Best Xbox Series X accessories 2024

What are the best Xbox Series X accessories? Picking up some of the best Xbox Series X accessories like controllers, storage and headsets can drastically improve your gaming experience. They’re also great for personalizing your console.

We’ve got years of experience with the wide variety of Xbox Series X|S accessories out there, and know which ones to buy or avoid. While we’re still waiting for an Xbox VR headset that we can put on this list, there are still loads of other accessories and peripherals that will enhance your setup. Paired with the best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X and the best gaming desks, these accessories can make even the best games better than they already are.

The best Xbox Series X accessories are:

1. Xbox Wireless Controller – an essential accessory
2. Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – best controller
3. WD Black C50 Expansion Card – best storage solution
4. Xbox Wireless Headset – best headset
5. PowerA Charging Station – best charging station
6. Razer Kishi V2 – best for gaming on the go
7. Xbox Game Pass – best deal

1. Xbox Wireless Controller

The best Xbox Series X accessory for most.

Xbox Wireless Controller specs:

Pros

• Excellent build quality
• Textured grips
• Wide range of colors and designs

Cons

• Rechargeable battery not included

The official Xbox Wireless Controller is a must-have for anyone with an Xbox Series X|S. You get one in the box when you buy your console, but you need two to enjoy the best co-op games with other players.

With superb build quality (and less prone to stick-drift than PS5 controllers), the Xbox Wireless Controller is a sturdy and reliable product. Textured grips, triggers and shoulder buttons ensure you never miss a beat, while the vibrations are precise to bring life to your game.

The controller comes in a lot of colors, including a dashing red, deep blue and even a beautiful Starfield edition. The controller is an essential bit of tech for any Xbox gamer. It’s reasonably priced among the best Xbox controllers, especially for the build quality.

2. Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2

Premium Xbox Series X controller.

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 specs:

Pros

• Excellent build quality
• Textured grips
• Paddle buttons

Cons

• Expensive
• Limited colorways

The Xbox Elite controller takes everything great about the standard controller and improves upon it, making it the perfect accessory for hardcore gamers on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and even PC.

The most important feature is the button array. It comes with adjustable-tension thumbsticks, which allow you to tweak the tension of the stick between three levels. You also get interchangeable paddles that provide additional buttons on the back. You can map these to nearly any input, so you can press them without lifting your fingers off the sticks or other buttons. Common uses include having inputs like jump and crouch mapped to these, which certainly help in the best FPS games to maintain full control at all times.

While this is a premium product with a price target to match, it’s well worth the money for hardcore gamers looking to take things to the next level.

3. WD Black C50 Expansion Card

The best Xbox Series X storage solution.

WD Black C50 Expansion Card specs:

Pros

• SSD designed for Xbox Series X|S
• Offers great performance with Quick Resume compatibility

Cons

• Limited storage capacity options

No gamer wants to delete their favorite game to make room for new Xbox games. The WD Black C50 is one of the best Xbox expansion cards on the market, giving you either 500GB or 1TB of extra capacity. We love that it plugs straight into the console without any fiddly installation.

Western Digital is one of the world’s most trusted manufacturers of storage solutions, and the WD Black C50 offers exactly what we’d expect. Designed for Series X|S, the expansion card adds much-needed storage space and takes advantage of the Xbox Velocity Architecture to provide great performance in all the latest games.

We recommend going for the bigger size if you can afford it. Since the Series X has 1TB built-in, this will double the capacity at your disposal, and the Xbox Series S’ measly 512GB of internal storage will certainly need the extra 1TB offered by this larger model.

The C50 is compatible with the Quick Resume feature of Xbox Series X|S consoles. No matter the game, you can hop right back into it where you left off. During our testing of the WD Black C50, there wasn’t any discernible difference between loading games from the console’s storage or the WD C50 expansion card, which is perfect.

It’s not the cheapest option for extra storage space or even the largest, but it’s a powerful piece of tech that will work wonders for any avid Xbox gamer.

Read our WD Black C50 review.

4. Xbox Wireless Headset

The best Xbox Series X headset.

Xbox Wireless Headset specs:

Pros

• Great sound and build quality
• Supports Bluetooth while connected to Xbox or PC
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Not compatible with other devices
• No multifunction control for audio balancing

As our guide to the best Xbox headsets explains, Microsoft’s own Xbox Wireless Headset is a great pickup for any fan of the green machine. For a mid-range price, this headset offers relatively high-end performance, with impressive audio quality (thanks to the great spatial audio capabilities of Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos) and a built-in microphone.

Whether it’s the best racing games or the best RPG games, the Xbox Wireless Headset will work wonders. The Xbox Wireless Headset supports simultaneous Bluetooth connection so you can have both the audio from your Xbox (or PC) coming through the headset as well as from a device like a phone or tablet. Need to take a call? Want to listen to music or YouTube while you game? No problem. It’s convenient to use and many gamers will get use of this feature.

The main downside of this headset is that it won’t work on other devices, such as PS5 as there’s no 3.5mm jack. If you need a headset for PlayStation, check out the best PS5 headsets. The best wired gaming headsets will work on a wider range of devices.

5. PowerA Charging Station

The best Xbox Series X charging station.

PowerA Charging Station specs:

Pros

• Convenient controller storage
• Rechargeable battery packs
• Single and dual options

Cons

• Not compatible with the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2
• Limited colorways

The last thing you want on a long gaming session is a controller running out of juice; we all dread it and the ensuing mess of cables or scavenging for fresh batteries. The PowerA Charging Station seeks to solve just that.

This handy Xbox accessory keeps your controllers organized when not in use and keeps them fully charged. With an 1100 mAh rechargeable battery and specially designed battery cover, you can slide your controller into the stand and have it quickly charged back to full for up to 20 hours of game time.

The important thing to note if you’re picking one up for yourself is that they don’t work with the premium Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, which is a shame. Likewise, these stands and the corresponding battery covers only come in black or white, at least right now. So, if you have a colorful controller then you’ll either have to make do or look elsewhere.

6. Razer Kishi V2

The best controller for mobile gaming on the go.

Razer Kishi V2 specs:

Pros:

• Rapid response on button clicks
• Passthrough phone charging
• Remappable macro buttons
• Low latency

Cons:

• No support for wired headphones
• Limited support for USB-C iPhones
• Android version is more expensive
• Razer Nexus app isn’t as good as competitor offerings

If you’re trying to get your game on while on the move, then the Razer Kishi V2 is the perfect mobile controller whether you’re on Android or iOS. With full support for Xbox Remote Play and Xbox Cloud Gaming, you won’t have any problems accessing your full library when out and about.

Sporting incredibly responsive buttons that feel great to use as a result of Razer’s microswitches, there’s never a risk of missed inputs – though from our experience they can at times be a little too responsive if anything.

While the two extra remappable macro buttons located next to the triggers can’t create complex macros, they can at least be assigned the standard button functions for a more comfortable experience if you’re not satisfied with the default layout.

Our biggest qualms with the Kishi V2 comes down to software and support. The Razer Nexus app pales in comparison to Backbone’s, while USB-C iPhone users (who’ll have to opt for the Android version of the device) currently can’t make use of the app.

A pro version is also available if you’re after haptic support and that all-important 3.5mm jack, but it’s a hard recommendation to make as the Kishi V2 is often on sale – sometimes for half the price of the pro – unless you simply have to have the best of the best.

7. Xbox Game Pass

The best Xbox deal.

Alright, Xbox Game Pass isn’t an accessory in the same vein as a fancy controller or headset, but it is the perfect accompanying piece for any Xbox (or PC) gamer. This monthly subscription grants access to hundreds of the latest and greatest games at no extra cost, including day-one Xbox exclusives. That’s right, you can get access to incredible games like Starfield, Forza Motorsport, Halo Infinite, and more exclusive games at launch for no extra cost.

It really is the gift that keeps on giving, arguably taking the spot of the best deal in gaming. Whether you’re new to Xbox or a veteran gamer, or perhaps even looking for a gift for an avid Xbox fan, then Game Pass is too good to pass up. It even works with the Xbox App on PC, whether you own an Xbox console or not.

Check out all the best Game Pass games to see just a handful of the hundreds of games this service grants access to.

What accessory should I get first for my Xbox Series X|S?

For most gamers, we recommend getting a second controller, especially the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 if you can afford it. Having a second controller is always useful, whether you want to play co-op titles or simply want a backup controller, you can’t go wrong with getting a second controller alongside your shiny new console. You could even get a charging station like the PowerA Charging Station above to store your two controllers and keep them charged.

If you don’t want a second controller, then you’re best off getting a great headset so that you can appreciate the next-gen audio just as much as the next-gen graphics. A good headset really can improve the whole experience.

Do I need an SSD for my Xbox Series X|S?

An SSD isn’t required to use your Xbox Series X|S, but we do highly recommend getting one. Many of the best Xbox games will take up a lot of space, and this is likely to get even worse as games get more expansive and graphically impressive. The integrated console storage you’ll get by default is very limited (1TB with Xbox Series X and only 512 GB on Series S), so you’ll no doubt need a storage device in no time – unless you want to juggle your downloaded games.

To increase storage space, you have two options. Either purchase an external hard drive or an SSD. While external hard drives are significantly cheaper, meaning you can get a bigger drive in return, they don’t quite hit the mark. Sure, you can store heaps of games on a hard drive, but Xbox Series X|S optimized games can’t be played when stored on a hard drive. Yes, that means you have to transfer the game to your internal SSD if you want to play it, all but defeating the purpose of adding storage space.

Instead, we recommend buying the biggest SSD you can afford. Not only will this add additional storage space for all your games, but they can be played directly from the drive with no need to shuffle things around.

Can you use an Xbox One controller on an Xbox Series X|S?

Yes, you can use an Xbox One controller with an Xbox Series X|S console. In fact, nearly all Xbox One accessories will work with the newer consoles. Backward compatibility is a major focus for Microsoft when it comes to games and accessories, so it’s incredibly handy that you can use an older controller on your new system. Whether you’ve got an old favorite controller or your new one broke, all you have to do is sync it up as usual.

On the note of backward compatibility, it’s worth checking out all the best Xbox One games, as these are also available on Xbox Series X|S consoles.

Take a look at our how we test page to get an idea of how we judge each product. We’re sure you’ll have the best team green setup around. However, if you’re looking for the best gaming console, there are other options to look towards. If you’re interested in streaming and content creation, check out our guide to the best streaming setup for beginners to learn more.