gamingservices

GamingServices.exe is part of Gaming Services, the background component Microsoft ships with Windows that the Xbox app (XboxPcApp.exe) and every Microsoft Store game rely on for installs, license checks, achievements, and cloud saves. If you use Game Pass or bought a game from the Microsoft Store, you have it.

What running it does to your system: Gaming Services installs two kernel drivers, xvdd.sys (which mounts the encrypted container files Game Pass titles ship in) and gameflt.sys (a filesystem filter used during installs), both loading at boot. Its services run protected and restart themselves if you end them, which is the source of the common question about why it cannot be stopped. The component has had patched local privilege-escalation issues (CVE-2024-28916 and CVE-2025-59281, both through Microsoft's MSRC), so keeping it current matters. Separately, xvdd.sys is reported on Microsoft's own Q&A and elsewhere to block Windows Memory Integrity (HVCI) from turning on for some people.

These are legitimate Microsoft components, required for Game Pass and Store games. Keep Gaming Services updated through the Microsoft Store, which is also the fix if Memory Integrity reports it as the blocking driver: update it rather than delete it, since removing it breaks those games. If you never use Game Pass or the Store for games, the service can be disabled, though Windows greys that option out on some configurations.