The $499.99 Xbox Series X and its smaller brother, the $299.99 Series S, are both great consoles in their own right, with access to the best Xbox Game Pass games if you’re a subscription. But there are a ton of accessories that can heighten your enjoyment, or just add a more personal touch to your setup.
We’ve collected some of our favorites below. Most are an addition to the gaming experience, although some may be essential to you, such as the Seagate storage expansion card so you can download more games, or a headset for chatting with friends or family. This post may be updated due to availability or when new or noteworthy accessories become available.
The Xbox Series X starter kit
The Xbox Series X includes one black wireless controller, so you may need a second one if you have more than one gamer in your home, or if you just want one in a different color. Fortunately, Microsoft’s wireless Xbox controllers are relatively inexpensive considering how feature-packed they are. Some Xbox Wireless Controller colors are more expensive than others, although many of them usually retail for less than $50. Just be sure to buy some backup AA batteries to go along with it, or a charging set and dock.
Investing in a rechargeable controller kit gives you a convenient way to keep track of your controllers without spending a dime on disposable batteries. It is also more convenient than changing and charging rechargeable batteries. Our favorite is the $45 8BitDo dual charging station, which comes with a pair of rechargeable batteries. Once those are installed, it can charge two controllers at once – and looks pretty slick.
The Xbox Series X is billed as a 1TB SSD, but in reality you’ll only have access to 802GB. The 512 GB in Microsoft’s Xbox Series S? More like 364 GB. With that amount of storage space left, the space allotted for games, updates, and apps isn’t plentiful.
If you don’t mind paying an exorbitant price for up to 2 TB of additional storage, Seagate’s storage expansion cards are your best – and pretty much only – option. You just pop this card into the back of your console and then put storage worries aside (for now, at least).
Not you need spend a lot of money on a headset. You can even connect any wired headphones to your controller’s 3.5mm jack for audio. However, if you’re looking for a wireless option that’s not too expensive, and has the best headset integration we’ve seen on a console in a while, check out Microsoft’s official xbox wireless headset.
It costs $99.99 (and sometimes less), and it delivers a comfortable, user-friendly experience for the price. The volume and game/chat audio buttons are the most recent design features, adjusting their levels as you rotate the left or right earcups. These also have Bluetooth support so you can connect your phone or tablet in case you need to receive a call.
HIDEit mounts do the obvious thing: provide you with a sturdy, unobtrusive mounting solution for your console or controllers, in case you want to hide them. The controller mounts come in packs of two for about $18and it’s a smart idea if you’re tired of leaving your gamepads on your coffee table.
The $30 Series X mounting lets you mount your large Xbox on its side as well as vertically on the wall. Now, before you say you could get about the same effect with a cheaper floating shelf bought from Ikea, hear me out for a second: HIDEit mounts are designed like brackets, holding the console securely by its dimensions – making it effective locked in place . So it’s not the same kind of risk as putting it on a shelf, since your Xbox probably won’t take an unexpected four-foot drop because your cat was particularly feisty that day.
Best Xbox Series X controller
The Xbox wireless controller is an obvious addition, as it’s still one of the best controllers you can buy for your Xbox. The latest iteration of Microsoft’s wireless Xbox controller – the same one that comes with the Series X and Series S – doesn’t break with tradition. For fans of the Xbox One controller, it offers a similar look and feel, but with more features.
It is not only compatible with your Xbox console, but also with PCs and mobile devices thanks to its Bluetooth connectivity. Compared to Sony’s DualSense, the Xbox Wireless Controller is available in a wider range of colors, and you can even create your own custom color scheme through the Xbox Design Lab for an additional cost.
It’s annoying that Microsoft’s controller uses AA batteries, rather than offering a rechargeable solution as standard. However, the battery life is at least pretty good. If you want to bypass batteries altogether, you can find them affordable rechargeable kitsor simply use the controller wired by connecting it to your console or PC via USB.
If you’re looking for a long-cable wired controller that’s a little more budget-friendly than Microsoft’s wireless option, the 8BitDo Ultimate wired controller is a good choice. It’s good at the basics, but it’s on this list because of its extensive customization through the 8BitDo app, which is available through Xbox, Windows, Android, or iOS. Within the app you can remap the face buttons and the back buttons. You can also set the sensitivity of sticks, adjust the activation levels on your triggers and more.
Available in pink, black or white, the Ultimate wired controller isn’t trying to win any design awards, but that’s okay. It’s a rock solid Xbox and PC controller that doesn’t cost too much.
The $100 Microsoft adaptive controller is worth mentioning because it is specially designed for players with limited mobility, and it is compatible with a wide spectrum of inputs sold separately, such as the $99.99 Adaptive Gaming Kit from logitech. The adaptive controller can also host up to 20 additional input devices ranging from foot pedals to mouth joysticks, all of which can be reassigned to suit individual player needs. It is compatible with Xbox consoles dating back to the Xbox One, plus PC.
Best Xbox Series X SSD
Unlike the PlayStation 5’s support for a wide variety of M.2 SSDs, there’s really only one option to give your Xbox more high-speed storage. It comes in the form of Seagate’s proprietary storage expansion cards, one of which plugs into the back of your Series X or Series S console at a time. They are available in 1TB ($199.99) or 2 TB sizes ($359.99)and they stand out from other Xbox hard drive options because they let you store and play the latest Xbox games (slower spinning hard drives can only play Xbox One and previous games stored on them).
There isn’t much else to say about these expansion cards. They are convenient and they work as intended. But they are much more expensive than they should be, especially next to equally fast M.2 SSDs dropping in price.
If you’re looking for a slightly more cost-effective option, Seagate also offers bulk hard drive storage for Xbox in the form of the Seagate game drive (starting at $79.99), which comes in a variety of sizes ranging from 1 TB to a whopping 8 TB. While the Game Drive offers significantly more storage per dollar spent than Seagate’s expensive expansion cards, it’s more limited in what it can do.
You can play games from the Xbox One and earlier generations, and it can be used to store save files as well as Series X game installs. However, to play any Series X titles you’ve stored on it, you’ll need to restore them to your console’s internal storage. This process is definitely less convenient, but at least it gives you access to your catalog of games without having to download them again.
Best Xbox Series X headset
There are plenty of wireless headset options for the Xbox Series X, but the official xbox wireless headset offers an excellent value for its price of $99.99. The simple and lightweight headset can be used via Bluetooth with PCs, Xbox or mobile devices. The headset has a flexible microphone boom and volume controls that can be adjusted by turning the outer part of the ear cup. One feature that makes this headset particularly suitable for the Xbox is its compatibility with the Xbox Accessories app, which allows you to set custom sound profiles and fine-tune the microphone’s behavior through your console. For more information on this great headset, check out The edge‘s full review.
Best high-roller upgrades for the Xbox Series X
Xbox is home to the excellent racing franchises Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon, and what better way to enjoy tearing over tarmac and dirt than with a force-feedback racing wheel complete with paddle shifters and pedals? We recommend the Logitech G920 Driving Force steering wheelwhich normally costs $299, but can currently be found for just $279.99 at Amazon.
The G920 racing wheel has all the navigation buttons you’d find on your typical Xbox controller, so you don’t have to awkwardly switch between input methods. The wheel itself provides live resistance and realistic feedback as you drive in the game. Any accessory that costs nearly as much as an Xbox Series S shouldn’t be taken lightly, but we can’t think of a better accessory for a motorhead looking to experience the road from the comfort of their Xbox or PC.
At some point in time when you own an Xbox you’ve probably wondered: should I buy the $179.99 Elite Series 2 controller? If you spend a good chunk of your time gaming on Xbox, PC, or both, we might fall short of spending the equivalent of three standard wireless Xbox controllers on a single gamepad. However, if you don’t get one, you shouldn’t feel like you’re subjecting yourself to an inferior gaming experience in any way. You just don’t have that many buttons and other fun but non-essential features.
The Series 2 comes with a hard case, interchangeable components and adjustable analog stick tension, just to name a few notable features. If you like the features of this premium controller but hate the price, Microsoft also deserves the $110 Elite Series 2 Core controllerwhich has the same features as the Elite Series 2, but doesn’t come with any of the additional accessories.