Somehow, the 2022 holiday season is already upon us, which means it’s already time to begin hitting the physical and digital storefronts to buy gifts for those in your life. If you happen to be shopping for an Xbox fan this year, it might be a bit hard to know what to get. Compared to PlayStation and Nintendo, Xbox had a bit of a down year in 2022, especially when it comes to first-party releases. Still, there isn’t a shortage of Xbox hardware, accessories, and games that you can look to snag.
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Here are some of the best gifts that you can give to the Xbox fan in your life over the course of the holidays.
Xbox Game Pass Subscription
Yeah, this is simply a no-brainer at this point. Xbox Game Pass has become the platform that the entire Xbox ecosystem revolves around and it’s only going to become more prominent as the years go by. It might seem lame to simply buy someone a Game Pass subscription as a gift, but rest assured, that recipient should get a lot out of the service.
Xbox Series X|S
The two newest Xbox consoles have been out for over two years at this point, but scarcity has meant that they’re each still hard to find. The Xbox Series X, in particular, remains incredibly hard to discover sitting on store shelves, which means it could be difficult to snag amidst the holiday rush.
If this is the case, though, the Xbox Series S is a more than adequate upgrade to current-gen gaming. Although it doesn’t boast the same specs as the Series X, the Series S is relatively easy to find and purchase at this point. And considering just how cheap it is, it remains the best option to merely dip your toe into the next generation of Xbox.
Price: $299, $499
Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 – Core
Sticking with Xbox hardware, Microsoft’s latest version of the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 is now much cheaper than it was before. Although it doesn’t include all of the standard bells and whistles that are seen with the traditional model, this Core version of the controller comes in at a lower retail price while still retaining many of the best features of the Elite Controller. If you’re trying to grab someone a new Xbox controller this holiday season but don’t want to break the bank, the Core model is a great option.
Price: $129
Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld
The Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld is a great buy for those that want a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck equivalent for Xbox. Although the Logitech G isn’t manufactured by Microsoft, it has been made with Xbox Cloud Gaming in mind, which means that numerous games from the Xbox library can now be played on the go.
The only problem with the Logitech G is that it’s pretty pricey and can only be used when connected to WiFi. Assuming that you know someone in your life who is a big fan of handheld gaming, though, it could make for a stellar present.
Price: $349
Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal isn’t necessarily a new game, but it did only launch on Xbox One and Xbox Series X about a month ago. As such, those on Xbox platforms haven’t had long to experience one of the best role-playing games of the past decade for themselves. If you know someone who loves turn-based RPGs and games that take dozens of hours to beat, you really can’t do better than Persona 5 Royal this year.
Price: $29.99
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is potentially the best game that released in 2022, which makes it a worthy purchase on its own. Outside of simply being a stellar title in its own right, though, Elden Ring is also heavily discounted at the time of this writing. So if you’ve been waiting for the price to drop on the game since it launched earlier in the year, now might be the time to finally capitalize on its lowered price.
Price: $34.99
Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite has had a rough past year, to put it lightly. Not only did the launch in late 2021 with many core features delayed, but it ended up losing quite a bit of its player base throughout 2022 as a result of numerous development struggles.
Still, it seems like Halo Infinite has turned a corner within the past month as its new Winter Update has finally rolled out. Not only does Infinite now feature a Co-Op Campaign mode, but the game’s Forge mode is also now in Beta as well. All in all, Halo Infinite still has some problems, but it’s likely a better gift in 2022 than it was in 2021 — especially since it’s now available for a fraction of the price.
Price: $19.99
