How to force the mouse cursor to stay in the window of another game, when XCOM / XCOM 2 is running in the background

xcom-2xcom-enemy-unknown

The scenario is as follows:

I run XCOM or XCOM 2 (the problem occurs for both). I do a task change to Windows and start another game (i.e. leave XCOM running in the background), say Heroes of the Storm (HotS). Whenever I have an extended waiting period in the other game, I'd switch back to XCOM and continue there.

This worked perfectly for some games (e.g. Battle Worlds: Kronos) but when running XCOM this has some severe disadvantages. I'm playing on my main screen (right side) and have another secondary screen set up on the left side – just showing windows desktop.

The problem:

The mouse cursor doesn't stay in the HotS window. So whenever I hit the left side of my main screen and accidentally click, I'll switch to Windows. The mouse cursor isn't bound to the game's screen.

As said: this problem occurs specifically for XCOM / XCOM 2 and is not universal (although I can't say for sure it only happens for XCOM). Does anyone have a solution for this behavior? I want to keep running XCOM in the background while playing HotS and still keep focus only in HotS.

Best Answer

Rather than addressing the issue with XCOM directly, I suggest an indirect solution using window management software.

I have been using DisplayFusion to manage my windows and mouse cursor for many years, and although I haven't used it myself, there is a feature that lets you lock your cursor to the current monitor or active window by pressing a hotkey. See the screenshot below:

DisplayFusion functions tab

DisplayFusion has a basic free mode, but also has a 30 day trial for Pro, so you can test both of these functions and see if it works before buying. Hope that helps!