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Oct 16, 2024

SteelSeries Gamebuds review: the only gaming earbuds you need for the Xbox, PS5, PC, and more

✅ 🎮 One of the few gaming earbuds to support Xbox Series X ✅ 👾 Wide compatibility with others: PS5, Switch, handheld, etc ✅ 🔕 Distraction-blocking ANC is great for gaming on commutes ✅ 👂

✅ 🎮 One of the few gaming earbuds to support Xbox Series X

✅ 👾 Wide compatibility with others: PS5, Switch, handheld, etc

✅ 🔕 Distraction-blocking ANC is great for gaming on commutes

✅ 👂 Natural-sounding transparency mode

✅ 🕹️ 100+ gaming profiles tuned for specific games

✅ 💰 Reasonably priced at $159

❌ ᯤ Bluetooth connection can be spotty

❌ ⏸️ Wear Sense can be too sensitive and playback too often

❌ 🫨 Ringtone can play continuously due to an early bug

Best Buy: SteelSeries Gamebuds (Xbox)

Best Buy: SteelSeries Gamebuds (PS5)

Gaming earbuds aren’t a new concept, but where so many others fell flat, the SteelSeries Gamebuds have exceeded my expectations. They’re the only earbuds that give you wireless audio with the Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PS5 Pro, Meta Quest 3S, and portables like the Asus ROG Ally X. 100+ gaming profiles also let you dramatically tune the sound of these earbuds to get gaming headset quality audio out of a pair of tiny earbuds.

From booming explosions to bright vocals, all served up with fantastic spatial surround sound, the SteelSeries Gamebuds have become my favorite portable gaming audio solution. I’ll also reach for them whenever I don’t feel like having my ears pinned down with a gaming headset. They’re fantastic earbuds even when not gaming since SteelSeries has admirably gotten most of the fundamentals right with a compact form factor, active noise-canceling, natural-sounding transparency mode, and physical controls. It also helps that the SteelSeries Gamebuds are attractively priced at $159, making them one of the most affordable gaming earbuds we recommend.

🔊 3D spatial audio with tiny drivers. Let’s just get into the fantastic audio quality of these gaming earbuds. They offer fantastic spatial awareness for games like Call of Duty and Helldivers 2. Where with even other gaming headsets, I would hear a cacophony of explosions on top of each other, the Gamebuds allow me to distinguish between a Hellbomb going off to my 2 o’clock while a napalm barrage rains down at my 8 o’clock.

🕹️ 100+ gaming presets. Another thing the SteelSeries Gamebuds has going for it is access to over 100 game profiles through SteelSeries’ new Arctis Companion app on iOS and Android. These profiles are tailored specifically to bring out the best sound quality for all the latest games. They’re all the same profiles you would have access to with SteelSeries dedicated gaming headsets like the Arctis Nova 5 and Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, and having the same level of flexibility in a pair of earbuds is amazing.

💵 Lowest price to beat. The $159 SteelSeries Gamebuds are remarkably one of the most affordable gaming earbuds you can buy. Comparatively, both the Sony InZone Buds and PlayStation Pulse Explore earbuds cost $199, and they aren’t even cross-compatible with the Xbox. Of course, the $149 HyperX Cloud MIX Buds 2 is a cheaper option, but it doesn’t work with the Xbox. The SteelSeries Gamebuds’ biggest rival is the $149 Razer HammerHead Hyperspeed, which is Xbox compatible, but its battery life isn’t nearly as long.

🎛️ Game-boosting sound. These game profiles make a real difference, too. I can better hear the whirl of an engine’s supercharger with the Forza Horizon 5 preset. Alternatively, the synthy and bassy soundtrack from Persona 3 Reloaded sounds brighter when paired with its corresponding preset.

🤏 Compact shape and case. The audio quality of the SteelSeries Gamebuds seems even more impressive with how small they are. The Gamebuds themselves are small-to-average-size and look strikingly similar to earbuds I’ve previously seen from Jabra. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise, considering GN Audio owns both of these companies. The case is also pretty compact, and it holds the earbuds’ accompanying 2.4GHz wireless transmitter, plus a wireless Qi charger at the bottom.

🔘 Physical buttons. I’m also thankful that SteelSeries gave its Gamebuds physical buttons. They’re so much better touch controls and far less sensitive to accidental presses or swipes. They feel clicky, so you know when you’ve pressed them. The controls are pretty much the same as other earbuds, except for three taps on the right side to switch between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless modes.

🔕 Blocking out the world. Like any good pair of modern earbuds, the SteelSeries Gamebuds come with active noise canceling. The hybrid noise-canceling on these earbuds is pretty good overall. It won’t block out the screeching sound of dull car breaks or a jackhammer, but it makes listening to audio and playing games while computing much more pleasant. You can also have your audio a bit lower since you don’t need to crank up the volume to cover up outside noises.

👂 3D transparency mode. What’s even more impressive about the GameBuds is its transparency mode. You can almost hear the world around you with as much spatial clarity as you can hear virtual worlds around you while gaming.

🔋 10 hour battery life. The SteelSeries Gamebuds are rated to last for 10 hours without noise canceling and three charges in the case. In real life, with ANC on, playing a mix of music, podcasts, and gaming, I can confidently get 7-8 hours of playtime, which is slightly above average for earbuds. That’s also plenty of time to complete a couple of missions in Forever Winter or a full chapter of Mortal Kombat 1’s story mode. Charging up is easy with Qi charging or just 15 minutes of wired USB-C charging will get you three hours of playtime.

🐞 Early bugs. The SteelSeries Gamebuds aren’t without a fault or two. The Bluetooth connection isn’t the strongest despite the fact it supports the latest Bluetooth 5.3 standard. I lost connection with the earbuds several times while walking around NYC — especially anywhere with a high concentration of metal. I haven’t experienced this many disconnects from Bluetooth earbuds in over a decade. Another issue I ran into was the earbuds would continuously play the ringtone if someone called and immediately canceled it before you picked it up. Technically, the Gamebuds don’t release until October 29, so I’m hoping SteelSeries can patch the issues by its launch date or with firmware updates.

✅ 🎮 You want one of the few gaming earbuds that work wirelessly with the Xbox Series X/S

✅ 🎵 You want game profiles designed specifically for their corresponding games

✅ 😌 You want a pair of full-featured earbuds for gaming and life

❌ 🤑 You want a cheaper pair of gaming earbuds (get the Asus Cetra Earbuds)

❌ You want to avoid any early hardware hiccups (wait to preorder or until Black Friday)

Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director and he has too many earbuds. It’s a bit of a problem really.