Here are some must-have accessories for your Xbox Series X or Series S

The Xbox Series X and Series S consoles launched in November 2020. Whether you were able to secure one in time for launch day, or if you’re still waiting for your moment of luck to get one, you might want some fresh accessories to snag with your big purchase.

First up, controllers. You probably already know that Microsoft’s Xbox One wireless controller is also compatible with the new Series X / S consoles, which is great. However, the older controller model lacks a few features that might make the newer one a worthy upgrade for you. For instance, the revised controller has a dedicated share button for saving clips and screenshots and sharing them online, a USB-C port for charging up Microsoft’s optional $24.99 play-and-charge rechargeable battery, along with a few cosmetic and physical improvements to the d-pad and triggers. It’s not a completely new controller, like the PS5’s DualSense, but that comes through with its lower $59.99 price tag.

In addition to working with the Xbox consoles, the new controller also has Bluetooth support so you can easily connect it to your Android phone, iPhone, or PC. If your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth, you can pick up the Xbox wireless adapter made for Windows 10. Microsoft sells the aforementioned PC adapter for $24.99.

If you need a headset, check out Microsoft’s own Xbox Wireless Headset that costs $100. In my review, I found it to be a comfortable, intuitively-designed headset that’s well worth its cost, if you can find it in stock. In addition to working well with Xbox consoles, it can connect to another device simultaneously via Bluetooth, so you don’t have a miss a call while you game.

Xbox Wireless headset

• $100

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Microsoft’s wireless headset for Xbox consoles and PC connects easily like a controller, and also supports a concurrent Bluetooth connection for phones or other devices. Its twistable dials for volume and chat controls make adjustments simple.

Delegating your older games to slower, but far cheaper storage is a clever way to let you have all of your games accessible without crowding your already-limited SSD space. Though, 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.

Seagate Game Drive For Xbox 4TB External Hard Drive

• $100

Prices taken at time of publishing.

A 4TB hard drive is ideal for storing older Xbox games if you plan to play them on the Xbox Series X / S.

Of course, you can buy faster storage to add onto your Series X / S console, but it’ll cost you significantly more money than the option above. Microsoft partnered with Seagate to make proprietary 1TB SSDs that can be inserted into the rear of either console. These $220 SSDs are advertised to be 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. And, if you have the cash to burn, you can buy multiple 1TB cards and hot-swap them to access more games.

If you have a lot of money to spend, perhaps it’s time you investigate a TV upgrade? My colleague Chris Welch has done the leg work of researching the best models to take advantage of the Xbox Series X’s graphical power, VRR support and HDMI 2.1 capability. Prices start at around $950 for a 65-inch QLED TV from TCL, with OLED options from LG sitting at the top around $2,200.

Update May 3rd, 10:46AM ET: I’ve added in the Xbox Wireless Headset, as well as a link to our buying guide for other gaming headsets. Also, I’ve put in my colleague Chris Welch’s buying guide for the best 4K TVs for the Xbox Series X.