How to Record Xbox One Gameplay for YouTube

Recently while playing FIFA 22 on my Xbox One I scored a goal from the halfway line. 

After scoring I felt like Man United legend David Beckham who brought the halfway-line goal into mainstream football when he scored an audacious 60-yard goal in a Premier League match against Wimbledon. That goal rocketed him towards superstardom.

I bragged to my friends about my goal but they didn’t believe me.

That’s when I decided I will be recording my Xbox One FIFA 22 games and posting them on YouTube and other social media platforms. 

So, the next time I score from the halfway line not only my friends but the whole world will see my football prowess.

At the time, I didn’t know how to record Xbox One gameplay for YouTube so I did some quick research.

This is what I found.

How do you record Xbox One gameplay for YouTube? The Xbox One has a built-in recording feature that allows you to record 2 minute 4K gameplay videos or up to 60 minutes videos if you use an external hard drive. If you want to record more than 60 minutes of high-resolution clips, you’ll need to use a PC and capture card with the Xbox One. The Xbox One recorded clips can then be accessed from your console, mobile phone, or PC and uploaded to YouTube.

Now that you have a quick answer on how you can record Xbox One gameplay for YouTube, I’ll explain each method in more detail in the following sections of this article.

How to record Xbox One gameplay clips for YouTube without a capture card 

The Xbox One Digital Video Recorder (DVR) feature allows you to capture short game video clips you can share on Youtube or your social media platforms.

How short these clips are will depend on the resolution you choose.

For example, as I said at the start, you can only record 2-minute videos in 4K resolution and 5 minutes of 720p.

Also, the Xbox One recording feature allows you to capture gameplay after it happens or before.

Here is how to use the Xbox One recording feature.

• Set the capture options

What resolution and length would you like your game clips to be?

By default, the Xbox One captures 30-second clips at 4K, but you can change this by following these steps.

1. While on the Xbox One Home screen press the Xbox button, located at the top center of your controller, to open the console’s Guide Menu.

2. Select Settings on the menu by pressing the A button on your controller.

3. Scroll down to Preferences and choose Broadcast & Capture. On the resulting page, you can choose the duration of your clips, the resolution, and set up an external hard drive to capture longer videos (more on this later).

4. Once you input your preferred video capture settings go back to the Xbox One Home screen and start the game you want to record to start taking clips.

• Record your Xbox One gameplay

1. If you just scored an unbelievable goal in the 90th minute on FIFA 22 or did an amazing kill shot in Call of Duty: Warzone that the squad needs to see, press the Xbox button on your gamepad during gameplay. 

2. A menu will pop up giving you the options to take a screenshot, record footage, or change capture options.

3. Select Record What Happened. A short clip of your recent gameplay footage will be recorded from footage the Xbox one has saved in its buffer and stored on the console.

If you would like the Xbox One to live record your gameplay instead do the following:

1. Press the Xbox button on the Xbox One controller while you game to open the Xbox guide.

2. Press the small View button, which is under the Xbox button to the left, to open a submenu.

3. Select Record from now and your gameplay will be recorded as you play. The internal storage of the Xbox One console only captures up to 10 minutes of gameplay at a go.

4. To stop the live recording press the Xbox button on the controller to open the Guide again, then press X.

How to record an hour of Xbox One gameplay footage without a capture card

If you have an external hard drive you can continuously capture up to 60 minutes of gameplay in HD using the Xbox One DVR. 

I recommend you use an external drive if you regularly record videos as the device will help you save your Xbox One internal space.

The external storage has to be a USB 3.0 flash drive or a hard drive like the Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive.

You have to format the USB drive to NTFS before using it with your Xbox One.

Follow the steps below to record your Xbox One gameplay using a USB 3.0 storage device.

1. Plug the external hard drive into the USB port of your PC.

2. Open file explorer, then right-click on your USB drive and choose Format.

3. In the File System drop-down menu select NTFS. You’ll get a warning that everything on the drive will be deleted. If you’re OK with this, select Start at the bottom of the menu. If you would like to keep the files in the drive, save them elsewhere first before performing this step.

4. Once the formatting is done remove the hard drive from your computer and plug it into a USB port on your Xbox One. If a pop-up appears on your screen select Use for media.

5. On your controller press the Xbox One button to open the Guide Menu.

6. Scroll right until you get to Broadcast & Capture. Select this option, then click on Advanced settings. 
7. In the Broadcast & Capture settings, go to Capture location, and select your external USB, then click Confirm. You’ll have successfully switched the storage of your game recordings from the Xbox One internal memory to the external drive.

8. In the Broadcast & Capture settings, you can also select your desired resolution in the Game clip resolution tab. I record at 1080p SDR HD.

Don’t worry about the Record that duration option as all game videos recorded will be 60 minutes.

9. Start the game you want to record while playing then press the Xbox button on your gamepad.

10. On the menu that appears select Record from now Up to 1 hour to start recording.

If you would prefer a video to take you through the process I just described above below is a YouTube video.

How to view your Xbox One DVR clips

To view all game videos recorded and saved on your Xbox One.

1. Press the Xbox button on your controller, then press the View button.

2. Select Manages Captures and you should be able to see all your recorded Xbox One game clips.

There are two ways you can access game footage saved on your external hard drive.

The first way is on your Xbox One. To do this;

1. Press the Xbox button on your controller. 
2. When the menu opens go to Broadcast & Capture, then go down and select Recent captures.

A list of all game clips will appear. Select a clip to watch it.

The other way to access the videos is on your computer.

1. Unplug the external hard drive from your Xbox One and connect it to your PC.

2. Boot it up and you’ll see a folder called GameDVR. This folder is automatically created in your drive when it is used with the Xbox One. Open the folder and you’ll see the videos containing your gameplay.

These are MP4 videos that you can play like you would any other video on your computer. They are also compatible with any editing software, so you can edit your clips before uploading them on YouTube.

How to record hours of Xbox One gameplay using a capture card

If you want to record more than one hour of gameplay continuously on your Xbox One you’ll need the following hardware and software:

• The Xbox One.
• A capture card. This device will deliver a video stream from your Xbox One to a PC for recording.

If you don’t already have a capture card I recommend you buy the Elgato HD60 S+, which is one of the best capture cards on the market. This capture card, which you can buy from Amazon, will record your gameplay at 1080p with 60 fps and has a lag-free 4k/HDR pass through to your display. 

• Video Capture Software. I recommend you use Elgato Capture Software with a Windows PC or Intel Mac. This software doesn’t work with Apple Silicon or Linux so for these two I recommend OBS Studio.
• HDMI and USB cables to connect your Xbox One, PC, and capture card. These cables come with the Xbox One and capture card device, so you don’t have to buy them unless the cables you have are faulty.
• A Mac or PC.
• A monitor.
• An Xbox One game.
• Optional hardware you could use in this set-up includes an Xbox One camera like the  Logitech C925-e Webcam with HD Video and Built-In Stereo Microphones and an external quality microphone like the Blue Yeti or a headset with a mic like the HyperX CloudX Flight – Wireless Gaming Headset.

You can add these devices as sources of video and audio in the video capture software making it possible for you to include an image of you as you game and offer commentary of your gameplay.

Step 1: Connect your Xbox One, capture card and PC

With all the necessary hardware and software at hand do the following.

1. Plug the Xbox One HDMI cable into the console’s HDMI Out port and the other end of the cable into the HDMI In port of your capture card.

2. Take the capture card’s HDMI Cable and plug it into the HDMI Out port of the device and the other end of the cable into your monitor’s HDMI In port.

3. Use your capture card’s USB cable to connect the device to your PC or Mac.

Step 2: Set up the video recording software

The Elgato HD60 S+ capture card has software that you can use with a Windows PC or macOS Mojave 10.14 or later.

To use the capture card with Apple silicon Macs or Linux PC’s you’ll have to use a third-party video recording software like OBS Studio.

OBS Studio, which is a free-to-use software, can also be used with Windows PCs.

So, if you prefer using it instead of the Elgato software, no problem.

Do the following to set up the video recording software depending on your computer.

• Elgato software

1. On your macOS Mojave 10.14 or Windows PC download the Elgato software from www.elgato.com/en/downloads.

2. Launch the Elgato software program once the download is complete. Your Elgato HD60 S+ should be automatically detected by the program.

3. From the program interface, select Settings then Capture. Under Input Device select your Xbox One and HDMI under Input. The Settings menu also allows you to input your preferred video and audio settings. 

4. Switch on your Xbox One and launch the game you want to record. An image of the Xbox game should appear on your screen.

Here is a quick YouTube video of the steps above.

• OBS software

1. On your Apple silicon, Linux, or Windows PC download OBS Studio from OBSProject.com.Once the download is complete, install and launch OBS Studio.
2. When you launch OBS an auto-configuration wizard will come up on your screen. Press Yes on the wizard pop-up and you’ll be taken through audio and video settings the wizard considers the best for recording gameplay on your computer based on its  hardware. You can change the settings the wizard recommends later manually.

3. To add your capture card as the source of your game video, on the OBS interface go to the Sources tab at the bottom of the screen and click on the + Button. 

4. In the menu select Video Capture Device, click on Create New and then name your capture card. In the device drop-down menu select Elgato HD60 S+ then click on the OK button.

5. On your Xbox One, start the game you would like to record and the game’s image should be seen on your OBS PC screen.

6. OBS has a picture-in-picture feature so if you would like to add a webcam so an image of yourself is included in your gameplay video, again clicking on the +Button on the Sources tab, then select Video Capture Device to add your webcam to OBS.

Step 3: Start Recording

Once you connect your Xbox One, capture card, and PC and set up the video recording software you can begin recording more than 60 minutes of Xbox One gameplay at a time.

If you’re using the Elgato software, press the Big Red Record button on the program’s interface to start recording your Xbox One games.

To record using OBS Studio head over to the Controls tabs at the bottom right corner of the OBS screen and select Start Recording.

If you would like to adjust your video and audio settings before you start recording your Xbox One gameplay on OBS Studio, from the Controls tabs choose Settings and you’ll be given a range of audio and video settings you can change.

Any Xbox One gameplay recordings you do using the Elgato video recording software or OBS will be saved on your computer.

So, you can easily access these recordings and upload them to YouTube as they’re or after editing.

How to share Xbox One gameplay videos on YouTube

There are several ways you can upload to YouTube Xbox One game videos you record.

The simplest way is using the YouTube app on your Xbox One. Here is how to do that.

1. If you don’t already have the YouTube App on your console download it from the Xbox Store.

2. Open the YouTube app and sign in to your YouTube account.

3. Once you’re logged into your YouTube account navigate to the Upload tab. You can get there by pressing the icon that has a video and a plus in the top right corner of your YouTube interface.

4. In the Upload tab, you should see all your Xbox One gameplay clips. Click on the one you want to upload.

5. Give your game clip a title, description, and other important details then click on Upload to share it on YouTube.

6. An upload of your Xbox One game video will begin. Stay on the screen until the upload is complete and that is. You’ll have successfully shared your Xbox One gameplay video on YouTube.

Another quick way you can share your Xbox One game videos is using OneDrive, a file hosting service the Xbox has that allows you to share your clips using a laptop or mobile phone.

Below is a short video that explains how to share Xbox One gameplay on YouTube using OneDrive.