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Discord is working on a new Game Mode that automatically turns down animations and visual effects when it detects you’re playing a game. The idea is to free up CPU and GPU, so Discord doesn’t fight your game for resources!
But what about RAM?
Discord’s Windows client is built on Electron, so it has a Chromium-based runtime along with the chat app you see, and if you use Discord, you know it eats your RAM like there’s no tomorrow. The California-based communications company has already admitted its app can balloon past 4GB of RAM.
Ironically, Discord is trying to make itself lighter for gamers at a time when memory has become one of the most expensive parts of a PC.
Discord is trying to save the resources gamers need
Discord Previews, a well-known community account that data-mines the app, spotted that Discord is working on Game Mode. There hasn’t been any official announcement yet, though.
The toggle shows “Enable Game Mode,” with the description “Reduce Discord’s CPU and GPU usage while a game is running.” Once it’s on, Discord detects a running game, cuts back on animations and disables effects, leaving a slight headroom for the CPU and GPU to be used by your game.
However, Game Mode doesn’t mention anything about RAM.
Discord’s September 2026 update says the Electron 42 upgrade cut median CPU usage by about 17%, while median memory usage went up by about 4%. Another rendering fix trimmed median CPU usage by 3%. Discord’s summary was “More resources for gaming, where they belong.”
Yes, CPU and GPU are precious when you’re gaming, but in 2026, RAM is just as precious. Soaring memory prices have put the RAM habits of popular Windows 11 apps under the microscope. Microsoft deleted its 32GB RAM recommendation, and the memory shortage has forced OEM specs to bring back 8GB Windows 11 PCs.
Discord’s problem is Electron, and users have already seen it devour 4GB of RAM
Discord calls Electron a web wrapper that runs the app in a browser-like environment. Electron follows Chromium’s multi-process model, with a main process running the app and renderer processes drawing the web content in each window.
Electron apps aren’t all RAM disasters, though, since memory usage depends on how many processes an app spins up, what it keeps loaded, and how carefully it’s managed.
Discord admits it has struggled here. In December 2025, a Discord employee confirmed it was testing an automatic restart when RAM usage exceeds 4GB, noting that normal usage should stay under 1GB. Discord called it temporary relief, adding that it had fixed more than nine memory issues and cut p95 memory usage by about 5%.
Users are also asking for RAM improvements. Under the post about Game Mode, one user said they’d prefer Discord worked on reducing RAM usage over CPU and GPU usage, while another asked for “anything but making it an over glorified chrome page.”
Of course, these are complaints, and your Discord could be using well under 1GB.
Discord isn’t the only offender in Windows. Microsoft Teams runs on WebView2, WhatsApp swapped its native app for a web wrapper, and embarrassingly, the Windows 11 Weather app uses 5x the RAM of macOS Weather. Microsoft’s WebView2 documentation confirms that these apps run their own browser, renderer, and GPU processes.
Now ponder a regular day with me:
- WhatsApp is open for friends and family
- Teams for colleagues
- Discord for your gaming group
You now have three browser runtimes running in the background before you even launch a game, and heaven forbid you’re on an 8GB or 16GB PC, because you wouldn’t be able to play a game with these web apps running.
Sure, Game Mode may dial down CPU and GPU activity, but it can’t remove Chromium processes or shrink Discord’s Electron footprint. Discord is leaving the bigger problem untouched.
WinUI 3 is getting better, so this is the moment for Discord to rethink Windows
Microsoft recommends WinUI with the Windows App SDK for new native desktop apps, and WinUI is now open source, as well.
For years, developers had a fair excuse. WinUI spent years missing basic controls and capabilities, which pushed even Microsoft toward WebView2, despite JavaScript creator Brendan Eich warning against rushed web UX over native.
Now, Microsoft is dumping legacy code for WinUI, says it’s ending the web app slop era with AI tools that write native apps in 30 minutes, and even built a tool that turns Windows 11 into a ready-to-code PC.
Funnily enough, Redmond has also admitted Windows 11 is a memory hog and promised a better experience on 8GB PCs. But a lighter Windows 11 won’t help much if Discord, Teams and WhatsApp keep bringing their own browsers.
To be clear, WinUI isn’t magic. Microsoft’s own docs say that in Windows App SDK 2.0, WinUI apps use more RAM and launch slower than UWP apps. The point is that a native Discord wouldn’t need a full Chromium runtime just to draw its Windows interface.
My guess is that Discord sticks with Electron because it ships one app across Windows, macOS and Linux, and a native rewrite is a huge project. But Discord is no scrappy startup, with Forge-based estimates on Yahoo Finance valuing it at around $10 billion.
Its Rust migration, rendering fixes, and Electron upgrades show Discord cares about performance. Game Mode is one more band-aid on the existing architecture.
Yes, Discord shouldn’t waste CPU and GPU on animations that you won’t be looking at anyway while playing a game. But with RAM prices climbing, the question is whether Discord should still carry a Chromium runtime on Windows at all.
The post Electron is one of Windows 11’s biggest RAM offenders, and Discord’s Game Mode doesn’t fix it appeared first on Windows Latest
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[[{“value”:”Discord’s Electron 42 upgrade cut median CPU usage by 17% but raised memory use by 4%. With WhatsApp and Teams also running on web runtimes and 8GB Windows 11 PCs returning, WinUI 3 is the native path Microsoft now wants developers like Discord to take. A toggle only dials things down.
The post Electron is one of Windows 11’s biggest RAM offenders, and Discord’s Game Mode doesn’t fix it appeared first on Windows Latest”}]] Read More Windows Latest