Lenovo's most powerful 16" gaming laptop has just dropped to the lowest price ever for Black Friday. Right now you can pick up a Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 RTX 5090 gaming laptop for just $2,855.05 after you stack two coupon codes "BFEMAILDEAL" and "EXTRAFIVE". You must create a (free) Lenovo account and be logged in to see this price. That's over $1,700 in combined savings and beats the previous historical lowest price by over $200. This is the first time I've seen a Legion RTX 5090 gaming laptop priced under $3,000.
Note that you must be logged into your Lenovo account (free to sign up) to see this price.
The Legion Pro 7 is Lenovo's highest end 16" gaming laptop, featuring a full metal chassis (both lid and body), gorgeous OLED display with 2.5K 189ppi resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, HDR 1000 True Black certification, and 100% DCI-P3 color range, and better cooling than the Legion 5 series of laptops. This particular configuration is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, GeForce RTX 5090 graphics, 64GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD.
The Legion Pro 7 is equipped with the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX Arrow Lake-HX processor, which boasts a max turbo frequency of 5.4GHz with a whopping 24 cores and 40MB total L2 cache. According to Passmark, this is second most powerful Intel mobile CPU available right now and goes head to head with AMD's Ryzen 9 9955HX.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is the most powerful mobile graphics card on the market, performing about 15% better than the RTX 5080. It also has considerably more VRAM (24GB vs 16GB), which can come in handy when playing games at higher resolutions (like on an attached 4K monitor) or if you're planning to use this as a mobile creator or AI workstation.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
It’s been two whole weeks since the Steam Machine was revealed to the world, and we still have no idea how much it’ll cost. I still don’t know when Valve is going to announce the price, but in the meantime, you can build a PC that’s pretty close to what the Steam Machine is going to be – albeit you won’t get exactly there. After all, as we’ve written about repeatedly at this point, Valve has said that the Steam Machine will cost roughly the same as a PC with equivalent hardware – so we wanted to see how much that equivalent hardware actually costs.
But it gets complicated, because the Steam Machine is largely going to be using mobile-class hardware, like you’d find in one of the best gaming laptops, rather than the PC components that go into building a gaming PC. So, even though I picked out the Radeon 7600, where the Steam Machine is going to be using the equivalent of a 7600M, the desktop version is going to be measurably more powerful.
The same is true of most of the components here. Just keep in mind that this isn’t going to be an exact one-to-one recreation of the Steam Machine, but it is a good way to estimate how much an “equivalent gaming PC” might cost.
Unfortunately, due to recent jumps in RAM pricing, building out this PC is significantly more expensive than it would have been even a few weeks ago. Let’s just hope that Valve got its hands on memory before the current NAND shortage started.
Just like the Steam Machine’s semi-custom processor, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 4 processor. However, unlike the Steam Machine, this desktop processor has a TDP of 65W, compared to the 30W of Valve’s little PC. With twice the power, you get higher clock speeds and more headroom to boost during demanding workloads. Unfortunately to get the kind of power limit that Valve is working with, you either have to go for mobile parts or for CPUs that would be significantly weaker.
When you’re building a mini gaming PC like this, you want to get a CPU cooler that will keep things cool, but not take up a ton of space. The Noctua NH-L9x65 chromax.Black will be more than enough to keep up with the Ryzen 5 7600, and can even keep up with some more power-hungry chips if you choose to upgrade. Plus, this chromax.Black model has a beautiful black colorway that’ll look great in the Cooler Master MasterBox N200.
If you don’t care about having something small, though, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro has always been the budget CPU cooler that I recommend, and it’ll be even better at keeping the Ryzen 7600 cool.
Just like the processor, Valve is going with a slightly stripped back mobile version of the Radeon RX 7600. The Steam Machine is using an RDNA 3 GPU with 28 Compute Units and a 110W TDP. That lines up pretty neatly with the mobile version of the Radeon 7600, but the desktop version is a little bit more powerful. This graphics card is also an RDNA 3 GPU, but has 32 CUs and a 165W TDP. It’s not going to be a night-and-day difference or anything, but the desktop card is going to be more powerful.
If these were normal times, this kit of RAM would be the most affordable part of this mini PC build. These aren’t normal times, though, and this kit of RAM costs nearly as much as the graphics card. This 16GB kit of Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 will get the job done, but it’s not the fastest out there, and has far from the lowest latency on the market. But it’s still $177 at the time of writing, as opposed to $60-$80 during normal times. Right now, if you’re looking to do a build like this, my recommendation is to try and scrounge up some memory from somewhere else if you have the chance. It’s simply not a good time to buy RAM right now.
The Samsung 990 Evo Plus is still one of my favorite SSDs on the market right now. It strikes a great balance between speed and affordability, and has capacities of up to 4TB if you’re feeling extra wild. And, yeah, I know the Steam Machine starts with 512 GB of storage, but let’s be honest: you don’t want to limit yourself to that unless you’re really trying to save some cash. Honestly, my recommendation here would be to grab a 1TB drive, just to save some extra cash for RAM, even though the Steam Machine comes with either a 512GB or a 2TB drive.
This cute little motherboard might not look like much, but the MSI MPG B650I Edge Wi-Fi is really everything you need for a mini PC like this. It’s not packed with the same high-end features that a beefier X670 board would have, but unless you’re going to try and overclock, you don’t really need them. You just need a board that will let you plug everything in, and still fit in a tiny PC case. And, well, this MSI board does that in style. That said, one thing you won’t get by building your own is the custom wireless solution Valve has built into the Steam Machine, which lets you wirelessly connect up to four Steam Controllers without an additional dongle.
Mini-ITX boards do tend to be more expensive than standard ATX boards, though, so if you’re fine with a traditional tower, something like the ASRock B650 PG Lightning will be much more affordable.
When picking a power supply for this build, I went for something that would fit in a small chassis, but still be affordable without cutting too many corners on reliability. The Cooler Master V750 SFX Gold has a power limit of 750W, which means you won’t be anywhere near its upper limits, which is excellent for power efficiency. And with its 80+ Gold rating, you can be extra sure that this power supply is going to stay reliable for years.
If you don’t care about matching the Steam Machine’s small size and just want something basic to get the job done, the Cooler Master MWE Gold 750 is $50 cheaper and has the same power capacity and efficiency rating.
Due to the size of desktop components, it’d be nearly impossible to build a gaming PC that’s the same size as the 6-inch-on-all-sides Steam Machine. Instead, I just went with my go-to mini-ITX case, the Cooler Master MasterBox N200. It’s cheap, and it’s not a complete pain in the ass to build in. And, even though it is bigger than the Steam Machine, it’s still small enough that you’ll be able to fit it into your living room setup without it standing out too much.
Larger cases will usually cost extra unlike most other components. But if you got the larger parts I suggested, you’re probably going to want to get something like the Darkrock EC2 Black. It’s not nearly as nice as this Cooler Master case, but it’s also about the same price.
It’s so hard to recommend anyone go out and buy a bunch of PC components right now, thanks in large part to RAM prices. I’ve seen RAM get expensive in the past, but not to the point where a basic 16GB kit costs almost as much as a graphics card. My advice would be to wait until Valve reveals the pricing for the Steam Machine and then make a judgement call. Because if Valve’s console comes in under $700-800, then it’s going to be a much better deal than building a PC with these specs right now.
All of these parts together, assuming you’re going to be installing SteamOS or Bazzite, will come to $1,156 total at the time of writing. You can save a bit by going for a standard ATX build, but thanks in large part to the high RAM prices right now, you’re still looking at a total build cost of $959.
If you want to read more about Valve's new hardware, check out our previews for the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
Almost all of the official Black Friday sales are already live. In fact, a lot of them actually went live last weekend. Black Friday as a sales event has continued to extend further and further every year, and it can be difficult to figure out exactly when the right time to shop is. Do you need to jump on the deals available now before they're gone? Or should you wait for a better discount to drop after Thanksgiving?
Unfortunately, there is no cut and dry answer to this question. Some of the deals live right now will probably be gone before actual Black Friday, and some will be better on the actual day. If you don't want to spend an entire week shopping for savings this year, I can help you cut through the noise.
Lets just get this out of the way to start. Despite retailers stating that their full Black Friday sales are live, that isn't really true. Every major online retailer has released their partial Black Friday sale, with more coming later this week. That isn't to say that the current deal prices aren't worth checking out, but that, traditionally, the best deals drop on actual Black Friday because that's when most people will do the bulk of their shopping. Some retailers have already released ads that prove more deals are on their way.
Perhaps the most obvious indicator that better deals are scheduled for November 28 is that Target has flat out said so. In its latest Black Friday sales ad, Target has stated that more discounts will be arriving on Friday and hours earlier for Target Circle 360 members. While it hasn't given that many specifics about what will be on sale, we know that LEGO sets will be 40% off and a ton of clothing and outerwear will be 40% off as well. This announcement came alongside Target launching its official Black Friday sale on sale over the weekend.
The Costco Black Friday sale has been happening pretty much all month long, but we've known for a while that the best discounts at Costco would come on Thanksgiving. That's because Costco released its full Black Friday schedule and holiday ad back in October. Outside of its regularly scheduled sale, it'll offer online-only discounts on November 27 that will then be available in stores on Black Friday. You can check out the full ad scan for those sale dates below to see what's coming tomorrow.
2025 Holiday Savings Booklet - Four Weeks of Savings Catalog Coupon Book (Thanksgiving Day Online Only, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday) In-Warehouse and Online Preview Part 3: November 27 ONLINE ONLY, November 28 - December 1, 2025 (via Costco Insider)
byu/CookieButterLovers inCostco
Best Buy has been offering discounts since Halloween, but its official sale didn't kick off until November 20 this year. Every Friday since that first sale went live, Best Buy has been dropping new "Doorbuster" deals on tech that haven't regularly been a part of its sale. You can expect the retailer to do this same thing again on Black Friday this year, but with a lot more gusto. So while there are already some good deals in the Best Buy sale, the best ones are still probably arriving this Friday.
Despite most sales already going live, the LEGO Store Black Friday sale doesn't launch until actual Black Friday. The plastic brick company did offer its usual Insider's Weekend sale just a few days ago, but the official sale that will be available to all will be taking place on November 28. Alongside these discount, LEGO has confirmed that it will be launching its annual Black Friday set, which is the U.S.S Enterprise from Star Trek this year.
Of all of the Black Friday sales every year, Walmart and Amazon tend to have the biggest overall offerings. The simple explanation for this is that they have the largest stock of everything and can price match deals across the web. Amazon launched its Black Friday sale on November 20 this year and has been copying whatever new deals arrive whenever they do. As an example, Target launched a "3 for 2" sale on November 23 and Amazon pretty quickly launched its own 3 for 2 sale at the same time. And yesterday, Walmart dropped some great Apple deals that Amazon quickly copied. There are some exceptions to this, but generally speaking, if we know other retailers are lauching better deals on Friday, then so will Amazon and Walmart.
It's true that bigger and better discounts will arrive starting tomorrow, but some deals you'll want to snap up now while stock lasts, like Black Friday video game deals. These discounts are mostly regulated by the actual gaming companies and have been going pretty fast. The PlayStation Black Friday deals launched on November 21 and the Nintendo Black Friday deals started on November 23. Because stock is limited on things like physical games and the deals are incredibly popular, we're already seeing stuff sell out at Amazon and other retailers.
All of the Nintendo discounts are live and we're already seeing stuff sell out at Amazon. Most notably both Super Mario Odyssey and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door are now only available at Walmart and will likely be gone before Black Friday proper. There's also the Nintendo Switch 2 bundles, which aren't on sale at all, but are still incredibly popular ahead of the holidays. If you're planning on picking up the new console, you'll want to do it as soon as possible.
The PlayStation deals this year haven't been as popular as Nintendo, but the discounts are currently as good as they're going to get. Most of the items available aren't at that high a risk of selling out, although some discounted PS5 games are no longer available at Amazon. And among DualSense controller deals going on right now, the limited-edition ones that will probably go out of stock before Cyber Monday or earlier. Limited-edition console bundles also tend to sell out faster at these lower prices than a standard PS5.
This year's round of Xbox Black Friday deals has been fairly disappointing so far. There are some game discounts available, but only a few of the Xbox controllers are on sale. And there are absolutely no Xbox console deals this year to speak of. That's a bummer considering Xbox raised its prices multiple times in 2025, but it is what it is.
Some of the best Xbox controller deals have come and gone (including the recent Xbox Elite Series 2 deal), so if you are looking for a discount there you'll want to act quickly. Most of the Xbox video game discounts have stuck around, however, so you should be find to pick those up any time over the weekend.
Streaming has gotten pricey, and that includes Paramount+, which is home to a lengthy list of Paramount movies as well as cartoons like South Park and SpongeBob. Thankfully, until December 1, you can get two months of any Paramount+ plan, including the ad-free Premium subscription, for $2.99 each month.
It's a nice deal for the ad-supported Essential plan, normally priced at $7.99, but an even better one for the ad-free Premium plan, which normally costs $12.99 each month. It's one of the only Black Friday streaming deals that applies to an ad-free subscription, even if it only lasts for a couple of months.
The other benefit of going with the Premium plan is you’ll get access to the Showtime library. I see no reason not to go with the Premium plan, as long as you remember that your plan will auto-renew at $12.99 each month after the deal ends.
The new season(s) of South Park are streaming exclusively on Paramount+, so you can catch up on all of the drama happening there without scrolling through Twitter (sorry, X). It’s also the streaming home for Nickelodeon, where classic cartoons like SpongeBob, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Fairly OddParents live.
On the movie side, Paramount+ is home to big franchises like Mission Impossible, Transformers, and Star Trek, and also includes some recent additions include Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Smile 2, and Gladiator 2. With the Paramount+ Premium plan, also get access to the Showtime library, which includes otherwise hard-to-find series like Yellowjackets and Dexter: Resurrection.
Most streaming deals have already launched in the days leading up to Black Friday and will last until the end of Cyber Monday. Disney+ and Hulu are offering a joint 12-month deal while continuing their discount on a bundle with ESPN Unlimited. Apple TV has dropped to $4.99 for six months, while Crunchyroll has knocked $20 off its annual ad-free plan. Here’s the full spread of highlights we’ve seen so far:
If you're in the market for more than just streaming subscriptions, feel free to check out our full breakdown of this year's Black Friday sales.
Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.
If you're a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 owner, there is no better series of games to collect than Mario. The plumber has had some of his best adventures ever across the two systems, and this Black Friday, you can save on select Mario games for a limited time. Nintendo rarely puts its games on sale, so now is the time to pick these Mario games up before deals run out.
These Black Friday Nintendo deals have been very popular so far and have mostly sold out at Amazon. We've included the other retailers that still have the games in stock.
First up, it's hard to beat Super Mario Odyssey for only $29.99. Mario's quest to stop Bowser from forcibly marrying Princess Peach sees him traversing various Kingdoms with a new friend named Cappy, a sentient hat creature and this game's central gimmick. Mario can throw Cappy to possess and take control of enemies, inanimate objects, and more. If there's one game from this list I cannot recommend enough, it's Super Mario Odyssey.
Another fantastic Nintendo Switch game on sale is Luigi's Mansion 3, starring Mario's ghost-hunting brother. This time, Luigi enters a giant hotel with Mario, Toad, and Princess Peach for vacation, but as always, things go horribly wrong. One of the great new features involves solving puzzles using a cloned Luigi, named Gooigi, who can walk on spikes and squeeze through bars to get to places Luigi otherwise can't reach.
Paper-Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was one of the best Switch games of 2024, and this Black Friday, you can save 50% on the beloved remake. Originally released for GameCube, The Thousand-Year Door brings a fantastic story, great characters, and a satisfying turn-based RPG combat system. The Nintendo Switch remake added numerous quality-of-life features, like the Partner Ring to switch Partners on the fly, a fast travel system to cut down on backtracking, and more. And that's not to mention the overhauled graphics.
Finally, Princess Peach: Showtime! is on sale for $39.99 for Black Friday. Princess Peach must defend the stage in multiple plays against threats from a new group of enemies in this action-packed adventure. Each play brings a different outfit and ability set for Peach, opening up a completely new gameplay style. This is unlike any other Mario adventure, so if this one went under your radar last year, it's a great time and a worthy addition to your Nintendo Switch library.
While there aren't any Nintendo Switch 2 console deals available, you can still get the bundles before Christmas if you buy now. The Mario Kart World bundle includes a copy of the latest Mario Kart game while shaving off some of the cost of buying it separately.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
Bloober Team has announced that Cronos: New Dawn has sold 500K units across all platforms. And, since I’ve finished it, I can wholeheartedly say that it deserves to sell even more. This is one of my GOTY contenders, and it’s a must-play for all horror fans. Cronos: The New Dawn came out in September 2025. … Continue reading Cronos: The New Dawn hits 500K sales, but it deserves more →
The post Cronos: The New Dawn hits 500K sales, but it deserves more appeared first on DSOGaming.
Calling all Xbox fans: whether you're on the hunt for new games to add to your library or just you're doing a bit of Christmas shopping, this year's Black Friday sale event is stacked with stellar discounts. Across a few different retailers we've gathered up some of the best Xbox game deals available right now, including Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater for $30 at Walmart, Silent Hill f dropping to $49.94 at Amazon, and even Elden Ring plummeting to just $15 at Walmart.
These deals are just the tip of the iceberg, though. Have a look at our selection of all of the best Xbox video game deals available right now as part of Black Friday sales below.
Some of the games above have even hit their lowest prices yet – such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Space Marine 2, and Star Wars Outlaws – so there's no better time to grab them. And alongside physical video game deals, Xbox's Black Friday sale officially kicked off last week with a great selection of digital game and controller deals. Unfortunately, no console deals have dropped yet.
If you're looking for even more video game deals outside of Xbox, both PlayStation and Nintendo have similarly huge selections of game deals right now. Check out our breakdowns of PS5 games already on sale and every Switch game already on sale.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
No matter how much you may prefer a mouse and keyboard for PC gaming, some games and genres are just built with gamepads in mind – and play much better with one as a result. That's why I've tested dozens of gamepads during my PC-centric career, and why I feel confident in recommending the nine picks below. Whether you're looking for something simple and inexpensive for occasional use, or something more advanced for competitive or accessible play, you should find at least one great option here.
Although the Xbox Core Controller doesn’t necessarily revolutionize the standard Xbox controller we once knew and loved, it does offer some necessary updates that PC gamers will appreciate, which we’ve highlighted in our Xbox Core Controller review. The new cosmetics are a nice touch; the all-black Xbox button, for instance, matte bumpers and triggers, and an overall more comfortable design. There are also a ton of Xbox controller colors to choose from.
The controller's hybrid D-pad is extra responsive and allows for an easier distinction between the cardinal and diagonal inputs, which is ideal for those who love fighting games. Of course, the rest of the buttons and sticks remain reliable and consistent, and the textured grip on the triggers, bumpers, and back case keep the controller in hand even during heated moments. All of these improvements mean a new level of precision and control. There’s also now a dedicated Share button that makes capturing screenshots and video clips a breeze.
Many of the Xbox Core Controller’s buttons, triggers, and sticks can be customized via the Xbox Accessories app when downloaded from the Microsoft Store on PC, and you can save profiles to avoid the hassle every time you switch games. Remapping can also be done using Steam; however, there will be more limitations than when using an Xbox Series X|S. Connecting to a PC is simple, as USB-C support provides a plug-and-play solution. For wireless connectivity, Bluetooth is available or Xbox Wireless via a dongle with supported devices. The Core Controller's biggest flaw is that it uses AA batteries; you can shell out some extra dough for a rechargeable battery pack.
During our hands-on testing of the PowerA Enhanced wired controller, we found it to be an excellent and affordable PC controller option. PowerA’s updated model, the Advantage, makes some meaningful improvements without increasing the price tag. It comes with a removable 10-foot USB-C cable, a significant upgrade from the MicroUSB on the Enhanced model, for seamless PC connection. Unfortunately, wireless and Bluetooth connectivity are still excluded from this budget gamepad, but you do get a 3.5mm jack to plug in a great gaming headset.
The PowerA Advantage sticks to the familiar shape and feel of the Xbox Core Controller, featuring all the typical Xbox controls, even taking a page out of the Xbox Elite Controller’s book with two small, easy-to-reach buttons on the underside for shortcuts; it’s slightly less robust, but still punches far above its price class. The backside of the grips feature a slight texture, although it’s not enough to add significantly more control like rubberized grips can. Dual rumble motors and impulse triggers are even available for better immersion. And don’t worry, they’re accurate and subtle.
What makes this controller a true standout is the three-level trigger stop switches, which are not available on the PowerA Enhanced model and are a rarity in controllers of this price range. It's a boon for fans of FPS who want to step away from the mouse and keyboard occasionally without shelling out tons of dough for a pro-level controller. The thumbsticks are shorter and feature a good amount of tension. While those sticks are great for precision, the extra force required can be a hindrance in certain games. The rest of the buttons are responsive and reliable, putting it on the level of a first-party controller.
In our hands-on review of the Hyperkin Competitor, we found it offered a convincing simulcrum of the Sony DualSense controller for PC and Xbox, with PlayStation-style symmetrical sticks, a similar black-and-white color scheme and upgraded internals. That includes Hall Effect sensors under each thumbstick and trigger, which boost durability and aid precision with smaller deadzones. The sticks themselves are particularly worthy of praise, with anti-friction rings and metal stems that produce a fluid, linear feel, though it is a touch light in comparison to the console controller it emulates.
In terms of pro-level features, the stand-out is the inclusion of two rear buttons, mapped to A and B by default. These are placed directly where your middle fingers can actuate them, with locks nearby to prevent accidental presses if you're not using them and a mapping button to reassign them.
The Competitor feels quite light and is made of plastic, but it's still reasonably well-constructed given its middling price. The rear grips have a fine texture to them, preventing them from sliding out of slightly sweaty hands, the D-pad feels bouncier than the DualSense's, and the face buttons are a bit small but responsive. Neither too wide nor too narrow, most hand sizes are accommodated here (something you couldn't say about the Xbox Duke remake Hyperkin is also responsible for).
The Competitor sits at an interesting place in the market, coming in around the same price as a first-party controller from Xbox or PlayStation, while offering some advantages (HE sticks, rear buttons) and some disadvantages (wired connectivity and a slightly toy-like feel). Overall though, it does enough right to earn the nod.
We spent a lot of time reviewing the Sony DualSense Controller, and it's another great first-party option for PC, whether you connect it with a cable or via Bluetooth. It's particular niche is playing PS5 ports that support its Adaptive Triggers, which add surprisingly amounts of granularity to the experience. If you're a fan of the output of Sony's game studios, then this might be what sways you to choosing the DualSense over the Xbox Core controller. And unlike the Xbox Core, there’s a rechargeable battery for wireless use, though it's relatively limited at around 10-13 hours during our testing.
As you might be aware, the DualSense was made for the PS5 and continues the company's tradition of opting for symmetrical analog sticks, like the Hyperkin Competitor above. Unlike the Competitor though, this gamepad feels a bit better heavier and better built, while remaining balanced, easy to grip, and ultimately more ergonomic. There are also plenty of DualSense color options available if you don't like the standard look.
With handy support from Steam as well as fan-made software packages, plus increasing numbers of PlayStation-exclusive games ending up not so exclusive thanks to PC ports, full DualSense functionality on PC makes for the best way to play those games.
If you're after a controller that offers the familiar Xbox design but amps up its capability, our review of the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller shows you why it's perfect for your needs. This model features four rear paddles that can have their own actions or can change the function of the face buttons. Plus, all of the buttons on the gamepad are remappable. The D-pad, back paddles, and analog sticks are magnetically swappable for added customization, ensuring the controller feels exactly how you want. Xbox also kept the tunable triggers from the original Elite.
While all of these features sound great on paper, they deliver in real life, too — for the most part. Swapping out sticks and D-pads is easy and helped improve the feel for our reviewer in certain genres, like platformers or fighting games. Setting up hair triggers kept reaction times on point in shooters. The rear paddles may take a minute to master, but are poppy and responsive. However, they don’t make up for the mushy ABXY buttons, which are a major disappointment for such a premium controller.
At least the Elite Series 2 controller adds the rechargeable battery that the Xbox Core controller lacks, and lasts an impressive 40 hours on each charge. In addition to Xbox Wireless when using an adapter with PC, Bluetooth is available for easy pairing with your PC or smartphone. A low-latency wired connection via USB-C is also supported.
One of the most enticing things we found in our review of the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra is its unique “Connected Command Display.” It’s a compact, full-color screen directly on the controller that displays phone notifications and allows on-the-fly setting adjustments, like swapping between 10 different profiles, fine-tuning the vibration intensity, and modifying RGB lighting, which can even change colors to indicate phone notification alerts or a low battery.
The Stealth Ultra features some slightly buggy software that works with a PC to provide a full suite of options for tuning the controller and creating profiles for specific games or desired feels. Everything from joystick and trigger deadzones to joystick response curves and rear paddle button mapping can be done with this software.
Turtle Beach’s offering is wireless, so there’s a 2.4GHz dongle for a lag-free connection to your PC or Xbox. Bluetooth support is handy for your gaming phone. However, when you start experimenting with the display and RGB lighting, the advertised 30-hour battery life quickly drops to around 10 hours.
While all the customizability is great (and honestly overkill), real-world performance is what matters, and the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra is one beast of a gamepad. It features an Xbox layout with tactile micro switches that are sharp and precise, which proved helpful in Dead Cells during testing, where the button timing was flawless. While drifting has plagued other Turtle Beach controllers, the Hall Effect sensors on the sticks prevent drifting and provide nuanced control. The trigger toggle even helped cut milliseconds of crucial time in FPS.
If you play a good deal of arcade or fighting games, do yourself a favor and pick up a great fight stick, and for PC, the Razer Kitsune we've reviewed is a standout option. Rather than including a typical stick on the controller, it has a leverless design offering buttons that move in a full range of directions. Admittedly, there’s a bit of a learning curve to master the Kitsune, but the quicker input speed (milliseconds matter in fighting games), improved accuracy, and easier execution of certain moves are worth the effort to KO opponents.
The Kitsune is a PlayStation-licensed device, so beyond directional controls are the essential PlayStation buttons. Razer opted to use optical switches on this fight stick, and in testing, inputs were fast and reliable while remaining surprisingly quiet, but still delivering a keyboard-like feel. While those buttons offer a distinct feel, the controls are hot-swappable to easily customize the board to your liking.
Like any good fight stick, the Razer Kitsune is sturdy, durable, and large enough to let both hands rest comfortably on it with the buttons perfectly spaced. On top is a removable aluminum plate to add your own flair to the controller, and the bottom features a nice grip, ensuring it stays in place during heated moments. It does all of this while remaining light enough to carry around to tournaments, weighing under 2lbs. Razer also includes a flashy light strip around the edge of the controller and a tournament lock to prevent you from accidentally getting disqualified. Even if it’s designed for the PS5, this controller works flawlessly with PC and seamlessly connects via a USB.
Anyone into sim racing on PC needs a great racing wheel for a deeper level of immersion, and Logitech's Pro Racing Wheel and Pedals are an awesome option – even if they do cost a little over $1,000. As the name suggests, this direct drive motor connects directly to the steering wheel, providing much better control and force feedback than gear or belt-driven alternatives. The system delivers up to 11Nm of torque, which is plenty to feel acccurate feedback about the road surface and how well your tires are gripping it.
You also get additional colour through the wheel in games that support Logitech's TrueForce feature, which adds an extra dimension of telemetry-based feedback beyond what's possible through standard DirectInput. It's also easy to reduce the strength of the force feedback via the Logitech G app or the wheel itself, which has an integrated display and controls to adjust this and many other settings.
The Pro Racing Wheel is available in PC-only, PC/Xbox and PC/PlayStation varieties, with the PC option costing $100 less than the two consoles models. The button layout doesn't change between each model, just the labels, and I found the buttons well-placed and satisfying to push, even while wearing gloves. The 300mm rim is also well-sized, with a slight D-shape that's fine to use for all genres of racing, though rally and drift enthusiasts might prefer to fit the RS Wheel Hub and the RS Round Wheel, while Formula racers have the option of the RS Track Wheel. On the default wheel, the magnetic shifters provide suitably clunky feedback, with dual analogue paddles that are ideal for clutches or handbrakes.
The Racing Pro Pedals are built to the same high quality standard, with the three-item set including a clutch, brake and throttle. The highlight is the brake, which uses a load cell to measure how hard you're hitting it, rather than how far down it's been pressed. This feels more similar to a real race car, and can help you brake more consistently to ultimately improve your lap times. All three pedals are adjustable, though the dialling in the feel of the brake is the most important.
If you're investing this much into a wheel and pedals, then hard-mounting to a rig like the Logitech x Playseat Trophy makes a lot of sense, and I really enjoyed the stability and portability this provided. However, it's also possible to mount the wheel to a desk, which works well enough if you can prevent the pedals for slipping backwards and may be preferable to a fixed setup for some use cases.
Overall, the Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel and Pro Racing Pedals are tremendously powerful pieces of kit that continue to improve as new accessories are released and more games are supported.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller was an innovative controller when it was released back in 2018, and it’s still great today. Unfortunately, the accessible controller market is relatively small, with most top options coming at a premium; that doesn't even include all the necessary peripherals required to make the controller work for your specific needs. While the Xbox Adaptive Controller isn’t cheap by any means, its inclusive, simple-to-use design and compatibility with PC continue to push it above others.
Rather than a typical gamepad, the Adaptive Controller is more of an input hub with a body similar to a fightstick. Its extreme modularity and customizability allow the controller to be adapted for specific abilities. The built-in controls are limited, but it still features two massive remappable buttons on its face, along with a D-pad, view button, and home button.
However, the reason you’ll want the Adaptive Controllers is for the excess of inputs. 19 3.5mm jacks correspond with all the typical controller inputs, including bumpers and triggers, allowing foot pedals, switches, joysticks, and other adaptability aids to be added. I’d recommend picking up the Xbox Adaptive Joystick, which includes the stick, four buttons, and a mounting thread. While it adds $30 to the price tag, the buttons can be remapped, ergonomics are solid, and 3D-printable thumbstick toppers are supported. The joystick can also plug into a standard Xbox controller.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller is an invaluable tool for accessibility, but that doesn’t mean it’s flawless. The learning curve is steep when mastering all the different controls, and sometimes simultaneous inputs aren’t supported, leading to limitations in games. The biggest downfall is the cost of all the extra peripherals required to make this functional controller, but it does support third-party options. Still, gamers have reported that, for the most part, this controller works great, allowing them to play games that weren’t always feasible.
Choosing the best PC controller for gaming can seem daunting, especially given the excess of options available. However, it’s easier to nail down the right choice by assessing what kind of gamer you are, what types of games you play, and whether you want to use your controller across other devices.
While almost all classic controllers use potentiometers to sense when a thumbstick has been moved or a trigger has been depressed, many modern options now use more advanced HE (Hall Effect) or TMR (Tunneling Magnetoresistance) magnetic sensors instead. These tend to be more expensive than potentiometers to include in a controller, but they allow for more precision, in the form of smaller deadzones. These technologies also tend to offer better long-term durability, with fewer physically interacting parts, helping prevent stick drift. HE sensors typically require more power than potentiometers, potentially reducing battery life in wireless controllers, while TMR sensors are more power-efficient than either option. However, implementation by manufacturers also matters, so while TMR and HE sticks and triggers are worth looking for, they're not a guarantee of a good-quality experience.
One of the biggest factors to consider is the ergonomics and comfort of the controller. Since you'll likely be using it for extended gaming sessions, it's crucial to pick a controller that feels comfortable. Look for controllers with well-placed buttons, responsive triggers, and a shape that fits naturally in your hands. Beyond that, grips can be important in games that require extra control.
Think about the types of games you'll be playing. Different genres may benefit from specific controller designs. For instance, if you're into racing or flying simulators, a controller with analog sticks and precise triggers might be ideal. On the other hand, if you're primarily playing fighting or platformer games, a controller with a good D-pad and responsive face buttons could be more suitable. Playing a lot of FPS, a gamepad with adjustable triggers and a tighter stick will make for quicker reactions and better control. Of course, if you’ve got the budget, you can also grab specified controllers for certain games, like racing wheels, PC joysticks, and fightsticks.
While the majority of controllers are designed to work seamlessly with Windows PCs, it's always a good idea to double-check compatibility with your specific gaming setup. If a controller offers a wired connection via USB, using it with a PC should be relatively simple. Oftentimes, there will also be software that allows for button remapping and other customizations.
Wireless controllers may be trickier. Most come with Bluetooth support, which makes them great phone controllers. However, a good deal of latency is often introduced. Sometimes wireless controllers offer a 2.4Ghz USB dongle to plug into PCs for a faster and more stable connection; if you're a competitive gamer, this is the way to go. Luckily, most wireless offerings come with the option for a wired connection.
Don't forget to consider additional features and extras. Many controllers come with programmable buttons, vibration feedback, or even customizable lighting effects. Adaptive triggers are a boon in FPS or sensory-focused games. Some higher-end controllers even come with swappable controls and a degree of modularity to adjust the feel for certain games. While these features may not be essential, they can enhance your gaming experience and provide added value for your money.
Perhaps the biggest factor in choosing a PC controller is cost. If your controller will only be used occasionally, since you’re more of a mouse and keyboard hero, a budget controller is perfectly suitable. Expect to find some great options in the $30 to $60 range. Upping the budget slightly to somewhere between $60 and $100 will bring a great balance of features, comfort, and quality. Stick to this price if you're more of a casual player. Anything above $100 should bring awesome customizability and durability; competitive players should expect to shell out a bit more for a high-end, reliable controller.
Compared to a keyboard and mouse, some gamers opt to use a controller. However, it comes down to your personal preferences, as each of these input devices has its own advantages and disadvantages.
A keyboard and mouse combo will be much larger and more spread out than a controller, which means you’ll need a great gaming desk or reliable lap desk to use them successfully. But thanks to a larger size, there is a wealth of inputs that a typical controller just can’t offer. Many of the keys and buttons are customizable with secondary functions. When gaming, keyboards and mice usually pull ahead in precision, accuracy, and responsiveness, which is especially beneficial to competitive players.
Now, don’t get me wrong, controllers are equally great. They are much smaller and more ergonomic than a mouse and keyboard, making all the inputs easy to reach. Great controllers will also have customizable or remappable buttons and triggers. The analog sticks bring smoother control over certain movements, and with some controllers offering a dose of haptic feedback, gaming can be more immersive.
Ultimately, it tends to depend on the game. Many titles are designed with one input method or the other in mind, so having the flexibility of a good controller to hand is frequently useful.
While not every controller is guaranteed to work with PC, almost all current controllers are supported in some way. Xbox controllers are your best bet for native compatibility. Whether it's connected via wired USB, Bluetooth, or Xbox Wireless (with adapter), the devices should be instantly detected by either Windows or Steam. With the Xbox Accessories app, remapping, vibrations, and more should be supported. Be sure to check out our guide on how to pair an Xbox controller to PC for even more info.
The latest PlayStation 5 controllers are another safe bet when it comes to compatibility with PC, especially when you connect using a wired USB or Bluetooth. You can always grab a great Bluetooth adapter for your PC if your PC doesn’t support it. Steam and the majority of modern games recognize PlayStation gamepads, allowing for button remapping and other customizations. However, adaptive triggers and haptics will only work with certain games. Still, for the most part, a PS5 controller pairs seemlessly with PC.
Third-party controller brands, like Turtle Beach, Razer, and PowerA, should also be completely compatible with PC and recognized by Steam if not Windows. These devices connect either using a wired USB connection or wirelessly via Bluetooth or a 2.4Ghz USB dongle. Now, not all the controllers' features may necessarily work with PCs, but you should have no problem with basic controls.
Of course, it’s always good to check that a controller supports PC and what limitations it may have when used with PC before purchasing. All the ones I’ve selected for this guide will make a great addition to your PC battlestation.
Not all PC games are designed to work well with a controller. If you’re playing games on Steam, you can visit the store page to see if the game is compatible with a controller before buying the game. However, other platforms, such as Epic Games, do not list if the game is compatible with a controller, but you can often find out which games support a controller with a quick Google search. The PCGamingWiki is another great resource for checking what input methods PC games support, including fan-made fixes where relevant.
Will is deputy tech editor for IGN, specialising in PC hardware, sim racing and display tech. He has been publishing about games and technology since 2001 (age 12). Will was formerly Deputy Editor at Digital Foundry. He is currently playing Battlefield 6.
Additional contributions by Danielle Abraham, a tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.
Ladies, gentlemen, beloved they/thems, the Zombie-curious, wretched undead, at last, my watch is over (mostly). After two weeks of ups and downs with Call of Duty Black: Ops 7’s Zombies mode, my feelings are mixed. I think this version has all things that make Zombies good – a cleverly designed quest line, a cool map, the joy and despondence of the Mystery Box and Call of Duty’s consistently fun gunplay. But those returning strengths don’t shine this year in the way they usually do, with an Easter Egg hunt that’s too big, too time-consuming, and too unwieldy to wholeheartedly recommend. It’s not bad, per se, but it can be frustrating in a way that might make you bow out early. And that’s lousy.
First, I come with a confession, one that serves as the foundation for the thesis of this review: my squad and I, brave souls who conquered Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode last year, and several others before, have not beaten Black Ops 7's signature Ashes of the Damned map at the time of this writing. Instead, the attempt fractured our group, perhaps permanently. One member threw up his hands and simply walked away after a particularly devastating loss, leaving us down a man and his not-insubstantial institutional knowledge and skill. Another was temporarily banned from our Discord after our last, best run. We were so close, friends. So tantalizingly close. And we came up short.
“Well, Will,” you might reasonably ask, “why issue a review if you haven’t finished it?” A few reasons, dear reader. First, we always try to learn the map and discover the process for ourselves, because that is how the average person will do it; second, because our failure mirrors what I feel many other teams will experience playing Ashes of the Damned, making it a crucial part of both this year’s game and this review; and third, because I have seen damn near everything the mode has to offer except the finale itself, and I already have a good idea of what Ashes of the Damned is: a very good map that can be exceptionally frustrating, especially if you use matchmaking to team up with random players, that often doesn’t work as it should.
Before we get started, allow me a chance to tee off on Black Ops 7’s PC anti-cheat system. This is Call of Duty. We will not be playing this game in a year because there will be a new one, and requiring me to flash a new BIOS to my computer and then go into my BIOS so I can flip the right switches until the Powers That Be decide I can play Call of Duty is ridiculous, even if this anti-cheat requirement remains in next year’s game, as Activision claims it will. You will never create an anti-cheat so good that it can’t be beaten, and whatever is gained from requiring all this is likely not worth it, nor the access it requires you give Activision to your computer. It is ludicrous, frankly, and the battle is unwinnable. If you create a better shield, the other guys will simply craft a better spear. Okay, rant over. Back to Zombies.
There is allegedly a story here – your characters are dropped somewhere into the Dark Aether where they run into a guy called the Warden who looks like the sexy ghoul from the Fallout TV series. After transmogrifying you into the semi-living by having a weird skull in a birdcage sap some of your life essence away like he’s the six-fingered man from The Princess Bride, you’re dropped into Ashes of the Damned and left to figure out what the hell is going on. All of it is very well-produced and so goofy that the only thing I could do was watch the introductory cutscene while emulating the face that I imagine a cow would make if you gave it cocaine, chuckle a little, and get on with it. Yeah, choosing certain characters gives you more story dialogue, but there’s nothing crazy here unless you’re already far too invested in Zombie lore. If that’s your bag, Godspeed. I’m here to shoot stuff.
Many of the pain points from last year remain early on – for instance, you can’t make your loadout until you hit level four, which means if Zombies is all you want to do in Black Ops 7 (and for me, it is), you’re stuck with a pistol and whatever you can earn by buying stuff on the walls after you’ve dispatched enough undead. Remember when games just let you have fun from the outset instead of unlocking it?
Otherwise, the underpinnings of Zombies feel much the same. You’re on a map, you open up new doors and paths with currency you earn, and you’ve got Pack-a-Punch machines to upgrade your guns. There’s additional armor you can apply plastered to the walls, an Arsenal to really crank up specific aspects of your weapons, Gobblegums for a little flavor if your mouth is lonely and you want a mid-battle pick-me-up that can make your run easier, and so on. And of course, while you’re managing all of this, the undead rise and hunger for flesh. Ghouls, man.
The gameplay here is similar to last year’s – I still love sliding at a group of zombies and firing off a shotgun until they’re just paste and all that. No, what’s new are the maps. Vandorn Farm is there for your classic, round-based survival attempts on a smaller map, Dead Ops Arcade for something a bit more ridiculous, and Cursed for the ultra hardcore (there’s no guidance here, loadouts and your HUD are limited, and you can equip Relics for additional difficulty). But the seven-course dinner of it all is Ashes of the Damned, the Easter Egg-heavy, “how does anyone figure any of this out?” gauntlet that you’ll have to clear if you really want to say you’ve beaten this year’s iteration. Ashes of the Damned is utterly massive, a monstrous figure eight with several different sub-sections (including Vandorn Farm) that, in years past, might have stood alone as a single map. Now they’re all connected by roads you’ll travel in a truck called Ol’ Tessie.
I love Ol’ Tessie. You can stand on the roof and lean out her windows, and if she takes too much damage, she’ll explode and you’ll have to repair her. She’s your way to and from places without dying (short of the jump pads you can activate), but early on she also becomes your Pack-A-Punch machine (which juices any gun you use it on, essential for the tougher zombies of later rounds), so something as simple as where you park her becomes a lot more important because you might need that boon or to get going in a hurry. You can also slot her with a turbo booster and three monster heads that shoot lightning. Tessie forever.
A lot of our runs began the same way: get Tessie outfitted, pray to pull the Ray Gun at the randomized Mystery Box (we had a shockingly good track record here; my friend Thomas kept pulling one on on his first or second try, and I am baffled by his power), and then start doing the rest of the Easter Eggs. Part of this becomes something you can brute force – you can use certain extremely rare Gobblegums to make it spawn a Ray Gun or the map’s Wonder Weapon – but it’s kind of essential for your long-term survival. Doing the map right means doing it quickly, before the round count gets too high and the Zombies get too strong, and there’s a fun sense of progression that comes with that. Not in a “yay, we’re getting more/better stuff” sense, although that is true, but in a “look at us mastering this” sense that I appreciate, especially since so many games now are about making your numbers go up and not actually improving as a player.
All the wacky Zombies stuff is still here. At one point, you have to throw an axe at the foot of a zombie hanging from a barn and then use a molotov cocktail to turn the severed foot into bones you can use for something else. At another point, you’re killing zombies inside of an old diner until one of them drops a key to the refrigerator in the back carrying a pretty grotesque surprise. It’s goofy and fun and I don’t know how anybody solves this stuff through anything other than trial and error, much less how the dev team comes up with it every year.
This is what makes Zombies so hard. Not only do you have to figure out all these steps, but you have to do them in order and remember where everything is on the map, and do all of it without your team dying. A full Zombies clear will take you several hours, and if you screw up and your whole team buys the farm late in that process, you’ll need to restart from scratch. You will lose every Gobblegum you spent, every weapon you jacked up with a Pack-A-Punch, every Perk you guzzled from a soda machine. Do everything you just did all over again.
It can be demoralizing, but I don’t actually mind this stuff. I’m a fighting game sicko, an action game degenerate, a beat ‘em up guy. I play in a competitive Madden league. I like learning the ins and outs of a system, mastering it, and watching what felt impossible become routine. That is one of the joys of playing games for me. But one of the crucial things you have to understand is that my Zombies group has never been made up of other game critics. It’s regular guys with nine-to-fives in fields like accounting and medicine and law and IT who play games only for fun. It’s always been something I’ve felt is necessary to review something like this: playing it with regular people. And this year, it was too much for some of them.
Part of that is how big Ashes of the Damned is. It’s a well-designed, varied map with a ton of different environments, but its sheer size means it can take a minute to get from Point A to Point B, even with Ol’ Tessie or a jump pad, and you’ll have to go all over Creation to finish it. The other issue is the number of steps involved to get things done. It’s a lot to remember! A lot to figure out! A lot to execute! And you’re expected to do it all in one run without all of you dying.
Even the rare Gobblegums that feel necessary for a good run are limited with the $250 Vault Edition, which was the version of Black Ops 7 we were provided by Activision for review. Using one of the rare ones that essentially makes the Mystery Box spawn a Ray Gun or loads you up with every perk at once and then failing on a run feels bad because you’ve lost a limited resource with little to show for it aside from whatever progress you’ve made in learning the map and whatever experience you gain for meta progression. Naturally, you can buy Gobblegum packs for real money, because of course, right? But the whole thing feels exploitative, like it’s hard because it wants you to give in and open your wallet and just buy the stuff that will make it easier.
And that’s assuming the map works properly. At one point, you have to use stun grenades to wake up a robot named Klaus. He’ll join up with you afterwards, and you can command him to interact with a computer that will then trigger a retinal scan that someone in your group has to stare at until a meter fills up. The problem is you’re being attacked by zombies the whole time. If everything’s working right, you can just have someone do that while the rest of the crew defends them. But we ran into an issue where Klaus simply wouldn’t activate the control panel no matter how many times we commanded him to. Instead, he’d stand dumbly in front of it like “Well, what do you want me to do?” while we fought off zombies before peacing out, requiring we spend valuable currency to bring him back. That time, he did activate it, but no matter how hard I stared at the retina scanner, the little bar wouldn’t go up. Needless to say, we died.
And that’s the thing, right? You’re going to die. You’re going to die because someone forgot to get an item you needed and you weren’t high enough level to craft it at the bench (this, for the record, is extremely dumb; just let me make a throwing axe! Yes, you can find one on the map if you know where to look; that isn’t the point); because OI’ Tessie took a bunch of damage and exploded, stranding you in the No Man’s Land between proper segments; because somebody got knocked off a truck and you had to go back for them; because you got cornered and made a mistake; because you forgot what to do for step 227 and had to look it up; and on and on and on. You will have to start over again, and remember, a full run takes hours and must be done in a single sitting.
And yeah, I know the tricks to make it easier. Kill all but one zombie that you kite around so the next wave doesn’t spawn, make sure everyone has a self-revive, load up with perks and armor, and so on. All of that adds interesting depth. But if you screw up and you all die, it doesn’t matter how good that run was because, aside from whatever account progression you earned during it, it all gets wiped away when you fail. After a ton of attempts, I understand why some folks just throw up their hands and spend their limited time on this Earth doing something else.
Again, this doesn’t personally bother me; failure is part of the gig, and I fully intend to finish this year’s Zombies mode at some point in the next few weeks. But it did break up a group that has a long history of doing this, and I get why they were demoralized. After our best run, where we got really close to the end before someone screwed up and it all came crashing down, one of our best guys just refused to play anymore. “I already have a job and it's really stressful,” he told me afterwards. “The last thing I need is to come home and have to deal with this nonsense.” I wonder how many people are going to try Ashes of the Damned and come to a similar conclusion.
That sentiment feels like an indictment of this year’s Zombies to me. It is so big and so long and so unforgiving that a lot of people simply won’t be able to complete it naturally even if they do know all the steps because they’ll either have bad teammates or get unlucky or just get discouraged after failing several times and give up. It also feels more than a little pay-to-win with the Gobblegum situation, and with how much simply grinding levels improves your chances because you have better stuff. If all you want to do is play Zombies, both of those things drag the experience down. I’m not saying it shouldn’t be a challenge, but it probably shouldn’t have people comparing it to their job, either. I fear the good folks behind this year’s Zombies mode have gotten so lost in the sauce that attempting to please the hardcore Zombies community may have come at the cost of letting regular people complete the map.
Honestly, the biggest problem we ran into on most runs was other people. We had teammates that didn’t speak English (I don’t hold that against them at all, it just makes communication difficult), teammates that ran off and left the rest of us to die, teammates that barely contributed or didn't collaborate at all, and so on. In fact, basically every good run we had early on was derailed by our matchmade fourth player; we normally roll with a full squad of four, but not everyone was available to play every night. I cannot imagine trying to do this with an entirely matchmade group. Eventually, I just turned off auto-fill and we ran a group of three when our fourth couldn’t make it, which was better than adding another random player to the mix.
PlayStation's official Black Friday 2025 sale is live from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1 at PlayStation, and the clear standout this year is the new Ghost of Yotei PS5 bundle.
Both versions, the black and the gold edition, are down to $499.99, a straight $100 drop from the usual $599.99 MSRP.
Each bundle includes the themed console covers, a matching DualSense controller, and a full copy of Ghost of Yotei, which already puts it ahead of most standard hardware deals.
Editor's Note: This article is brought to you in partnership with PlayStation.
Even if you compare it to buying the console and game separately during the sale, you're still saving around $20, and you're getting a limited edition design that actually looks like something worth unboxing.
Whichever direction you prefer, both are easily among the most striking PS5 limited editions released so far, and Black Friday pricing makes them a strong pick for anyone looking to upgrade or give a gift that feels a bit more special than a standard bundle.
The rest of PlayStation's Black Friday lineup rounds things out neatly. PS5 Pro consoles are down to $649.99 from $749.99, and the PS5 NBA 2K26 Bundle is now $449.99.
The Fortnite Flowering Chaos bundles are also strong gift options, landing at $399.99 for the 825GB digital model or $449.99 for the 1TB disc edition.
Both versions include PlayStation-exclusive in-game cosmetics and 1,000 V Bucks, which makes them an easy choice for Fortnite-focused players.
PlayStation VR2 bundles are $100 off, every DualSense controller is $20 off, and notable game deals include Astro Bot at $39.99 and Death Stranding 2 at $49.99, alongside a wider catalog of discounted first party titles.
If you're aiming for a reliable PlayStation gift or planning an upgrade without paying full freight, this is one of the strongest Black Friday lineups PlayStation has offered in recent years.
Black Friday deals can be confusing these days. Most retailers tease limited-time offers throughout November, but the real discounts usually don’t appear until at least a week before what I like to call "Black Friday proper."
In my experience, PlayStation deals tend to stay consistent throughout the sale. So if you’ve been waiting for a good price on a PS5, controller, or game, these are the deals to watch. No need to worry about missing out, make the purchases you’ve been eyeing, and there won’t be any Black Friday regrets come December.
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
Prices are dropping all over the place as Black Friday draws near. One of Amazon’s best Blu-ray deals is on the complete run of Batman: The Animated Series (see it at Amazon). You can get all 109 episodes, plus the movies Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, spread across 12 Blu-ray discs for $28.49. That’s a new all-time low price for the set, so there’s literally never been a better time to buy it. That’s just facts.
Batman: The Animated Series originally aired on Fox from 1992 to 1995. It’s a dark, yet still family friendly, take on Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter ego. I have to imagine it was green-lit thanks in large part to the massive success of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman movie a few years prior – but it established a style all its own. And while it’s somewhat a product of its time (the bad guys use guns!) it’s largely timeless, thanks to the simple yet evocative art style and the gorgeous Art Deco-infused Gotham.
The animated series was incredibly popular in its time, and it has held up exceptionally well over the years. I’m currently watching through the episodes with my 9-year-old son on HBO Max (subscriptions to which are also on sale for Black Friday), and he loves it, too. It has all the best villains, from the Mark Hamill-voiced Joker to the deeply humanist takes on Clayface and Mr. Freeze. It has Commissioner Gordon and Catwoman and reliable old Alfred Pennysworth. In other words, it has it all.
While you’re at it, you can check out all the other early Black Friday deals at Amazon. And if you’re in the mood to get even more holiday shopping done, you can check out Walmart, Target, and Best Buy as well.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
There's no better time to find an excuse to start 3D printing your own products than Black Friday, because that's when 3D printers drop to their lowest prices of the year. Bambu is widely considered one of the better 3D printer brands on the market, and its most popular models are all on sale today.
New for 2025, Best Buy has become an official reseller of Bambu Lab. Although Bambu Lab now ships its products from US-based warehouses if you order from them directly, I'd still recommend getting the printer from Best Buy because the return policy is much easier (simply return to your local Best Buy store) and you accrue Best Buy rewards.
The Bambu P1S is the best Bambu 3D printer for most people; this is Bambu's mid-range model and offers several useful premium features at a reasonable cost. It's almost entirely fully assembled out of the box and setup should take under 15 minutes. Unlike cheaper 3D printers, the P1S features a fully enclosed chamber, which is necessary to stabilize temperature and ambient conditions in order to produce more consistent results. It boasts an acceleration speed of up to 20000 mm/s² and can print a benchy in 18 minutes. A built-in camera allows you to remotely monitor the printing process.
The P1S Combo model includes the Automatic Material System or AMS. This module basically allows for multi-filament printing, which means you can use up to four different types of filament material or colors per AMS (you can daisy chain up to four AMS to manage as many as 16 different filaments). The AMS itself normally retails $350, so it's best to get it in this combo, especially if you plan on getting it anyway in the long run.
The A1 Mini is Bambu's most affordable 3D printer. This is an excellent entry level printer for someone who's just starting out. It doesn't take up much space at all, the touchscreen interface is intuitive to use, and maintenance is designed to be quick and easy. Since this is a more compact design, the A1 Mini is ideal for smaller projects using PLA filament.
The main difference between the A1 and the A1 Mini is the build volume; the A1 has a larger working area. There are some other benefits to the A1's larger footprint like a larger touchscreen, but functionally the two are nearly identical. The A1 Combo model includes the Automatic Material System or AMS for multi-filament printing.
If you're ready to graduate to the best of the best, than Bambu's H2D printer should be on your list of potential candidates. This printer has every feature you could ask for, like an enclosed and heated working space, a dual-nozzle system that minimizes purge waste, built-in multi-filament printing, larger build volume than the P1S, and a bigger touchscreen.
Need more options? Check out our other favorite 3D printers.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
For Black Friday, the official LG Store just dropped the price on a current generation LG OLED TV. Right now you can order a massive 77" LG Evo C5 4K OLED Smart TV for $1,999.99 with free delivery, which includes your choice of free stand setup or free wall mounting. LG is also offering a free LG S40T 2.1ch soundbar and TV wall mount when you add them to the same order. They cost of the soundbar and wall mount will be subtracted in your shopping cart.
Although I expect this deal to continue through Black Friday, the freebie soundbar and wall mount have been going out of stock more often than not. If you're considering getting this package and you see all three in stock, you shouldn't hesitate.
Free LG S40T 2.1ch soundbar and wall mount (must add to the same order)
LG's OLED TVs have been our favorite TVs for console gaming for three years running thanks to their outstanding image quality, low input lag, and high refresh rate. The 2025 C5 uses LG's proprietary Evo panel, which is significantly brighter and offers a wider color gamut than traditional W-OLED TVs. Aside from higher production costs, there's no downside to this technology; the C5 boasts the near-infinite black levels, near-infinite contrast ratio, and near-instantaneous response times you'd expect from any OLED TV This is easily the best TV for streaming 4K HDR content in its intended glory.
The LG C5 has the necessary gaming features as well, including a native 120Hz panel that can be pushed to as high as 144Hz, HDMI 2.1 inputs for running PS5 games in 4K at up to 120fps, variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM). The C5 is also lightweight for its size because the rear cabinet housing is made of a composite fiber; for example, this 65" model weighs only 36 pounds without the stand, making it much easier to wall mount.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
If you’re reading this, you already know the importance of good audio when it comes to gaming, but it’s tough to find out which is the best gaming headset for you among the sea of options. As is the case when you're looking for a gaming mouse or gaming keyboard, there are several factors to consider. You'll want to account for your budget and seek out the best sound quality and comfort, as well as the kinds of features most important to you. The easiest way to find that personalized experience is to know exactly what you’re getting into and rely on those who have first-hand knowledge.
I’ve reviewed plenty of headphones and gaming headsets in my time, so I’m familiar with what makes them great, and I’ve put my expertise and ears-on experience to use here. Each pick was made with careful consideration for what each headset offers as a whole, but also for the aspects they excel in most based on their category. With that in mind, I’ve included options for the best mid-range wired headset like the HyperX Cloud III and the best high-end wireless option in the Audeze Maxwell, for example. But more sophisticated features like virtual surround, active noise cancelation, or customizable EQ profiles can be defining for certain wireless headsets like the Razer Kraken V4 or Razer BlackShark V3 Pro. And if money is no object and want the absolute best no matter what, well, we can confidently point you to the $600 SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite. There's a little something for everyone!
This guide is intended to be a comprehensive look at the best options based on specific categories in which certain headsets prioritize or do better than the competition. This doesn’t mean there aren’t amazing headsets outside of the ones I’m recommending, but these are all headsets I can vouch for based upon the first-hand testing done by me and my colleagues. These are also great options whether you play games on PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch 2, or any mix of consoles (just be sure to get the right model when picking something out). I will also be updating my picks as new ones come out and I test more of what’s out there, so be sure to check back periodically, or whenever you need some advice on choosing a new gaming headset.
It’s hard not to fall in love with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. You still get all the great features of the previous SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless with some new technology, including active noise cancellation and improved audio all around. Using a hybrid noise-canceling system with four mics, it can drown out everything from harsh noises from outside your room to the ambient hum of loud fans.
Most importantly, the Nova Pro offers some fantastic sound quality out of the box with bold and balanced audio. Its spatial audio onboard is crucial as well, so it's easy to hear enemy footsteps around the corner or gauge the distance of action happening in a competitive shooter. And you can make some next-level customizations to the EQ settings and game-chat mix with Sonar and the SteelSeries GG app – good luck going back to your ordinary headphones for anything but listening to podcasts or the news.
With SteelSeries’ latest top-end headset, we see the biggest design shift since the start of the Arctis lineup. The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless sports telescoping arms on its adjustable headband so it can better accommodate larger head sizes. The earcups are also slimmer and sleeker, giving off less of a gaming headset vibe and more of a look akin to wireless headphones without sacrificing the comfort SteelSeries headsets are known for. And one of our favorite features remains intact with a few upgrades: the hot-swappable rechargeable battery system. This means that when the battery runs low during a gaming session, you can quickly change it out without having to plug in, giving you wireless freedom indefinitely.
The Arctis Nova Pro is one of the best headsets you can buy right now. It’s well-rounded with uniquely robust features, great sound quality for gaming, and comfort to keep you going. Take our word for it – in our Arctis Nova Pro headset review, it earned a rare 10 for all the aforementioned reasons and more.
Beyerdynamic is one of the many audiophile-focused brands that have entered the gaming headset space in more recent times. Its latest in the MMX 300 Pro and MMX 330 Pro make slight upgrades over its predecessors in overall design, but brings similarly powerful audio performance. It provides the kind of sound quality you’d expect from studio-grade headphones like the DT 770 or DT 990, but packs them into a wired headset that’s easy to wear for hours on end. The two models only have one distinction: The MMX 300 Pro is closed-back and the MMX 330 Pro is open-back. I personally prefer the audio profile of an open-back headset in exchange for natural sound isolation, so it really comes down to preference.
What’s almost as impressive is the microphone clarity, which can rival even some mid-range standalone mics. I tend to see built-in mics on gaming headsets as an afterthought. So long as my voice comes through intelligibly, that’s all I really need from it – but not with Beyerdynamic. So if you really want that all-in-one gaming headset, especially for streaming or recording content, you’ll find that in these headsets.
Personally, I gravitate toward the intentionality and craftsmanship of a wired, analog-driven headset or pair of headphones, and Beyerdynamic's headsets sound beautiful right out of the box. Of course, you can potentially get more out of it if you drive them through a DAC or amp, but they're already tuned with gaming in mind (to emphasize certain sound effects in competitive games) while also delivering the kind of audio experience in other applications you’d expect from headphones at this price range. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the MMX 300 Pro/MMX 330 Pro in my review.
You can ask anyone who has used the Audeze Maxwell if it’s worth its price tag, and you’re going to get the same answer: It’s a resounding yes, including from me. It sports a sleek, nondescript design akin to many audiophile-style pairs of headphones and performs just like one as well. Sometimes I need to break away from the misconception that wired is always better for sound quality, especially when the Audeze Maxwell proved me wrong.
Its 90mm planar magnetic drivers jump out from the spec sheet – and while bigger drivers doesn’t always mean better, this is one case in which the audio experience matches the driver size flex. Overall clarity, balance across frequencies, and a rich natural audio profile make this high-end headset stand out from the rest of the pack. While the aforementioned SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is the one I recommend overall for its robust features, it’s hard to compete with the Audeze Maxwell purely in the audio department.
That said, while the Maxwell is comfortable, it does land on the heavier side of gaming headsets. It’s built like a tank, but if you’re OK with that, then it’s more of a non-issue. It comes with a 2.4GHz USB-C wireless receiver, which makes it a great candidate for the Switch 2 when playing handheld as well. When you get a great mix of sound quality, battery life, and features such as toggleable noise isolation, it’s easy to justify its high price.
No matter which version of the HyperX Cloud headset you go with, you'll get a quality product. If you’re running on a budget and want to get the most bang for your buck, I always recommend the wired HyperX Cloud III, which can often be found below its $100 base price. It punches above its weight with impressive sound and mic quality and great comfort. Plus, it’s built like a brick house so it’s not going to fall apart through years of use.
Out of the box, the Cloud III impressed me with its build and durability – its aluminum frame can be flexed and contorted in any which direction without ever feeling like it’s going to break. Stretching the headset out to fit on your head is super easy and you can toss them on your desk without worrying about damaging them. It's built for comfort as well with dense foam earpads wrapped in a leatherette (just be aware it tends to get a bit sweaty), although its clamp force may be a bit much for some.
At the end of the day, it’s all about sound quality and the Cloud III handles various frequencies wonderfully. In my Cloud III headset review, I felt comfortable tracking enemy footsteps while playing a ton of Valorant and enjoyed the balanced audio in Final Fantasy XIV, which this more budget-friendly headset handled gracefully. Assuming you’re on a budget, you probably don’t want to spend extra on a decent microphone – luckily, the mic clarity on the Cloud III was equally as impressive. (And if you're so inclined, the wireless version of the Cloud III goes on sale for a nice price.)
Looking for the right headset in the mid-range can be challenging since you're caught between saving some money going with a cheaper option or tempting yourself on spending a bit more go up a tier. Considering how often the Asus ROG Pelta goes on sale, and the quality you get out of it, it makes for a fantastic choice if you're looking to spend between $110–$150.
We recently reviewed the Asus ROG Pelta and awarded it an 8/10, and our long-time writer and tech reviewer Mark Knapp shares a lot of my same sentiments, saying, "The Asus ROG Pelta is solid, delivering great sound for gaming and an exceptional microphone (something few wireless headsets manage) while managing to be extremely comfortable. As long as you can find a quiet environment to game in, you’ll get great use out of this headset, and you won’t have to charge often. If you want an even more open soundstage, there are high-tier headphones that can do it better, but the ROG Pelta is exceptional when it comes to gaming headsets. Asus has a winner on its hands and it's able to stand out in a crowded field."
We have a total of three SteelSeries headsets currently on this list, but the company has earned its place as one of the top gaming headset makers with the Arctis Nova lineup that covers the entire pricing spectrum. Yes, the Arctis Nova Elite carries a shocking price tag (upwards of $600), but for around $50, you can get the entry level Arctis Nova 1 that shares many similarities. It's super lightweight at 236g and has soft sports mesh padding along with the stretchy suspension band for comfort atop your head. I find the Arctis Nova headsets to fit a little fight, but they feel secure to wear out and its earpads balance out the pressure.
They sound fantastic for the price as well, rocking the 40mm audio drivers that most SteelSeries headsets use. It might not be tuned as precisely as the higher-end entries in the lineup, but the Arctis Nova 1 still puts out decent bass and clear mids and highs even when the volume is pumped up. It's a wired headset so you don't get the versatility offered by others, but the tucked-in microphone offers solid clarity for Discord calls and in-game chat (and you can split the line-in and microphone input for PC users). If you want the best sound for the price, I can't recommend the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 enough.
As I mentioned above, Turtle Beach knows what it's doing when it comes to gaming headsets, and even if I go down the pricing hierarchy, there are still impressive headsets like the Stealth 500 to be found. Although it’s quite bulky in its physical design, I found the Stealth 500 to be easy to wield thanks to its super flexible headband and durability, which also translates to solid comfort that’s easy on the ears.
More importantly, the sound quality you get from the Stealth 500 is nothing to scoff at. While it may struggle in higher frequencies, which tend to sound a bit crunchy, its strong bass and clear mids make games sound full without coming across as artificial. With the Swarm software’s Signature Sound profile, you’ll be set without having to fiddle with too many settings. Its positional audio was great as well, which I sussed out while playing competitive rounds of Counter-Strike 2, so you don’t really need to shell out the big bucks to get that kind of advantage.
Even at this price point, you get Bluetooth capabilities and can swap between devices with the press of a button. While the mic isn’t anything to boast about, it’s serviceable and can be customized in the software as well. It’s no surprise that there are compromises that need to be made in budget-level headsets, but it gets the essentials right, which earned it an 8 in my Stealth 500 review.
Sticker shock will hit you with the $600 SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, but when you're working in genuine audiophile spaces, it comes with the territory. That's a hefty price tag, but what you get in return is a gaming headset that stands on its own atop the bunch for its precisely designed audio drivers and hi-res audio capabilities. If you care about having the absolute best audio fidelity, listen to a lot of lossless music, and want something that is packed with the latest state-of-the-art features geared toward gaming, nothing really comes close to the Arctis Nova Elite. For these reasons, it earned a rare score of 10 in our Arctis Nova Elite review.
Reviewer Will Judd concluded, "The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is the best gaming headset that I've ever tested, offering small, meaningful, and multi-faceted upgrades over the already-excellent Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. As with that model, the key to success here is delivering industry-leading or at least competitive quality in almost every element: audio quality, mic quality, comfort, connectivity, design, software, and features. If you want the ultimate gaming headset at any price – an all-in-one offering that works brilliantly across PC, consoles, and mobile – this is what I'd recommend."
I've tested and used this headset myself, too, and it lives up to all the hype, which was achievable by improving upon the already great Arctis Nova Pro that's stilll our No. 1 recommendation. Again, the Elite is going to cater to a niche crowd, but if you're in that crowd, there's just nothing like it.
The Kraken V4 is Razer's flagship headset that's geared more towards luxury features (whereas something like the Blackshark V2 is more tuned for the competitive scene). And with that particular focus, you get one of the best implementations of virutual surround sound in any gaming headset. That's largely due to THX Spatial Audio and the fact that the Kraken V4 was designed with the feature in mind. Instead of it sounding like you're in an empty hall, there's a lot more detail in the positioning and distance of sound effects, especially when the game or movie you're experiencing was designed with spatial audio in mind. It's not something I'd recommend for competitive gaming, but having good theater-like sound on a headset is tough to find.
In my review of the Razer Kraken V4 Pro, I praised its sound quality, comfort, and surround sound capabilities, but it carries a heftier price tag with it being the Pro mode. While it comes with a robust base station, things like Sensa haptics just aren't worth seeking out. You can get the standard Razer Kraken V4 for significantly less and still get the fantastic virtual surround sound features along with that great audio quality and comfort.
The latest headset from Razer took me by surprise with how much it genuinely improved over its previous model. With the new BlackShark V3 Pro, you get a rare combo of top-notch audio performance, long-term comfort with sports mesh padding, and powerful active noise cancellation. Even with the sports mesh upholstery on the earpads, which typically doesn't create as good of a seal for natural sound isolation compared to leatherette, it is impressively strong at blocking outside noise through ANC. While many other headsets come with some noticeable distortion with ANC enabled, the BlackShark V3 Pro still comes through with clean and detailed sound quality. So, if ANC is of utmost importance, Razer is doing it better than most here.
The Xbox model of the BlackShark V3 Pro comes in a black scheme with green stitching to match the platform's aesthetic, and it looks fantastic. More importantly, its expansive feature set helps it stand out from a crowded lineup; wired analog audio, Bluetooth, ANC, great microphone clarity, fine-tuned EQ profiles, solid battery life, smart implementation of 3D audio, sensible onboard controls, and the lowest latency (on paper) from a wireless headset thus far. Razer paid attention to the little things, and it paid off in a worthy flagship product.
There was a lot to praise in my recent review of the BlackShark V3 Pro, even though it comes in at a whopping $250 at retail price. It has a fairly balanced audio profile, but can really sing with punchy bass and clean mids when tuned right, which was apparent in the many rounds of Call of Duty Warzone I played when I was reviewing it. When you stack it against the likes of the Audeze Maxwell and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro recommended above, it easily competes with those high-end juggernauts, making it one of the top gaming headsets and one of Razer's best yet.
Gaming earbuds are a fairly recent trend with the notable peripheral companies like Razer, Asus, and PlayStation making their own that are suited for games. It's tough because of the limited driver size and battery life, earbuds tend to make sacrifices in one way or another. But the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are so impressive because of how uncompromising these little rounded buds are.
On top of having solid foundations of sound quality, battery life, and long-term comfort, SteelSeries has one of the most robust software suites, which is easily controllable through a mobile app. This takes out the inconvenience of having to flip through PS5 menus to customize the earbuds, while also letting you access its 100+ custom-tuned EQ profiles easily.
Although there are a few minor inconveniences with how some of its quality-of-life features work (autoplay when taking it on and off, connecting through Bluetooth reliably), the GameBuds do all the important things extremely well. While you should definitely use these as your primary earbuds to listen to music on your phone, they really shine in games with the kind of bold audio experience you expect from a headset. They'll pair nicely with your PS5 or Switch 2 since you also get a 2.4GHz USB-C wireless receiver for a no-latency connection; this is my preferred audio setup for Switch 2 thanks to the additional USB-C ports, letting me ditch my old wired earbuds for good. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds in my review.
At $160, these have cheaper base price than the Razer Hammerheads I previously recommended. While I still think the Hammerheads have a very slight edge in sound quality, it's the battery life, software support, and overall comfort that make the GameBuds the best all around.
First thing’s first: How much are you willing to spend? Next thing to ask yourself is, what are your biggest priorities when looking for a gaming headset? Is it overall sound quality, comfort, microphone clarity, durability, or something else? And if you want to go wireless, you have to consider battery life and what a headset’s software suite is capable of. You’ll likely want some mix of all those things, but while you don’t have to pick one particular feature or strength to seek out among a wide array of options, some headsets simply do certain things better than others.
For me, this is the primary factor to look for regardless of price range (it’s rather a matter of managing expectations with more budget-friendly options). While the size of the drivers – the actual hardware in each earcup that produces sound – is an easy shorthand for determining a headset’s potential, it’s certainly not the be-all-end-all. How the headset is tuned, the material and physical construction of the drivers, and how it sounds in specific scenarios are things you can only learn about through reviews and first-hand accounts, if you can’t test it for yourself.
Pay attention to what reviewers say about frequencies like bass/lows, mids, and highs and how they describe their experience. Sometimes bass drowns out other frequencies, mids might be distorted in hectic gameplay, or the highs are harsh at loud volumes – these are the types of things we say when describing audio shortcomings. Some folks like deep bass even if it’s overpowering, so some detractors may not matter as much to some, for example.
This is also crucial for competitive gamers. The best headsets are able to express the details and nuances of sound effects, not just produce clear frequencies. This helps you judge direction and distance of footsteps or gunshots in games like Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant, for example, and can also result in a more immersive experience in single-player games or even movies. Some of this can be simulated through software but things like Turtle Beach’s Superhuman Hearing tend to sound too artificial, so be wary.
How comfortable a headset is can be challenging to understand without trying on a headset first. If you absolutely cannot try them on on first, pay attention to descriptors such as clamp force (how hard a headset latches onto one’s head), the density of the earpads, the type of material used to wrap the earpads, or how the headband rests above the user’s head. Materials like leatherette, sports mesh, and velour all have their pros and cons, with the former being better for sound isolation but not as great as the latter for airflow and mitigating sweat around the ears.
Many premium-level headsets use an aluminum frame, which may be heavier but can withstand much more contortion and mishandling. Some budget-friendly headsets opt for a flexible rubber-like plastic headband that offers a similar level of flexibility, so it doesn’t feel like you’re going to break the thing when putting it on or taking it off. Any gaming headset worth its salt shouldn’t have durability issues, but it is something to consider.
I typically find the microphones on gaming headsets to be an afterthought, mainly because you can get much better sound quality from a standalone external microphone – that’s what I use most of the time. That doesn’t mean I overlook microphone clarity altogether.
It’s rare to find a headset outside of the premium price range with a great mic, but it’s something we as reviewers always test because it’s certainly nice to have. Something like the HyperX Cloud III was truly impressive for a mic on a $100 gaming headset, and the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro is close to approaching mid-range standalone mics – and those who often use voice for communication or some sort of content creation can get a lot out of a good headset mic.
Noise isolation is worth paying attention to, as well as how well it picks up your voice – software-side features like controlling the noise gate can also be useful. And don’t overlook the importance of sidetone, which is a rare feature that automatically feeds your voice back to you.
Wireless headsets have evolved to the point where battery life is either a non-issue or manageable with good habits of charging them whenever you can. But for headsets you’re planning on using for multiple purposes (like ones with simultaneous Bluetooth connectivity for music on mobile devices, for example), total battery life can be a more important factor. Many should last in the 40-hour range from a full charge and higher-end ones can last upwards of 80 hours, although several variables feed into how long they last in actuality.
The last thing I’ll mention is a headset's customization, at least through software. Every gaming peripheral manufacturer has its own software suite it wants you to download, and they tend to be all-encompassing apps for all its gaming gear. But good software lets you get granular with your headset, such as Turtle Beach’s Swarm app. You can fiddle with equalization, make your own EQ presets, use premade profiles, control certain aspects of your microphone, and so much more. While it’s not as important as the essentials like sound quality and comfort, a proper software suite can help you get the most out of your purchase.
There are ways to extract audio data from a headset to get a look at how they handle various frequencies, like artificial ear and audio analyzing software, but that alone won’t be able to tell you what the actual audio experience is like. Admittedly, it can be quite abstract to have someone describe what games, music, or movies sound like. Paying attention to descriptors like distortion, drowning, cleanliness, or balance when talking about frequencies are common ways to explain the sound quality of a device, and at some point you need to trust the reviewer’s trained ear.
There’s also the factor of driver size, the actual hardware that delivers the audio. Generally, bigger drivers means better potential for cleaner and bolder sound, but again, that alone isn’t going to determine whether or not a headset sounds good. Quality can also come down to spatial or positional audio which gives the impression of sound effects having distance and direction – it’s important for competitive settings but can make for more immersive experiences outside of trying to get an advantage over your opponents.
Gaming headsets tend to pack additional features that support the actual gaming experience, some of which may be gimmicky, but many that I would call essential. Not everyone wants to have a standalone microphone, for example, but the key feature that separates a headset from headphones, is a built-in microphone. While most headset mics are passable in terms of clarity that can suffice for in-game communication, some go the extra mile to provide better clarity or mitigate ambient noise spilling through.
Good gaming headsets are generally tuned to pick up on certain sound effects and have a more intimate sound profile since you’re an active participant in the experience rather than a passive observer (especially in competitive games). When it comes to wireless capabilities, most gaming headsets come with 2.4GHz USB dongles for the lowest latency possible – something that wireless headphones rarely include. As you’ll see in the next section, software suites for USB-based headsets (wireless or otherwise) have gotten sophisticated as well and sometimes offer a level of customization for specific gaming scenarios.
Of course, it depends on your needs. I still gravitate towards wired headsets and headphones since I tend to prefer the sound profiles of a properly-tuned analog audio device (I also tend to forget about charging devices until it’s too late, but that’s a me-problem). However, battery life and latency of modern gaming headsets have come so far that you rarely, if ever, see them being issues on the latest releases. Good software suites and apps can also help you get more out of your headset by letting you customize EQ settings or swap sound profiles for certain games.
Wireless headsets are also sometimes capable of multi-device connectivity and simultaneous Bluetooth, which makes them versatile and opens them up to more use-cases (especially swapping to a mobile connection within seconds). Even though they tend to be more expensive, there’s a lot of upside to going with a wireless gaming headset, just be sure you know what you’ll be getting out of it.
Virtual surround sound had been a bit of a gimmick when high-end headphones started simulating the experience of a 7.1 speaker setup. But I will admit that the technology has come a long way. It’s not always best suited for gaming, especially in the competitive scene – there’s some artificiality with virtual surround that can lead to misjudging audio cues. But damn does something like DTS Headphone:X or Dolby Atmos sound impressive when done right – especially in action games or movies.
Some virtual surround sound software requires you to purchase a license, and personally I find the overall applicability of them fairly niche, but that doesn’t take away from how they simulate theater-like qualities. Just because a headset is compatible with features like Dolby Atmos or DTS Headphone:X, it doesn’t mean you’ll get an equal virtual surround experience – the headset itself has to be equipped to express a level of nuance in its sound quality for it to work well.
Michael Higham is the tech reviews editor at IGN and has a passion for good audio, which often drives him nuts when picking out headsets, headphones, earbuds, and speakers. He graduated from downloading low bitrate music to seeking lossless versions of his favorite songs at an early age. Having grown up playing Counter-Strike 1.6, and now keeping up with the Valorant competitive scene, he finds positional audio to be just as important as sound quality. But he actually just wants the best and most immersive audio for all the RPGs he plays, especially the ones with banging soundtracks.
The person behind the viral GTA 6 gameplay “leak” video has admitted it was created using generative AI, amid a growing backlash from fans.
IGN had reported on X / Twitter posts made by the Zap Actu GTA6 account, which included "leaked" gameplay clips of GTA 6 while pointing to a Discord. One video posted earlier this week — now deleted — showed playable character Lucia walking in the rain. It went viral, securing 8 million views in just over 24 hours despite a community note warning against trusting it as official footage from Rockstar. But there were many other similar clips, also with millions of impressions, from the same account, and based on the replies, a number of people believed they featured genuine leaked gameplay footage.
In Zap Actu GTA6’s Discord, a growing backlash emerged today as newcomers flooded in to seek clarity on whether these were genuine leaks of AI-generated videos.
Now, ZapActu has come clean, issuing a statement and responding to questions from IGN. They insisted the videos were designed to “observe people’s reactions and to demonstrate how easy it has become in 2025 to blur the line between reality and AI-generated content.” ZapActu apologized “to anyone who felt frustrated, disappointed, or misled by these posts.” They continued: “This was never done with bad intentions.”
ZapActu said they did not make any money from the posts, nor was there a financial motive behind “this experiment.” ZapActu is now in the process of deleting posts and closing accounts.
“My intention was never to harm anyone,” they continued. “I simply wanted to create something intriguing that could bring people together and spark discussion within the GTA 6 community. I genuinely never expected a single video to generate such massive engagement and reach.”
And, in a direct message to IGN, they concluded: “It was a huge joke actually, I did it just to entertain the community. Sorry for the false hope lol.”
Misleading videos made by generative AI have exploded on the internet in recent years as the technology has become more popular and accessible. And it is a problem that affects all entertainment. Last month, IGN reported on physicist Brian Cox, who went public with complaints about YouTube accounts that had used AI to create deepfakes of him saying “nonsense” about comet 3I/ATLAS. Similarly, Keanu Reeves recently hit out at AI deepfakes of the John Wick star selling products without his permission, insisting "it's not a lot of fun." In July, it was reported that Reeves pays a company a few thousand dollars a month to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to take down imitators.
Can anything meaningful be done? Last month, the Japanese government made a formal request asking OpenAI to refrain from copyright infringement after Sora 2 users generated videos featuring the likenesses of copyrighted characters from anime and video games. Sora 2, which OpenAI launched on October 1, is capable of generating 20-second long videos at 1080p resolution, complete with sound. Soon after its release, social media was flooded with videos generated by the app, many of which contained depictions of copyrighted characters including those from popular anime and game franchises such as One Piece, Demon Slayer, Pokémon, and Mario. Despite the protestations of the Japanese, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared Sora 2 videos using copyrighted characters "interactive fan fiction."
As for GTA 6, given the game isn't due out for another 12 months, expect more, increasingly convincing AI-generated gameplay "leaks" to hit the internet as fans desperate for official information from Rockstar - and, hopefully, Trailer 3 - wait on.
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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