When looking to treat a gaming fan, honing in on their platform of choice is often the best way to narrow down your options - and that’s where the bet Xbox gifts and this guide comes in. From the best Xbox controllers and the best Xbox Series X and Series S accessories to even some fun novelties, there's something out there for all Xbox fans.
At TechRadar Gaming, we’ve been giving gaming and Xbox-focused gifts to friends and family for years now, so we know exactly what to suggest to make gifting more straightforward while still keeping things exciting. If you’re looking for any kind of Xbox gift, be it budget-friendly or instant, or something more premium and experience-enhancing, you’ll find our simple guide has it all.
We’ve broken our Xbox gift guide down into three broad categories to keep it simple and pulled out some of our favorite games, accessories, and peripherals to give you the best chance of finding the perfect gift. Let’s get into it.
Xbox gift guide - our favorites
Customize further with Xbox Design Lab
Whether you're picking one up as a spare of making something more bespoke via Xbox Design Lab, the Xbox Wireless Controller is a stalwart gift.
Affordable immersive audio
The Xbox Wireless Headset is a fantastic choice of gift for folks after more immersive audio in their games.
An essential gift for any Xbox player
The Xbox Rechargeable Battery gives players a means to charge their controllers directly via the console without relying on swappable batteries.
More Xbox storage for less
Offering up to 1TB of extra storage space, the WD Black C50 is your cheapest internal storage option for Xbox Series consoles.
A versatile gift for digital Xbox games
Not really sure which Xbox gifts to buy? A gift card is a very safe bet, and they're available at several price points.
Keep your drinks cool while you game
Definitely one of the more fun Xbox gifts out there, the Xbox Series X Replica Mini Fridge is fully functional and brightens up any gamer's space.
Xbox gift guide - Gift Cards
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Often, the simplest gift ideas are the best ones, and that is absolutely the case with Xbox gift cards. These can be used in a multitude of ways and simply offer the best route for an Xbox gift if you are unsure or want to give the gift of choice (it’s a cliche, but it is true).
Broadly speaking, gift cards can be used for online subscriptions such as Xbox Game Pass (that gives access to a massive game library, and gets players online to play with friends), or allow folks to purchase games digitally. In particular, a gift card is a really great fit for players with an Xbox Series S, since games can only be purchased digitally.
You could also take this principle further and purchase games digitally as their own kind of ‘gift cards’ for people. The recipient will get a notification of something being bought for them but don’t know until they ‘open’ it, so there can be a genuine gifting feel to the process. However, the safest bet is often to go with store credit or a gift card to take the pressure off if you’re not too clued up on the games themselves.
Xbox gift guide - games
2023 has been a superb year for Xbox games, and blockbuster first-party exclusives have dominated the scene, along with some absolutely brilliant cross-platform games.
From Microsoft exclusives such as Starfield and Forza Motorsport to other smash hits like Baldur’s Gate 3, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Lords of the Fallen, all the way to ‘smaller’ games that snuck up on us out of nowhere like Lies of P, Trepang2, and Remnant 2, the year has been stacked with plenty, and all of these would make for perfect gifts.
It’s important to remember that, a lot of Xbox One games are still highly relevant too, both for those rocking the old-gen console still and in terms of being compatible with the current-gen machines - some even offer free upgrades from Xbox One to Xbox Series X. This applies to many games from Ubisoft, for example, such as Assassin’s Creed Mirage so it’s well worth bearing in mind while you shop.
You can find a whole host of the latest prices on some brilliant games below, with each link also taking you to where you need to be to search for more.
Xbox gift guide - Accessories
When it comes to Xbox accessories, you can mainly approach them as three different subcategories: headsets, controllers, and storage. These can all be incredibly beneficial and experience-altering Xbox gifts, too, so if you have a decent budget, these are the items to consider.
The best Xbox Series X headsets come in many forms and various prices, but there are some absolute crackers available on the market right now. If you’re shopping on a sub-$50 gift budget, then the Razer Kaira X is one of our favorite picks. In the middle of the field and taking things wireless, we’re a big fan of the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2, too, and if you really want to push the boat out, then the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro adds even more bells and whistles to the offering.
In Xbox controller territory, an extra official wireless Xbox controller is always a great hit since players can almost never have too many of these. But for something a bit more feature-rich but without busting the bank, you could look at the Turtle Beach Recon Controller, and for something excellently premium, there’s the Thrustmaster eSwap X Pro or the official Xbox Elite Series 2 pads.
Elsewhere, with games getting bigger and bigger, the best Xbox Series X hard drives and SSDs provide solid options for Xbox gifts, too, despite seeming a little bland on the surface. The pinnacle of a gift of this kind would come in the form of either of the official Seagate Xbox Storage Expansion Card or WD BLACK C50, but don’t discount awesome external hard drives like SanDisk’s robust portable SSDs or Toshiba’s budget-friendly Canvio Basics external hard drives that will ensure a player’s games are within arms reach and safely stored.
