Must-have accessories for your Xbox Series X or Series S console

The Xbox Series X and Series S are excellent machines, yet, no matter how good they are, there will always be room for improvement. Accessories like the Elite Series 2 Controller and the Xbox Stereo Headset can help you get the most out of your new console, while others, like Seagate’s Storage Expansion Cards, will help ensure you have ample storage space for years to come.

Below, we’ve listed some of the best accessories available for the Series X and S, many of which often go on sale at most major retailers.

Controllers and charging stands

First up, controllers. The last-gen Xbox Wireless Controller from the Xbox One may be compatible with the Series X / S consoles; however, the older controller lacks a few new features. For instance, the revised controller has a dedicated button for saving and sharing clips and screenshots, a USB-C port for wired use or charging up Microsoft’s play-and-charge rechargeable battery, and an improved D-pad.

In addition to working with the Xbox consoles, it also features Bluetooth support so you can connect it to your Android phone, iPhone, or PC. If your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth, you can plug in via USB or pick up the Xbox wireless adapter made for Windows.

The Xbox Wireless controller regularly retails for $59.99 to $64.99, depending on the color or edition, but we often see it on sale for as low a price as $40. And for those that want something really unique, you can order a custom model through the Xbox Design Lab.

If you’re willing to fork out a bit of extra money, it may be worth investing in the Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller.

While nearly double the price of the Xbox wireless controller, we consider it the best premium Xbox controller you can buy. We love how customizable it is, as well as features like the adjustable-tension thumbsticks, the paddles for custom button mapping, and the shorter hair-trigger locks. The controller also offers USB-C and Bluetooth connectivity and great battery life whether you’re playing on an Xbox One, Xbox Series X, or Windows 10 / 11 device. In fact, we were able to enjoy roughly 40 hours of playtime on a single charge.

Although the Elite Series 2 typically sells for $179.99, it sometimes dips to as low as $139.99 when it’s on sale. There’s also the Xbox Elite Series 2 Core, a cheaper version that comes packaged with fewer accouterments. The Core version is the same controller in two-tone white, red, or blue — but without the accessories — and sells for $129.99 on its own.

If you’d rather buy a more affordable controller for your spare, the PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller is a great budget pick. It lacks wireless connectivity, but it comes with a lengthy Micro USB cable and works on both the Xbox Series X / S and PC. It’s a more than capable gamepad that comes in a wide variety of colors and licensed designs, one that often sells for as little as $24.99

If you want to save money on pricey replacement batteries, consider picking up a charging stand when you buy your controller. The PowerA Charging Stand offers a 1,100mAh rechargeable battery and two battery doors, as well as a USB charging cable. It’s also compatible with both the Xbox Series X / S and Xbox One wireless controllers. While we don’t often see significant deals on the device, Amazon and PowerA normally sell the black and white configurations for $19.99. Alternatively, if you own several controllers, you can opt for a PowerA Duo Charging Station for $29.99, allowing you to charge two at once.

You don’t have to miss a call while you game, thanks to Microsoft’s $99.99 Xbox Wireless Headset. When we reviewed it in 2021, we found it to be a comfortable, intuitively designed headset that’s well worth the price. And in addition to working well with Xbox consoles, it can connect to another device simultaneously via Bluetooth.

If you’re on a tighter budget and don’t mind a wire, the Xbox Stereo Headset is mostly the same but for less. It connects to your controller via a 3.5mm cable, and while it can’t simultaneously pair with your phone, it has a handy volume control on its right ear cup.

Delegating your older games to a slower but far cheaper storage solution — like Seagate’s 4TB Game Drive For Xbox — is a clever way to let you have all of your games accessible without crowding your already-limited SSD space. However, it’s worth pointing out that any external USB drive will be significantly slower to load than what the Series X’s and Series S’s respective SSDs can handle. If you’re hungry for more info, check out this in-depth look at different hard drive performance points from Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter.

Of course, you can buy faster storage to add to your Series X / S console, but it’ll cost you significantly more money than the option above. Microsoft partnered with Seagate to make proprietary SSDs that can be inserted into the rear of either console. The SSDs are available in multiple configurations, including a 512GB model for $139.99, a 1TB variant for $219.99, and a 2TB version for $399.99. All three are supposedly just as fast as the storage inside your new console, so this is the best place to keep all of the new games you want to quickly load and switch between at will.

There’s been talk of the expansion card slot being opened up to more manufacturers after cheaper ones from Western Digital were briefly spotted on Best Buy’s site, but for now, Seagate’s expandable storage cards remain the sole option.

Okay, maybe it’s not absolutely essential, but a $9.99 monthly Xbox Game Pass subscription is a valuable asset for any Xbox console owner. It offers access to over 100 games from Microsoft, Bethesda, and many more. There are day-one releases of big AAA titles, including Bethesda’s upcoming spacefaring epic, Starfield, as well as indie darlings like Citizen Sleeper. Frankly, it’s one of the best things about owning an Xbox if you like to try a wide variety of games. Plus, if you opt for the $14.99 per month Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you also get access to Xbox Cloud Gaming and PC Game Pass.

LG’s C2 OLED is a great gaming TV with four HDMI 2.1 ports that each supports 4K resolution at up to 120Hz. It also features support for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync technologies, low input lag, and a fast processor. It even has a “Game Optimizer” dashboard, which is a settings pane that conveniently brings together game-centric settings like refresh rate and latency for quicker access.

The C2 remains one of our top recommendations for those who want to game on an OLED TV, which allows you to advantage of excellent black levels and vivid color contrast. There’s a new C3 model now hitting the market, but it’s selling for quite a bit more than the C2. For now, you can still get the last-gen model in a number of size configurations, ranging from 42 inches to a massive 77 inches.

If a new TV is out of your budget, you can still make playing games on your existing set more enjoyable for cheap with 8BitDo’s infrared media remote. In our review, we concluded the remote does a good job if your Xbox is your primary streaming device. It offers Xbox buttons so you can easily navigate menus and apps, as well as a Home button that wakes up your Xbox instantly. The Short Edition we reviewed seems to be discontinued, but you can still get the black Long Edition, which features a number pad, for $24.99.