Updated October 2026 · Live streaming audio
Ducking lowers the game audio automatically when you speak, then brings it back when you stop. Set the threshold so it responds to your voice and not to background noise, use a quick attack and a gentle release, and test with a real game scene to make sure your voice stays clear during action.
On a live stream, the game is often the loudest thing in the room. An explosion, a crowd or a soundtrack can drown out the streamer, and viewers lose the words. Ducking solves that problem by lowering the game audio while you speak, then bringing it back when you stop. Done well, it is invisible. Done badly, it pumps, cuts off the start of words or responds to noise instead of speech.
This guide explains the principle, the setup options, the timing to get right and the mistakes that most often spoil the effect. The idea is the same as ducking music under a voice-over, which is covered in the guide linked below.
Ducking uses the level of your voice as a trigger. When your voice rises above a threshold, the game audio is reduced by a set amount. When your voice stops, the game returns to its normal level. The effect is a steady balance that favours the speech, without any manual adjustment during the stream.
The important settings are the threshold, which decides when ducking starts, the amount, which decides how far the game drops, and the timing, which decides how quickly it responds and recovers. Each one affects how natural the effect sounds.
Ducking can be set up in streaming software with a sidechain or ducking filter, in a separate audio program that sits between the game and the stream, or in a hardware mixer. The exact steps depend on your software and version, so check the current menus rather than relying on old instructions. The principle stays the same whichever route you take.
Keep the setup as simple as possible. A single ducking filter on the game source is easier to test and to troubleshoot than a chain of separate effects.
The threshold should sit just above the background noise in your room, so the game drops when you speak and stays up during silence. If the threshold is too low, the room noise will trigger the ducking, and the game will flicker. If it is too high, your quieter words will not trigger it, and the game will stay loud while you talk.
Test the threshold with normal speech, a quiet word and a loud laugh. The ducking should respond to all three without pumping or hesitating.
The attack is how quickly the game drops when you start speaking. A quick attack protects the start of your words, but if it is too fast the change can sound abrupt. The release is how slowly the game returns after you stop. A slow release keeps the game from jumping back in the gaps between words, which otherwise makes the stream sound choppy.
A good starting point is a quick attack and a release that feels gentle, then adjust by listening. Test with a real game, because timing that works in a quiet menu may fail in a battle.
Reduce the game enough to make the voice clear, but not so much that the game feels absent. A moderate reduction often works well, and you can adjust it while you test. Too much reduction can make the stream feel like a podcast with a silent game, which is not what viewers came for.
Record a short clip of a loud game scene while you talk, then play it back on a phone and on headphones. Check that the voice stays clear, the game returns smoothly and nothing sounds choppy. Adjust one setting at a time, and record again.
Different games need different settings. A slow, narrative game with quiet music may need only a light reduction, while a fast shooter with constant effects may need a stronger one. Keep a profile for each game you stream, with its own threshold and amount, and load it when you switch. A profile saved after a good test saves time and avoids the guesswork of setting everything again.
Pay attention to menus and loading screens, which can be quiet and then suddenly loud. A ducking setup that works in combat may react strangely in a menu, so test those moments too.
Ducking is a balance, not a cure. A very loud game can still mask a quiet voice, and a noisy room can make ducking unreliable. Pair ducking with a clean microphone and a steady level. The effect also depends on your software and your game, so test your own setup.
Ducking works best when the voice is clean. The Clean Streaming Mic describes live noise cancellation that learns the room noise, which can help the threshold stay reliable. For the same principle applied to a recorded voice-over, read the music ducking guide.
Learn your room noise, remove it live and feed OBS, Discord or Zoom. Runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
Automatically lowering the game or music while you speak, then bringing it back in the gaps.
The threshold is too low, so room noise triggers the ducking. Raise it.
The attack is too slow. Make it quicker so the game drops before you speak.
Yes. The same principle applies to background music and to a voice-over.
