive GPU Usage When Minecraft is Running on a Non-Visible Virtual Desktop

When Minecraft Bedrock Edition is running on Windows using the GDK runtime, GPU utilization increases dramatically whenever the game window is located on a different Windows Virtual Desktop than the one currently being viewed. This occurs even when the game is idle at the main menu, paused, or in a non‑interactive screen such as Settings. GPU usage returns to normal immediately when switching back to the Virtual Desktop where the Minecraft window is visible.

This behavior suggests that the game continues rendering at full speed even when the window is completely non‑visible, causing unnecessary GPU load.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch Minecraft Bedrock Edition on Windows.

2. Ensure the game is running on Virtual Desktop 1.

3. In Task Manager, observe normal GPU 3D utilization while the game is visible.

4. Create a new Virtual Desktop or switch to Virtual Desktop 2.

5. Observe GPU 3D utilization in Task Manager.

6. Switch back to the Virtual Desktop hosting Minecraft.

7. Observe GPU 3D utilization returning to normal immediately.

Observed Behavior

• GPU usage increases significantly (e.g., from ~18% to 60–80%) when the Minecraft window is on a hidden Virtual Desktop.

• The spike occurs even when the game is idle or not rendering gameplay.

• GPU usage returns to normal as soon as the window becomes visible again.

• The game appears to render at full frame rate despite being completely non‑visible. This forces unnecessary and wasteful GPU updates.

Expected Behavior

When the Minecraft window is not visible (for example, when located on a different Virtual Desktop), the game should reduce GPU workload by throttling rendering. GPU usage should remain low while the window is not visible, and full rendering should resume only when the window becomes visible again.

Technical Note

A fix for this issue should adjust only the rendering frame rate when the window is not visible. Simulation, networking, and other game systems should remain fully active and unthrottled, to avoid a regression of MCPE-109879.

Update: After submitting the report I discovered that the issue also occurs when the Minecraft window is fully occluded on the same Virtual Desktop. Partial occlusion does not trigger the GPU spike, but full occlusion does. This suggests the problem is tied to the compositor’s visibility state rather than Virtual Desktops specifically.