If you're a newb, gaming technology and products can seem as disorienting as World of Warcraft’s Ragefire Chasm. But when you’ve got a gamer in your life and you're looking for a present, the best gifts for gamers will only add to their experience.
There’s always something more to augment any bag of tricks when you're looking for gamer gifts. Whether you want to treat an Xbox Series X player to a super-quick-updating performance QLED TV, or load up your partner’s library with a monthly indie game subscription, you’ve got lots of options. Gaming gifts come in all shapes and sizes, so here are some of the best gamer gift ideas.
— Best Gaming Mouse: Logitech G PRO X SUPERLIGHT
— Best Mic for Multiplayer Gamers: Blue Yeti USB Mic for Recording and Streaming
— Best Gaming Desk: VITESSE VIT Gaming Desk
— Best Gaming Controller: Microsoft Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2
— Best TV for Gaming: SAMSUNG 50-Inch Class Neo QLED QN90A Series
— Best Nintendo Switch Accessory: Switch-Up Game Enhancer
— Best VR Headset: Meta Quest 2
— Best Gaming Headset: Bose QuietComfort 35 Series 2 Gaming Headset
— Best SSD for Gaming: ADATA SE800 1TB IP68 Rugged
— Best Gaming Laptop: Acer Flagship Predator Triton 300 SE 14 Gaming Laptop
— Best Gaming Bundle: Xbox Game Pass
— Best for Game Room: Govee Neon Rope Light
What Are the Best Gifts for Gamers?
With gaming requiring more and more specialized technology, choosing the best gifts for gamers requires a good read on what and how they play. If the gamer in your life is a dedicated console player, there’s no way to supercharge their experience quite like extra controllers or a high-end television with super quick refresh rates. If you’re shopping for a PC-gaming wizard who’s already tweaked every component of their home-built gaming PC to function in arcane dimensions, perhaps it’s a gift of comfort that they’ll appreciate, like a great desk or ergonomic chair. If your person has a penchant for indie games, arcade-style novelties, and the DIY, a Humble Indie Bundle subscription will fill out their library in an endless procession of novelties and creative gems.
Best Gaming Mouse: Logitech G PRO X SUPERLIGHT
Key Selling Point: A mouse that strikes like a snake.
This is the best gaming mouse, especially for gamers who take shooters or competitive e-sports seriously. If you’re looking for gifts for gamers who blow enemies away in fast-paced online contests, this mouse is the pick for you. Designed with a sensor that boasts extreme tracking detail, this mouse has a light yet sturdy frame. Two thumb buttons on the side map to whatever the user might want. That said, this device doesn’t have some of the flashy RGB light effects of similarly priced gaming mouse models, but this competition-quality mouse tracks every gesture you make wirelessly. If this mouse sounds like the right gift pick but you’re balking at the price point, the Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED is another great choice that does most of what this competition-grade mouse will do for a fraction of the price.
Best Mic for Multiplayer Gamers: Blue Yeti USB Mic for Recording and Streaming
Key Selling Point: This classic USB microphone is a great all-around desk microphone that will give any multiplayer gamer or streamer versatile options for crisp, high-quality vocals.
Blue Yeti’s USB Microphone is a contemporary classic for good reason. These multifaceted microphones offer multiple cardioid patterns, easy USB connection, and strong sensitivity at an affordable price. I use mine every time I get online to game with my friends. The handy headphone jack on the bottom makes it easy to plug directly into your mic for crisp vocals without echo. In addition to upgrading sound for multiplayer gaming and streaming, this mic will come in handy for Zoom sessions, recording podcasts, or for recording music. With its multidimensional microphone settings you can rig this microphone to pick up a whole room for a multi-speaker conversation, for crisp spoken vocals, to pick up two specific angles in an interview format, or as a classic cardioid pattern for powerful mic-ing of one speaker or singer.
Best Gifts for PC Gamers
Every desktop gaming PC can be tweaked with any number of changes. While some particularly savvy gifters might be able to pick out the specific high-performance fan that their person’s gaming rig might need to geek out just a little higher yield frame per second rate, you can also go another route. Most gaming desktop setups also need a few other items to shine — like the best 4k gaming monitors, best gaming routers, or gaming keyboards— no matter how powerful the computer. Here are great suggestions if you're looking for gifts for PC gamers.
Best Gaming Desk: VITESSE VIT Gaming Desk
Key Selling Point: With its USB charging points, all-over mouse calibration, and handy cable management, this home battle station is truly the best gaming desk.
The Vitesse VIT gaming desk has the build quality and unique features needed to make a powerhouse gaming battle station, yet still comes at an affordable price. With cord pass-through spaces in the rear, cord clutter can be managed by a hang-down tray that stays out of sight. In addition, this gaming desk comes with a USB holding rack that serves as a charger for phones and tablets as well as a holder stand for controllers, disks, and the like. The desk also features a handy drink holder and headphone hook. And the laminated surface functions as a massive mouse pad, so any user will have enough space to navigate here.
Though this desk is both feature-packed and budget-friendly, it might not be aesthetically right for every home. If you’re looking for a modern ergonomic desk that doesn’t scream computer games instead, consider the Fully Jarvis Standing Desk — or one of these best standing desk converters — for an elegant contemporary ergonomic solution that puts the emphasis on design.
Best Gift Ideas for Console Gamers
While console game systems come with most of what you need built-in, you have lots of choices when you’re looking for the best gifts for gamers who use consoles.
Best Gaming Controller: Microsoft Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2
Key Selling Point: The customization and precision on this controller are limitless.
The Microsoft Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 is the crown jewel of Xbox controllers, and it will also serve just as the best gaming controller on PC. If you’re looking for a gift for an Xbox player and you want to get some real wow factor, this is the one. Every part of this controller is customizable. It feels and responds great, with extreme sensitivity that can be customized any way a user wants.
Buyers should note that while it is possible to use Xbox controllers on the PS5, it’s not a seamless process. With that in mind, it may be better to stick to the excellent PS5 controller if you’re buying it for a Playstation user. However, this excellent Xbox controller will work flawlessly with a Microsoft Windows computer.
Best TV for Gaming: SAMSUNG 50-Inch Class Neo QLED QN90A Series
Key Selling Point: With some of the best color quality and brightness of any TV on the market, it’s actually the frame rate that makes this the best TV for gaming.
For most of us, this TV is a splurge. However, if you’re looking to gift a television that you could believably mistake for a portal to another dimension, this Samsung TV is the one. With its hyper-dense LED technology, this TV has some of the best color quality, brightness, and depth of any TV that’s ever been on the market. However, what really makes this TV stand out for gaming is its ultra-fast refresh rate. With only 12.6 milliseconds of screen lag, this TV will have your gamer acing the competition online. With its ultra-quality display, 4K resolution, extraordinary sound, and fast refresh rate, this is a TV that edges the divine. For more options, check out our guide of the best smart TVs.
Best Gifts for Gamers of All Kinds
Best VR Headset: Meta Quest 2
Key Selling Point: The best VR headset that dominated the market is now even better and more affordable.
VR is nothing short of revolutionary. Usable with a PC, console, or on its own with the Oculus app, you can simply slip the Meta Quest 2 on and enter a virtual world. With 50 percent more pixels than its predecessor, the Oculus Quest 1, this headset creates a stunning 3D world. Gift this headset and watch your gamer quest over the mountaintop, and get unprecedented VR access to live events like concerts and VR features. With 3D positional sound and responsive touch controllers, this is the most immersive mass-market VR experience yet. Any gamer is sure to love the opportunity to catch up with the times and go VR.
Best Gaming Headset: Bose QuietComfort 35 Series 2 Gaming Headset
Key Selling Point: These noise-canceling headphones provide ultimate sonic quality and come with a detachable boom microphone for collaborative play.
When it comes to headphones, Bose is synonymous with quality, and its Quiet Comfort Gaming Headset is no exception. With a detachable noise-rejecting boom microphone on the left ear, this headset comes with a quality voice microphone for online play. The noise-canceling ear phones have premium Bose quality sound and are designed for ultimate comfort for long playtimes. While this headset is pricey, it combines a great microphone with some of the best gaming headphones out there. This is a gift any gamer can appreciate.
Best SSD for Gaming: ADATA SE800 1TB IP68 Rugged
Key Selling Point: A one-terabyte solid-state drive that you can run games off of.
Modern games are huge. Any laptop, console, or desktop PC is bound to run out of space eventually. If you’re looking for a gift for a gamer who’s been complaining about running out of room on their computer, this is the best SSD for gaming. This ADATA SSD comes with one terabyte of storage. Its USB 3.2 connection provides scorching-fast transfer speeds that let gamers run AAA games off this hard drive at native hard drive speeds. It’s the equivalent of gifting enough room for a whole second library.
Best Gaming Laptop: Acer Flagship Predator Triton 300 SE 14 Gaming Laptop
Key Selling Point: A stacked powerhouse that fits more power than gamers could dream of applying to a laptop only a couple of generations ago.
This mobile gaming warship from Acer has everything except the nuclear reactor. With a smooth silver design, this premium gaming laptop is designed with elegance in mind, eschewing the red trims and strobing LEDs that dominate so many gaming laptops. With a top-tier graphics card for stunning visuals, a large internal solid-state hard drive, and a premium processor, this is the mothership of portable gaming. This is a premium pick that should satisfy almost any PC gamer on the go. If the 32-GB RAM, 1TB SSD makes this machine too pricey, the 16-GB RAM, 512-GB version should still have remarkable power for a bit less.
Best Gaming Bundle: Xbox Game Pass
Key Selling Point: Giving an Xbox Game Pass subscription gives access to a whole library of over one hundred titles, meaning no matter what a gamer’s niche is, there’s sure to be something for them.
Xbox really has a hit with the Xbox Game Pass. Subscriptions can be bought as a monthly ongoing service, or be had in prepaid chunks with a gift card. This means that as a gift you can strategize, giving a few months at a time, or setting up someone with a whole year subscription. With some of the best titles in the Xbox and PC cannon available, this service is a sure crowd-pleaser. Just browse through the library to see why. The library features everything from AAA classics like Skyrim and Halo, to cult classics like Terraria. The service is available for PC as well as Xbox.
If you like the idea of gifting a subscription bundle, another choice is the Humble Bundle Choice Subscription. One of the more egalitarian forces in gaming, this long-standing charity bundle has given hundreds of millions of dollars to various causes. Today a subscription can be bought that delivers a monthly infusion of games into your library. Often offbeat, indie, and unexpected, the subscription is sure to come with a few games that can be played forever as well as a collection of curiosities to explore.
Best for Game Room: Govee Neon Rope Light
Key Selling Point: Makes any game room or work-from-home office look and feel like a '90s arcade.
Govee makes countless smart lights that add personality and flair to any room, but few are more aimed at gamers than the Govee Neon Rope Light. This 16 ft rope light stretches into a myriad of designs, from waves to flames, and even stars. It mounts to any wall using easy-to-use brackets that don't require any power tools. Once set up, lights are customized through the Govee app (available on Google Play and App Store) to portray countless colors and effects. Make them flash red, white, and green around Christmas, orange and black around Halloween, or simply a perpetual rainbow for a year-round party. When it comes to making your game room feel like an arcade, Govee Neon Rope Lights are the closest thing this side of a Taito EGRET machine to give any place serious Akihabara vibes.
Final Thoughts on the Best Gifts For Gamers
When you’re looking for gaming gifts for your person, it’s important to be sure you know their individual gaming habits. Device compatibility is particularly important. There are many ways to game. This list primarily focuses on the best gifts for PC gaming and the two largest consoles, Playstation and Xbox. However, Nintendo Switch comes with another realm of gift possibilities and accessories. Whatever the device, there’s a host of possibilities for gadgets and accessories that are sure to wow. However. if you’re looking for the piece of gear that offers the biggest level-up of all, in 2021 it has to be the Meta Quest 2 with its upgraded pixel depth and near-miraculous access to the frontiers of VR.
This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurism’s owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.
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