Xbox Series X accessories: Best controllers, headset, console storage to buy | Gaming | Entertainment
Xbox Series X best accessories to buy – Controllers, storage, wireless headset (Image: MICROSOFT)
The Xbox Series X has been out for over a year now, with the in-demand Microsoft console still hard to come by. And with the recent Microsoft acquisition of Call of Duty makers Activision Blizzard, we wouldn’t be surprised if there’s now even more interest in both the Xbox Series X and S than before. If you’re one of the lucky ones that managed to pick up the powerful system during one of the restocks then you could be looking for some extra accessories. And you have plenty of options to choose from, with some great controller and headset options out there, plus a few different ways you can get extra space for games on your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. If you’re looking for some accessories for the Xbox Series X or S then Express.co.uk has rounded up some of the options you need to consider…
Xbox Series X accessories – best controller
If you’re looking to get an additional controller for your Xbox Series X, then there are a few options from Microsoft you should consider.
The most cost-effective option is getting one of the standard first-party Xbox Series X and S controllers that come in a range of colours.
You can get these joypads in either the black or white that comes as standard with the Series X or S, which is priced at £54.99.
Or you can get these controllers in some of the other colours Microsoft offer like blue or pulse red.
Once again, these controllers will cost £54.99. But there are some other themed controllers out there that will fetch you back a bit more – such as the 20th anniversay controller or the gorgeous Forza Horizon 5 joypad.
Xbox joypads have long been known to be an extremely comfortable controller, with great ergonomics that make it comfortable for playing for long periods of time.
So, going straight for a first-party controller – instead of a third-party one – is your best bet.
Xbox Series X controllers come in a range of colours and are extremely comfortable (Image: MICROSOFT)
The Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 is the best Xbox controller money can buy (Image: MICROSOFT)
Xbox Design Lab UK prices begin from £59.99 to create your own bespoke controller (Image: MICROSOFT)
This controller is priced at £159.99 – which is just £90 less than the price of the Series S – so you’ll need a hefty budget at your disposal.
However, you’ll be getting what you paid for – as the Elite Series 2 offers pro gaming quality that’s built for performance, as well as huge customisation options.
You can remove parts and replace it with others to create over 30 different ways to use the Elite Series 2 controller.
You’ll also get adjustable-tension thumbsticks, wrap-around rubberised grip and much more. And if you shop around you can find the Elite controller at a reduced price.
The other option, if you want something striking to have in your living room, is to head to Xbox Design Lab and create your own unique Series X and S controller design.
You will have a huge amount of customisation options available to you, as well as the ability to create a distinct colour scheme that’s entirely your own.
Prices begin from £59.99 for an Xbox Design Lab controller, but rise depending on what customisation options you choose (such as a personal engraving, rubberised back grips and metallic colours).
Still, if you go for the base options that’s not much more expensive than buying one of the standard Xbox Series X or S controllers – which is very reasonable given the huge customisation options at gamers’ disposal.
Xbox Series X accessories – best headset
If you’re after a headset for your Xbox Series X or S you have a wide range of options to choose from – with renowned third-party accessory makers like Turtle Beach, Razer and SteelSeries all making Xbox headsets.
But one of the best all round options is Microsoft’s very own Xbox Wireless Headset.
This headset can be used on the Xbox Series X and S, as well as the Xbox One and Windows devices.
It pairs directly with an Xbox console and offers support for spatial sound technologies such as Dolby Atmos.
Unfortunately though, you will need to purchase a license to use this feature – which is priced at £10.99.
Which this is a shame, if you think of this as part of the cost of buying your Xbox Series X or S headset it doesn’t seem like too much of a bitter pill to swallow.
And the official Xbox Wireless Headset is available at the reasonable price of £89.99 which helps too.
The Xbox Wireless Headset is a great option for Series X and S gamers (Image: MICROSOFT)
Xbox Series X accessories – best storage
If you have an Xbox Series X or S you may be looking at ways to expand your storage – especially if you have the S model.
While the Xbox Series X comes with a 1TB SSD and the Series S has a 512GB SSD, in terms of usuable storage (as crucial system files will take up space out of the box) the Series X has 802GB and the Series S has 364GB.
And when you factor in the size of next-gen games – such as Forza Horizon 5 taking up around 100GB – then you may need to expand your storage at some point to install all the games you want to play.
Next-gen Xbox games require a specific SSD to run, so you can’t buy an external SSD for your Series X or S. You instead need to buy one of the Seagate Storage Expansion Cards.
These cute little accessories may remind 90s gamers of the memory cards you’d need for the PS1, but instead of a few blocks of memory for save data these cards are loaded with state-of-the-art SSD storage.
You can get a Seagate Expansion Card in 512GB or 1TB sizes. The RRPs are £159.99 and £219.99, but if you hunt around you can get these modern-day memory cards at a reduced price.
Amazon has been known to drop the price of the 1TB Seagate Expansion Card, so keep a close eye on the retailer’s store front.
Amazon also stocks the 512GB Seagate Expansion card, and the retailer has another option you may want to consider.
As mentioned earlier, if you hook up an external hard drive to your Series X or S you can’t install next-gen games to play on it.
You can store Series X and S games on an external hard-drive, and if you want to play them you’ll have to transfer it to your internal SSD.
However, there are a few things to point out. If you use an external hard drive you can put Xbox One, Xbox 360 and original Xbox games on it and play these games.
You won’t benefit from the super-fast load times and SSD offers, but this will help free up plenty of space on your internal storage.
The Xbox Seagate Expansion Card will give you more space to play Series X and S games (Image: MICROSOFT)
And there’s one competitively priced option you can turn to. This hard drive Express.co.uk recommends is the Seagate Game Drive for Xbox, which offers a whopping 2TB worth of space.
It’s priced at £62.99 on Amazon (at the time of writing) – which is considerably less than the Seagate SSD cards – and also comes bundled with one month’s access to Game Pass for free.
If you’re looking for a cost effective way to free up space on your Xbox, this is a great option. You’ll still be able to play Xbox One, 360 and OG Xbox games from this hard drive – while making space for Series X and S games on your internal SSD.
Plus, interestingly, in our tests Express.co.uk found the Quick Resume Series X and S feature even works on games installed on this non-SSD external hard drive.
Certain games which required internet connection at start up broke Quick Resume, but for other games it worked flawlessly.
