By Wirecutter Staff
Picking the right gift for the gaming enthusiast in your life requires navigating a minefield of preferences and past purchases, and finding high-quality, compatible accessories can be just as difficult. That’s why we put together this crowd-pleasing collection that includes practical gear for dedicated players, funky throwbacks for old-school arcade lovers, and a curated selection of our favorite games. In addition to top picks from our expert-informed guides, we’ve found a few unusual gifts that any gamer would love to receive.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTMario gets weird
The latest title offers classic Super Mario Bros. fun, with a lot of strange new worlds mixed in.
Super Mario Bros. games have always been family-friendly and fun, but Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo Switch) takes things to an entirely new level. This time around, the whole squad journeys to the Flower Kingdom for classic Nintendo-style hijinks, with some wild transforming levels to boot, in the first brand-new side-scrolling Mario game in more than a decade. The result is the best 2D Mario game in 20 years, and one of the best games of 2023. If the gamer in your life owns a Nintendo Switch, this is a must-buy.
Lost in space
Spaceships, aliens, and mysterious artifacts fill a galaxy of possibilities.
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Starfield (PC, Xbox Series X|S) is a role-playing game that gives you a ship, a crew, and a thousand planets to explore as you seek to solve a reality-bending mystery in space. Starfield is a hybrid role-playing game and first-person shooter, and it sets you loose to shoot or talk your way through hundreds of hours of quests and missions that range from an archaeological-discovery quest to infiltration of a bloodthirsty society of space pirates. If the gamer you love enjoyed Skyrim and the Fallout series, they’ll love Starfield.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTModern Marvel masterpiece
The sequel to 2018’s critically acclaimed Spider-Man game stars both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they work together to protect New York City.
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You save $10 (17%)
You save $10 (17%)
You save $10 (17%)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PlayStation 5) is one of the best games of 2023, and it’s a must for anyone who enjoyed the first Marvel’s Spider-Man game or the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales follow-up. It’s a single-player adventure that looks and feels great on the PS5, and it has some of the most satisfying combat and special abilities of any superhero game ever made.
Deep-sea diving adventure
In this title mixing pixel-based action, mini-games, and management-sim elements with a great sense of humor, Dave the Diver seeks to unravel the mysteries of the deep while establishing a sushi-restaurant legacy.
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Dave the Diver (PC, Nintendo Switch), a game about scuba diving by day and managing a sushi restaurant by night, is addictive and approachable, and it doesn’t require a fancy gaming PC to play. It’s perfect for those who like cozy games or favor adventure games that don’t demand too much time or focus. It offers a fun yet non-gory underwater-combat system to catch the daily specials for the sushi menu, and its restaurant-simulation aspect will feel familiar to anyone who got deep into Diner Dash back in the day.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTImmersive sound
Comfortable across a wide range of head sizes, this headset provides detailed, spacious sound that’s perfect for games, and it works on every modern platform and device.
Gaming headsets are great for people who play multiplayer games and like to chat with friends. Our favorite gaming headset is the Razer BlackShark V2, which adjusts to fit most head sizes and shapes, offers crisp audio, and is compatible with nearly every console and device. It’s comfortable enough to wear for hours, and it has a detachable microphone that keeps the player’s voice sounding clear.
Tiny not tinny
These two tiny, spherical speakers are a huge upgrade from speakers built into a laptop—but don’t expect the same fullness and dynamic ability as you can get from our pricier picks. With Bluetooth, USB-C, and analog inputs, they’re great for playing PC games.
The grapefruit-sized Creative Pebble Pro speakers might not shake your walls with bass, but they sound better than other speakers we tested under $100. They draw power from the same USB-C cable that you use to plug the speakers into a computer, or from a phone or computer via Bluetooth. For analog connections, they also have headphone and microphone jacks, as well as a standard headphone-sized 3.5 mm input. The speakers are small enough to fit on most desks, and, mercifully, their RGB lighting can be switched off.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTSuperior storage
This portable SSD hits the sweet spot with a good mix of price, speed, and size, plus a little extra physical protection. It’s also small enough to hide behind a console.
A 1 TB portable SSD like the Samsung T7 Shield can double or triple a game console’s storage space. Consoles such as the PlayStation 4 allow you to play games directly from the portable SSD, but even on newer consoles the T7 Shield is great for storing seldom-played games, eliminating the need to redownload them later. It’s a speedy drive for storing and saving games, plus its rubberized exterior allows it to easily survive drops from a shelf or a laptop bag.
Excellent Xbox (for less)
This smaller and lighter Xbox is capable of playing new-generation games. It’s a great value paired with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, but it doesn’t have a disc drive.
The Xbox Series S is quiet, compact, and the cheapest modern gaming machine around, but don’t let that fool you—this little box packs a punch, and it plays every modern Xbox game and hundreds of older titles as well. Just don’t try to put a disc in it. During the month of December, Xbox typically sells bundles including three months of Xbox Game Pass, a monthly game-library subscription service.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTAll-ages console
The best portable device for playing fun, family-friendly video games is still just as good as the day it came out.
For families with younger children, the Nintendo Switch is a no-brainer, and parents have a lot to enjoy here too with popular games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (and Breath of the Wild), and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. For most people, we recommend the Switch Lite, which is a handheld-only device, though for people looking to play Nintendo games on a TV, the base model with a dock is also a great choice. If your gift recipient would appreciate the absolute best handheld experience, the OLED Switch looks great, but you pay extra for that beautiful screen.
PC gaming on the go
This powerful PC-gaming handheld runs Xbox Game Pass without a hitch, unlocking a world of games.
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The Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme is a gaming handheld that runs Windows 11, which means Steam, Epic, and the Blizzard launcher all work seamlessly—and so does Xbox Game Pass. We’ve played many of this year’s biggest games, including Diablo IV, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Starfield, with great results. Plus, plenty of readily accessible power options and performance tweaks can help your gift recipient get the best experience—even if the battery life isn’t amazing.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTGames galore
This monthly subscription service for Xbox offers tons of day-one releases and other amazing games.
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Why give someone a single game when you can give them access to hundreds of them (at least for a few months)? Xbox Game Pass has a huge library of amazing games; Starfield, Fallout, Halo, Forza Horizon, Prey, and hundreds more are already on the service, with big new titles added regularly. It’s a great option for Xbox owners or for people who are getting an Xbox as a gift.
Mobile-gaming controller
The Backbone One accessory turns an iPhone into a console, complete with joysticks, triggers, and buttons for an optimal mobile-gaming experience.
The Backbone One is a controller that wraps around an iPhone, turning it into a portable game console that’s as comfortable to hold as any PlayStation or Xbox controller. It’s a great upgrade for anyone who is always playing games on their phone. It features all the typical buttons that you can find on any modern controller, as well as buttons for recording gameplay and launching the free Backbone app, which offers a unified way to open all your mobile games. Find out what phone your loved one has before clicking the buy button: Backbone makes a Lightning-compatible controller for older iPhones and a USB-C version for iPhone 15 models and Android phones.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTHeroic gaming mouse
The Basilisk V3 is comfortable for most hand sizes and grip types, has plenty of buttons, and offers customizable RGB underglow lighting. But Razer’s Synapse 3 software doesn’t work on macOS.
Offering fast response times, customizable buttons, and better precision, a gaming mouse is a great gift for anyone who spends a lot of time playing on a PC. We love the Razer Basilisk V3, and we recommend it in our guide to the best gaming mice because it’s comfortable for most hand sizes and grip styles, and it provides well-placed, responsive buttons. Your giftee can adjust its fancy-looking RGB lighting—on the underside, on the scroll wheel, and on the logo—to match in-game colors or customize the hues to their heart’s desire.
Custom controller
Microsoft’s controller is comfortable to hold and benefits from built-in Windows support—simply plug it in, and it works with just about any game that supports a controller. The Design Lab customization allows you to tweak all the colors in an easy-to-use interface.
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If you know someone who uses an Xbox controller for Xbox or PC gaming, you can tailor a controller to match the color scheme of their cherished sports team, their favorite video game, or even their desk setup through the Xbox Design Lab. You can customize almost every part of the controller’s appearance, with options for different colors, finishes, and patterns on its body and buttons. The website’s design tool is easy to use and a ton of fun, too.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTQuality controller
Microsoft’s controller is comfortable to hold and benefits from built-in Windows support. But wireless play requires AA batteries or an add-on rechargeable battery pack.
Microsoft’s Xbox Wireless Controller is our favorite controller for PC gamers because it runs seamlessly with Windows computers—simply plug it in, and it works with just about any game that supports a controller. It’s also comfortable for a variety of hand sizes. This is even a great gift for someone who already owns and enjoys using one, because an extra controller always comes in handy when the required AA batteries run out of juice.
Versatile wireless keyboard
This beautiful gaming keyboard is equipped with premium features such as adjustable keystroke pressure and programmable sequences.
Anyone who appreciates colorful lighting, clicky keyboard sounds, and fancy gaming features will geek out over the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless. This gaming keyboard offers more customizable features than any other gaming keyboard we tested, and it comes with a built-in OLED display that your giftee can use to quickly adjust gaming settings or play fun little animations.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTArcade upgrade
Retrofit a Nintendo Switch vertically to play old-school games with this slide-on accessory.
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Those who frequently play arcade games on their Switch—such as Pac-Man in Namco Museum or Donkey Kong from the Nintendo Switch Online library—will appreciate the ability to enjoy the classics the way they were intended for original arcade cabinets. Fangamer’s Flip Grip allows players to reorient their Switch tablet so that the screen is taller than it is wide, without sacrificing any space on the tablet’s display. It’s a simple accessory that slides right onto the Switch, so it’s easy for players to set up and hold. Not all games are compatible with the portrait-style orientation, but you can find a list of flippable games on the Does It Flip? website. A quick warning: The existing version does not work with Nintendo’s Switch OLED Model or Switch Lite, so make sure you know which Switch your loved one owns.
DIY console
This tiny Linux computer works as an affordable starting point for building one’s own console.
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Gaming consoles are expensive, so gamers on a budget often opt to build their own. Even if you don’t know the first thing about a DIY gamer’s wants and needs, the Raspberry Pi, a cheap computer that’s about the size of a deck of cards, is a great place to get started. With a little technical know-how and about an hour’s worth of time, your loved one can turn the Raspberry Pi into a capable little game console—it’s a project that’s perfect for tinkerers or anyone who doesn’t mind futzing about with different settings.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTTiny tools
This iFixit kit has every bit you need for electronics repair, plus convenient features such as a spinning rear cap and a flexible extension.
The fancier iFixit Toolkit has all the same useful bits as the base kit, plus extra tools such as spudgers, opening picks, and tweezers.
If you know a tinkerer who wants to build or fix their own gear, we recommend the iFixit Mako Driver Kit, which provides all the bits necessary for dealing with modern electronics. If you can spend a little more, the iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit packs in additional tools, such as spudgers and picks to open tricky cases. iFixit also has guides for repairing every major game console, as well as repair instructions for the infamous Switch Joy-Con controllers. Some projects are more complex than others, but one of the most useful is a battery swap for a controller (Switch Pro, DualShock 4, DualSense), which can extend the life of your giftee’s favorite controller so they don’t have to buy a new one.
We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See even more gift ideas we recommend.
This article was edited by Arthur Gies and Caitlin McGarry.
Mentioned above
- For Nintendo fans and gamers on the go, the Switch is a no-brainer, and we’re here to help you figure out which version to get—for yourself or someone else.The Best Nintendo Switch for You: Original, Lite, or OLED
- The HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 offers better sound than many more-expensive gaming headsets, has an excellent onboard microphone, and is comfortable enough to wear for hours.The Best Gaming Headsets
- The Pioneer DJ DM-50D-BT is the best-sounding pair of computer speakers we’ve heard in the $200 price range.The Best Computer Speakers
- If you need a fast, reliable way to move files between computers, the Samsung T7 Shield (1 TB) is the portable solid-state drive for you.The Best Portable SSD
- There are too many great video games to keep track of, but we’re here to help you find one or two we think you’ll love.Diablo IV, Street Fighter 6, and More: The Video Games Wirecutter Is Playing in June 2023
- After new rounds of gaming-mouse panel testing, we’ve selected a new runner-up and a new upgrade pick for players looking for the best wireless option.The Best Gaming Mouse
Further reading
Last-Minute Video Game Gifts for Everyone, From Beginners to Pros
by Arthur Gies
We gathered recommendations to our favorite gifts for video gamers, from popular games to give with new consoles to lesser-known greats for experienced gamers.
Set Up That Gaming Console Before You Wrap It
by Arthur Gies
Setting up a gaming console you plan to give someone for the holidays before you gift it will ensure that they can start playing the moment they unwrap it.
The 38 Best Gifts for Teens
by Ellen Lee and Wirecutter Staff
As teens near adulthood, they’re ready for more grown-up gifts. But they may also appreciate items that help them relax and still feel like a kid.
The 34 Best Gifts for 6-Year-Olds
by Kelly Glass and Wirecutter Staff
DIY kits, craft activities, and board games make great gifts for 6-year-olds who are ready to tackle projects and follow more-complicated instructions.
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