If you bought an Xbox Series X or S a year ago, your selection of accessories was mostly designed for the last-gen systems. There are more ways to upgrade your experience. Maybe you need a better controller, a clearer headset, or a storage issue, or maybe you just need to chat with your teammates. Here are some of the best accessories for the console.
Go Pro controllers.
It's always smart to have a second controller. If you don't play a lot of games, you'll regret not being prepared for someone who is down for a match. It's wise to have a replacement for your main controller in case something goes wrong. We've all smashed our gamepads against the wall for different reasons.
There are many options that are worth considering, even if you only get a stock Microsoft controller. The Anniversary Edition gamepad has a translucent design that will look great on your coffee table, and is just a bit more at $70. If you're looking for something with a bit more color, the gorgeous limited edition for foward horizon 5 model is still around. If you find yourself burning through a lot of AA batteries, consider a rechargeable solution like PowerA's dual controller bay. It comes with two batteries, so you can juice up your gamepads.
Buy the Anniversary Edition controller at Amazon for $100 and the Microsoft controller for $75.
Microsoft's second-generation Elite gamepad may be worth the investment for dedicated Xbox users. It has a comfortable grip and replaceable thumbsticks. It is one of the few Xbox game pads that can be charged over the internet.
If you're interested in playing older games, or just looking for a different style of controller, we're huge fans of 8BitDo's Pro 2. It's incredibly comfortable, and it's one of the best on the market. It's a great controller for PC gaming, and any recent Xbox controller will also work on computers over Bluetooth.
Buy 8Bitdo Pro 2 at Amazon for $50.
The controllers are cool again.
You can only go so far with a standard gamepad if you play Microsoft Flight Simulator long enough. It's time for a flight stick. We'd recommend jumping on the T-Flight Hotas One if you're a fan of flying sims. It has realistic five-axis control, fourteen buttons and a detaching throttle. It's small enough to fit on a coffee table or lap desk. If you'd like, you can use it with a computer.
We were impressed by the G923 racing wheel. It feels like a genuine steering wheel, with a comfortable grip, steel paddle shifters, and a trio of solid pedals. It's a realistic driving experience that's all the better to tear through Mexico in the game. It's an investment that will last for many racing games to come.
Buy T-Flightas One at Amazon for $90.
Make your storage bigger.
Chances are you already know about the storage limitations of the new Xbox Series X or S. You can give yourself more room with one of the expansion cards from Seagate, which are just as fast as the ones inside the consoles. There are also 512 and 2 terabytes of options that were recently unveiled by Seagate. We think spending $400 for the 2TB option is excessive.
You can connect traditional hard drives, like the Game Drive from Seagate, to the Xbox Series X and S. They're too slow to run current-gen games at their full speed, but they give you a lot of storage for a cheaper price. They're useful for playing games from the original Xbox and the 360. They can be used as cold storage to free up space on your hard drive. You can't have to download newer games again because they can easily move between drives.
Buy the expansion card at Amazon for $220.
Listen to your sound.
You should be better off than your TV speakers. While you can plug in your headphones into your controller, we recommend investing in a pair of wireless headphones. They will likely sound better and remove the cord problem entirely. SteelSeries Arctis 9X are one of the best options around, with a comfortable fit and sturdy build quality. They sounded just as good as the company's Arctis Pro PC headphones during our hands-on testing.
Amazon has the SteelSeries Arctis 9X for $200.
Do you want to control your controller's streaming capabilities? 8BitDo's Media Remote is available. They're well-made remotes that fit the Xbox's clean aesthetic and are available in long and short designs. I've been using the short model to control 4K movies and a lot of streaming apps, and it's much easier to use than a controller. I don't have to put my drink down to go to another chapter.
The 8Bitdo Media Remote is $20 at Amazon.
