Best Xbox Series X accessories

While the Xbox Series X comes with a great controller out of the box, you might be curious about what you could buy to upgrade your game time. There are a handful of different controllers, headsets, and other accessories worth looking into if you want to go beyond the standard setup.

In this Xbox Series X accessories guide, we’ll show you some of the best hardware you can buy to enhance your console experience. Our guide shares our recommendations for the best Xbox controller, the best Xbox controller charging kit, the best headset you can buy now, and more.

Table of contents

• The best Xbox controller
• The best Xbox controller charging kit
• The best Xbox batteries
• The best Xbox headset
• The best Xbox flight stick

Best Xbox controller

When you buy an Xbox, you get one of the best controllers for the system in the box. The default option is great and comes in either white or black, depending on whether you purchased the Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X. However, there is one controller that is better than the one you get for free: Microsoft’s own Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2.

Xbox Elite Series 2 wireless controller

• $151
• $180
• 17% off

Prices taken at time of publishing.

• $151 at Amazon
• $180 at Best Buy

While you don’t need a fancier version of the controller that your console comes with, there are a few reasons why you might want one.

When you pick an Elite Series 2 up for the first time, you’ll notice the immediate difference in build quality. The upgraded controller has a more comfortable finish, grippier handles, and has a heft to it that really sells the premium price.

The biggest justification for the price tag is the customization that the controller allows. Inside its custom carrying case, which also acts as a charger for the controller, are several swappable parts. You can outfit your Elite Series 2 with a different D-pad design, multiple styles of the thumbstick, and four paddle switches that attach to the rear of the device. You can assign these triggers to any button on the controller. These extra buttons are great for making games like Microsoft Flight Simulator easier to control with a gamepad. You can even use these thumbsticks for directional inputs to give you an edge in fighting games.

A much simpler feature that also makes this controller great is that it charges over USB-C. No need for batteries or battery packs.

Best Xbox controller charging kit

If you are content to use the default Xbox Series X controllers, there is one major downside with them that can be annoying: batteries.

Few things ruin a gaming experience more than a controller dying mid-game because your batteries ran out of juice. It’s a minor nuisance, but there’s nothing fun about stopping what you’re doing to go grab a fresh pair of batteries. This issue is made worse if you forgot to buy new batteries.

PowerA Play & Charge Kit for Xbox

• $14
• $18
• 23% off

Prices taken at time of publishing.

These inexpensive battery replacements will give your Xbox Series X controllers hours of power.

• $14 at Amazon
• $14 at GameStop

Thankfully, you can buy a simple accessory like the PowerA Play & Charge Kit to remove your reliance on these disposables. This small device plugs into the battery slot on your Xbox controllers and acts as the battery. Instead of throwing away batteries when your controller needs more juice, you just recharge the kit via the included USB cable or an optional docking station. A full charge lasts about 40 hours.

Best Xbox batteries

There’s a chance you don’t mind swapping batteries out of your controllers when they run out of juice. In fact, your household probably has a need for AA batteries for other devices. Instead of throwing dead batteries in the trash, you can always recharge them if you own some Panasonic Eneloop rechargeable batteries.

Panasonic Eneloop batteries and quick charger

• $30
• $40
• 26% off

Prices taken at time of publishing.

These batteries can be fully charged in about three hours with Panasonic’s quick charger.

• $30 at Amazon
• $18 at B&H Photo
• $40 at Best Buy

Eneloop batteries are a good option if you have a need for multiple AA batteries for your Xbox controllers and other devices. When you buy a set of these batteries with Panasonic’s quick charger, you can refresh them in about three hours. They can be recharged over 2,000 times, which should last you a while.

Best Xbox headset

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 is one of the few wireless gaming headsets that can stand up against Microsoft’s own wireless headset.

Just like the official headset, the Stealth 700 Gen 2 can easily pair directly with the Xbox the same way you would pair a controller. The headphones are also optimized for Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS Headphone: X so you can get the best quality sound from them. One feature we love is the “flip-to-mute” microphone.

Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 for Xbox

• $150

Prices taken at time of publishing.

This wireless headset pairs instantly with your Xbox and can connect to another device via Bluetooth. Its flip-to-mute microphone stows in the left earcup when you don’t need it.

• $150 at Amazon
• $150 at Best Buy

When you don’t need to chat, the microphone that usually dangles in front of your face can be flipped up and stowed into the headset itself. The microphone fits snuggly inside the left ear cup, making it completely disappear from view when not in use. When you’re ready to chat, you can flip the mic down, which unmutes it and allows your voice to come through.

Speaking of speaking, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 can also pair to another device like your phone to stream music, phone calls, or Discord calls. This feature is great for chatting with friends on another voice service — especially if you happen to be playing a cross-platform title like Destiny 2.

Best Xbox flight stick

Fans of Microsoft Flight Simulator on the PC have a load of great options for the best flight stick. Turtle Beach’s VelocityOne Universal Flight Controller now brings that same level of fine control and immersion to the Xbox Series X.

VelocityOne Universal Flight Controller

• $380

Prices taken at time of publishing.

This one-piece flight stick combo works great on the Xbox Series X and PC.

• $380 at Turtle Beach
• $380 at Micro Center

This one-piece flight stick comes with both a throttle and yoke to get your aircraft off the ground with all the controls you need. The yoke offers up to 180 degrees of rotation to mimic real flight sticks. The throttles are modular so you swap out the levers to customize how you control your planes. There’s also an integrated headphone jack that will help you easily integrate high-quality audio into your experience.