
When it comes to gift giving, gamers can be a tricky lot to buy for. And 2022 has been a particularly busy year for new releases with plenty of different genres to jump into.
You may have the best of intentions when picking up an older title in the Black Friday sale but – heaven forbid – they may have already played it, or are more interested in the newer releases.
That’s why we’ve rounded up a few gift ideas that would be perfect for gamers of differing ilk, whether they’re die-hard Nintendo, PlayStation, PC or Xbox fans for the festive season.
Compared to last year, the stock situation for the PS5 and Xbox series X/S couldn’t be any more different, with both consoles now readily available at most major retailers. But while a brand new console isn’t exactly your usual go-to stocking stuffer, we’ve tried to round out our list with some nice little additions to make the most of the latest generation of hardware.
We’ve done our best to stay far away from the usual, vaguely gaming-related, products that pop up every Christmas to offer you the best tried-and-tested gift ideas. For our full Christmas buying guide for the lucky gamer in your life, keep reading below.
How we tested
Our round-up of gift ideas come from rigorous testing, playing and expertise on all things gaming-related to help ensure that each of our recommendations are of sound quality and from trusted brands. With that in mind, these are our top picks this year.
- Best overall – Nintendo Switch OLED: £304, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for PlayStation fans – ‘God of War Ragnarok’: £62.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for Xbox fans – 3 months of Xbox Game Pass: £23.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for mobile gamers – Backbone one mobile phone controller: £99.99, Playbackbone.com
- Best for Mario fans – ‘Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’: £44.90, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for role-playing fans – Dungeons & Dragons essentials kit: £23.33, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for Pokémon TCG fans – Pokémon Battle Academy: £21.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for competitive Switch players – ‘Splatoon 3’: £36.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best gaming keyboard – Corsair K70 RGB pro gaming keyboard: £169.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for streamers – Elgato HD60 X: £189, Amazon.co.uk