All the best gift ideas for gamers
Game on.
By
Joseph Green
on
Joseph Green
Global Shopping Editor
Joseph Green is the Global Shopping Editor for Mashable. He covers VPNs, headphones, fitness gear, dating sites, streaming, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day.
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This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.
How hard can it be shopping for a gamer? Games, hardware, consoles, easy peasy. But as anyone who’s actually tried shopping for a gamer knows, nothing is ever simple. There’s a lot of gaming gear out there to consider. There's almost too much choice.
Every gamer has their own style and gaming tastes. There are those who pledge allegiance to PC gaming only, Nintendo purists, and gamers who won’t even touch a controller unless it has got Xbox branding. It isn’t easy finding the right gift to add to their setup, but if you nail it, there will be kudos for you — that special gamer in your life will be forever grateful.
Firstly, determine how much you’re looking to spend. Some shoppers will grab a couple games for under £100 and call it a day. Accessories like controllers and charging docks are another great mid-range price point. The next step up will be the grandaddy of gaming gifts — a gaming console or a gaming laptop, which will run into the hundreds. If you're looking to go all out and treat the gamer in your life to an epic gift, a brand-new PC and setup could clock in at around £3,000.
Whatever your price point, we’re here to help you with some ideas for the gamer in your life — including some of the hottest consoles, games, and more.
These are the best gifts for gamers in 2025.
Topics Gaming Nintendo Switch PlayStation Xbox
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Credit: Nintendo
Nintendo Switch
Best For Portability
Nintendo Switch provides a visual feast with this upgrade, with a 7-inch OLED screen. It also includes 64GB of storage and all-new enhanced audio. Plus, an all-new stand for placing the screen in front of you in “Tabletop Mode”. Ultimately, it adds yet another mode to Nintendo’s most innovative console, which now triples up for handheld, TV, and tabletop gaming. Not to mention Nintendo’s ever-expanding range of new and retro games.
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Credit: Microsoft
Xbox Series X
Best For Xbox Fans
The latest, highest-spec version of the Xbox has been like gold dust this year, but it looks set to dominate Christmas — and few gamers would complain at finding one of these in a giant-sized stocking. It includes huge memory storage and processing power, with true 4K resolution and a 4K UHD Blu-ray drive — plus exclusive games such as Halo Infinite.
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Credit: Sony
PlayStation 5
Best For Sony Fans
The PS5 is more powerful than any PlayStation to date — better, faster, more dazzling. It looks incredible, both in the living room and on the big screen, with 4K resolutions at 120fps. If they already have a PS4, this upgrade immediately transfers over existing games. Hardcore gamers will especially love the updated, futuristic DualSense controllers.
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Credit: Nintendo
Super Mario Game & Watch
Best For Nostalgia
Old school Mario fans will love this retro treat, which pays homage to the system that started it all for Nintendo. It’s a handheld game that includes three seminal Mario titles – Super Mario Bros, The Lost Levels, and Ball — and doubles-up as a watch. It’s like a little piece of gaming history in the pocket.
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Credit: Meta
Virtual Reality Headset
Best For Virtual Gaming
For wireless VR action this is the very best headset available. Any gamer would go out of this world (and into a VR world) if they received it as a gift. With an improved spec, the visuals are fast and sharp and the gameplay highly responsive. It’s also lightweight, allowing you to play for hours. The ultimate in immersive game playing.
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Credit: Nintendo
'Super Mario 3D World' + Bowser's Fury'
Best For Parties
Nintendo’s Super Mario remains the undisputed king of multiplayer fun. This package combines a Wii game and an all-new adventure, making it ideal for Mario fans of any generation. The 3D action takes Mario to places he’s never been while retaining the gameplay that’s kept everyone’s favourite plumber at the top of the gaming pile for 35 years.
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Credit: Corsair
Gaming Headset
Best For Audio
The Corsair HS80 is a killer headset that will let the gamer in your life enjoy the full audio of explosions and revving engines without disturbing anyone around them. Coming from one of the names in PC gaming, these are rock solid quality. They have Dolby Atmos, with foam ear cups and fully customisable RGB lighting. A microphone makes group play easier than ever.
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Credit: Gunnar
Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Best For Safety
Staring at a screen for hours on end isn’t good for any gamer's eyes. Gunnar Optiks Intercept glasses help in cutting down the strain caused by blue light, thus helping to reduce headaches, eye fatigue, and potential sleep problems caused by too much screen time. The Optiks can even be used in other settings, like at the office.
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Credit: Sony
'Spider-Man: Miles Morales'
Best For Comic Fans
If your gamer needs to scratch that superhero itch, pick up Spider-Man: Miles Morales, exclusively on PlayStation. In an update of the acclaimed Spider-Man from 2018, it changes things up — this time putting players in the role of Miles Morales, who has to battle both villains and growing pains. It’s great for all PS players — the game is available on both PS4 and PS5.
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Credit: Razer
Gaming Keyboard
Best For Pain
If just one key on the keyboard isn’t working, that could be the deciding factor in anyone’s Assassin's Creed Valhalla campaign. The Razer Huntsman v2 Analog is the kind of keyboard every gamer will be thankful to get. The keys provide quick and satisfying feedback, so there’s little to no delay from input to on-screen action, and a built-in wrist rest means pain-free gaming for literally hours.
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Credit: Corsair
Mouse Pad
Best For Desks
The hard mat is a low-friction pad that won’t impede any movement. In fact, the gamer in your life might start noticing some faster movement on the screen from the texture surfaced. And because of the material, it will last far longer than any other soft material pad. And if they're in need of an extra USB port, the MM800 has a pass through built-in, just in case.
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Credit: Logitech
Gaming Mouse
Best For Customising
The Logitech G Pro is everything a gamer could want from a wireless mouse. It uses an upgraded sensor and has a rapid-fire response rate of just 1ms. The DPI can also be adjusted for faster or slower response. It’s lightweight for quick movement, with an impressive battery life of 40-plus hours. Most impressive is the fact its buttons can be switched around to suit both right and left-handed gamers. A gaming mouse that’s for literally everyone.
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Credit: Microsoft
Premium Controller
Best For Pros
Finding better ways to play isn’t just limited to game design, but also hardware. Sure, the out-of-the-box controller for an Xbox One works fine, but you can’t tune the settings or swap out the joysticks if you’re unhappy with it. Upgrade your favourite gamer with the Xbox One Elite Controller Series 2 and they can. They can swap the sticks, the d-pad, and adjust button/trigger sensitivity for faster response.
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Credit: GTPLAYER
Gaming Chair
Best For Comfort
Comfort matters, just ask any gamer. You don’t see streamers on fold-out chairs while getting locked and loaded for DOOM Eternal, do you? That’s why it’s worth investing in a gaming chair. Our pick is the GTPlayer Gaming Chair, the design is perfect for anyone looking to enjoy those long gun-toting sessions on Hitman 3. It has ergonomic cushioning for supporting those key areas, and if you really want to kick back, the chair will recline, too. If that doesn’t sound comfortable, then we don’t know what is.
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Credit: WD
Portable Hard Drive
Best For Extra Storage
Since most games have to be installed on console and PC, extra space is hugely important. The WD 4TB My Passport is an easy recommendation, providing enough space that your gamer won't even need to think about it. And with 4TB, there certainly won’t be any worry about space for a long time. With the My Passport, they'll get extra security encryption and password protection, putting them at far less risk of having saved data hacked than most external hard drives.
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Credit: Sony
Gaming TV
Best For Action
In order to enjoy their Xbox Series X properly, your gamer will need a good 4K TV. One of the best, hands down, is the Sony XR-55A95K. Since Sony is behind PlayStation, it only makes sense their TVs would be ideal for top-of-the-line gaming. The picture is gorgeous, but thanks to low input lag and a high refresh rate, they'll enjoy smooth and snappy play on all their games.
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Credit: Nintendo
'Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword'
Best For Old School Gamers
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a hi-def update of a popular Wii game, with boosted visuals and gameplay. If you know a long-time Nintendo player who’s upgraded to a Switch, this could be the perfect gift. As always with the best Nintendo Switch games, there’s plenty of nostalgia at the sword-swinging heart of it.
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Credit: Asus
Gaming Laptop
Best For Portable Power
If your gamer plans to enjoy their favourite titles on the go, they'll need some power packed under the hood. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is the laptop to get if you want desktop power in a mobile package. With an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS and 32GB of RAM there’s plenty of speed to ensure fast performance for all their gaming needs. And with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, they'll enjoy games with some of the most demanding visuals out there.
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Credit: Alienware
Alienware Aurora R10 PC
Best For Traditionalists
The Alienware Aurora R10 tower proves you don’t have to build a desktop from scratch to enjoy the best that PC gaming has to offer. It sports an AMD fifth gen Ryzen CPU processor with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, so the speeds are going to be excellent. With a 1TB HDD, your gamer won’t have to worry about storage either. And then there’s the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card, which will display games in all their glory..
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Credit: Samsung
Samsung QLED Monitor
Best For Visuals
Samsung has been ahead of the curve (curved display that is) with its gaming-focused screens. The Samsung Odyssey G7 uses QLED technology for bright, high quality 4K gaming. It also boasts a response time of just 1ms and a 240Hz refresh rate. The slim design takes up minimal space, which is perfect for gamers whose desks are already crammed with tech and gaming gear.
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Credit: Sony
'Resident Evil Village'
Best For Horror Fans
Resident Evil is back — as any horror fan knows, no monster truly stays dead — and its scarier and more engrossing than ever. Resident Evil Village is a fast-paced entry into the series, with stacks of villains, jump scares, and high-octane action. What gamer doesn't want to turn the lights out and immerse themselves in this deliciously dark adventure?
Joseph Green
Global Shopping Editor
Joseph Green is the Global Shopping Editor for Mashable. He covers VPNs, headphones, fitness gear, dating sites, streaming, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day.
Joseph is also Executive Editor of Mashable's sister site, AskMen.
