Gearing up for gift-giving for gamers can seriously break your brain, especially if you’re not well-versed in the gaming world. And it can quickly become expensive too — the coolest gear is not cheap. Yeah, there are a lot of selections on this list of the best gifts for gamers that are on the pricier side, but we’ve made an effort to include options across a range of budgets.
We’ve got the perennial favorites on here — the Nintendo Switch OLED, the Sony PS5, and Microsoft Xbox Series X and Series S — but chances are your intended recipient might already own one of these. What you won’t find on here, at least not yet, are the new handheld consoles that run Windows, like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. They’re expensive and in my opinion, not quite mass-market ready yet.
Going a little further afield, Meta’s Quest 2 is still the VR headset to beat, even though the Quest 3 just came out; it’s still good but cheaper, and that can make a big difference when you’re shelling out for a lot of presents. But we also haven’t finished reviewing the Quest 3, and so that opinion may change after we do. The update to Sony’s veteran PlayStation VR headset, the PSVR 2, is fab as well, but costs as much as the PS5 it attaches to.
These are nothing without accessories like gaming headsets, mice and keyboards, and those are cheaper and more gift-friendly, but can still get pretty pricey. I’m still plowing through a seeming infinite number of options, but am trying to provide recommendations at all price levels; I’ll be adding more choices between now and the last possible minute.