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How to Get Steam Overlay Working With Iracing

Fast steps for how to get steam overlay working with iracing. For iRacing drivers: fix overlay quickly so Steam chat, screenshots and widgets work in-race. Quick guide included.

If you’re asking how to get steam overlay working with iracing, the quick fix is: enable Steam’s in-game overlay, add iRacing to Steam (or launch iRacing from Steam), and make sure Steam and iRacing run at the same permission level. You’re in the right place to fix it fast.

Quick Answer — how to get steam overlay working with iracing

Enable Steam Overlay (Steam > Settings > In-Game), add iRacing as a non‑Steam game in your Steam library, then launch iRacing from Steam. Make sure Steam and iRacing run with the same Windows privileges (don’t run one as admin and the other not). That resolves about 95% of cases.

What’s really going on

Steam Overlay injects a small UI into the running game so you can use chat, screenshots, the web browser, and Steam widgets. If Steam can’t inject that UI (because it’s not set to run, it’s blocked by permissions, or another overlay/compatibility setting is interfering), you won’t see it in iRacing. iRacing itself doesn’t block the overlay, but mismatched permissions, compatibility flags, VR mode, or launch method usually do.

Step-by-step fix

  1. Close iRacing and Steam completely.
  2. Open Steam > Settings > In-Game and confirm “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” is checked. Note the Overlay hotkey (default Shift+Tab).
  3. In Steam, choose Games > Add a Non‑Steam Game to My Library and add iRacingLauncher.exe (usually in C:\Program Files (x86)\iRacing). Use the launcher entry to start iRacing from Steam.
  4. In Steam Library, right-click the added iRacing entry > Properties and ensure “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” is checked.
  5. Check permissions: don’t run iRacing as Administrator while Steam is not. Right-click the iRacing exe > Properties > Compatibility and uncheck “Run this program as an administrator.” If you must run as admin, also run Steam as admin.
  6. Launch iRacing from Steam. Press Shift+Tab (or your hotkey) to open the overlay. If it fails, try restarting Steam and iRacing once more.

Extra Tips / Checklist

  • If you use VR, the desktop Steam Overlay may not appear; use SteamVR overlay or in-headset tools.
  • Turn off compatibility mode for Steam and iRacing (Properties > Compatibility). Compatibility flags can block injection.
  • Disable conflicting overlays (NVIDIA ShadowPlay, Discord overlay) briefly to test; sometimes they conflict.
  • If you still can’t open the overlay, opt out/in of Steam Beta (Steam > Settings > Account) and restart Steam.
  • Want screenshots or FPS counter? Enable them in Steam Settings > In-Game after overlay works.

FAQs

Q: Why doesn’t Steam overlay work in iRacing VR?
A: The desktop Steam overlay won’t inject into VR apps the same way. Use SteamVR’s overlay tools or iRacing’s helmet/cockpit displays instead.

Q: Do I need to add iRacing to Steam if I installed it via iRacing.com?
A: Yes. Adding iRacing as a non‑Steam game and launching from Steam lets Steam inject the overlay.

Q: Steam overlay opens but screenshots/FPS don’t show — why?
A: Check Steam Settings > In-Game to enable FPS counter and screenshot shortcut. Also ensure no other app is intercepting hotkeys.

Q: Will this break iRacing anti-cheat or my SR (safety rating)?
A: No — the Steam overlay is a user interface feature and doesn’t affect iRacing’s anti-cheat or ratings.

Wrap-up

Most overlay problems are permission or launch-method issues. Add iRacing to Steam, match privilege levels, and disable conflicting overlays — then launch from Steam. Test with Shift+Tab; if it still fails, try the Steam Beta toggle or briefly run both apps as admin to confirm a permissions issue.