Holiday Gift Guide for the Xbox Gamer in Your Life

Shopping for just about anyone can be tough, especially in this era when almost anything you want is just a few taps or clicks away. Hungry? Just pull up a delivery app. Need new pants? They’ll be here tomorrow!

Gamers are no exception to this rule, especially as things gradually shift more towards digital. And now with Game Pass Ultimate — which offers access to hundreds of games, Day One first-party releases, EA Play, and all the benefits of Xbox Live Gold for just $9.99 USD a month and the first three months for only $1 USD [/meme] — finding just the right item to put under the tree can be especially gruelling. After all, what if they already have the game? Or it’s on Game Pass? What then?

Well, there are gift cards — functionally handy, but with a societal stigma attached that mark them as the last refuge of someone who just doesn’t know what to get, doesn’t know the person much at all, or even made only enough effort to say “I got you a gift.”

So, what to do? Well, that’s where this handy gift guide comes into play. As it turns out, there’s a lot of things you can get for an Xbox fan that rises above the level of gift card without leaving you wondering what titles occupy their library, and I’m here to help shine a spotlight on some of them.

Note that many of these products are available at a wide range of retailers, but can be bought directly from the manufacturer as well. That is where I’ll link for the most part, but I’ll note if a product is exclusive.

Fangamer Banjo-Kazooie Plush

Fangamer is a company which has made its name by making merchandise based on their favorite games “that they’d want to own.” Now they offer all sorts of product from a wide variety of brands, including this great two-in-one plush toy set based on Banjo and Kazooie, the stars of the Xbox titles Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, to say nothing of cameos in games such as Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and, most recently, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch.

Both characters are well-represented in this set, and you can get a full breakdown of what’s on offer here in my review.

The Banjo-Kazooie plush set can be purchased directly from Fangamer’s website, though a special boxed version appears to be sold exclusively at Best Buy in the United States.

Fangamer also has many other items from Banjo-Kazooie and other brands developed by Rare, including Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, Snake, Rattle, ‘n Roll, and Battletoads in the Rare section of their website. Ori and Psychonauts are there, too!

American Girl + Xbox Set

Despite what it says on the box, you don’t need to be a collector of American Girl dolls — or even a girl — to enjoy this set (though neither one hurts, either).

The bulk of this package contains all sorts of cool replica Xbox stuff in miniature: a mini Xbox Series X console with lights and sound, a pair of mini Xbox Wireless Controllers, an mini Xbox Wireless Headset, a pair of mini Xbox game boxes with mini Xbox game discs that can go into the mini Xbox system, and even a mini smart phone with mini clip that can attach to the mini controllers for some mini Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that the feature game is the classic Ori and the Will of the Wisps? The mini Ori case, disc, and music that plays from the Xbox practically makes this set a fun must-have for not only Xbox fans in general, but Ori fans as well.

You can find my full breakdown and review of the set here, and if you’re interested in getting one, you can find it exclusively in the Gaming Collection of the American Girl website, among some other cool small-scale items (like a working Pac-Man arcade machine). Just know that as of this writing, like many things, the American Girl + Xbox Gaming Set is backordered; you can purchase it now, and it’ll arrive in May 2022.

MEGA Construx Halo Infinite Collection

The long-awaited release of Halo Infinite is here, and to celebrate, Mattel’s Mega Construx has highlighted for us some of the showpiece items they have for this holiday season.

MEGA Construx Halo Infinite UNSC Razorback Blitz

This building block set (they’re not just for kids anymore) includes a version of the UNSC Razorback truck as it appears in Halo Infinite, which features a large truck bed for supporting extra firepower and active suspension to help it withstand any terrain. Or, you can instead use the pieces to construct a defense camp comprised of a fortified wall, raised turret, and an exo-suit for one of the four micro action figures that are also included.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for this set is $29.99 USD, and you can find it through the tracker on their website.

MEGA Construx Halo Spartan Helmets Assortment

Each of this assortment of Spartan helmets contains a battle just waiting to unfold, each based on a different classic Halo multiplayer game mode. Recreate your moments of glory from Skull Control, Capture the Flag, or Last Spartan Standing. Each playset contains two UNSC Spartan micro figures, a themed environment, and interactive features, all stored inside a collectible, displayable Spartan helmet.

Each one goes for an MSRP of $9.99 USD, and you can search for local retailers carrying each helmet through the respective links above.

MEGA Construx Halo 20th Anniversary Character Pack (Amazon exclusive)

“It’s 20 for 20” — that’s 20 years of Halo, celebrated by the 20 micro figures in this set, in case you weren’t up on your Halo history. An all-star cast of “super poseable” and “authentically detailed” characters from across the universe has been assembled for this pack — including Mister Chief! This set also inclues display stands, armor, and a special armory with bonus swappable combat accessories.

The MSRP for this set is $49.99 USD, and is ostensibly exclusive to Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, but it seems that Toys R Us in Canada has gotten their hands on some, too.

Jazwares Halo Figures

Jazwares has a new line of Halo action figures, including Master Chief in different scales, plus other Spartans and characters from the series.

But the highlight might just be the “World of Halo” Deluxe Vehicle & Figure Pack consisting of the Warthog with Master Chief. Master Chief comes armed with an Assault Rifle, and can be positioned long with up to two other figures from the line in either seat or manning the turret. As a neat sort of bonus, the Warthog doubles as a Forza item, too.

I don’t have an MSRP for this one, but it seems to hover around the $29.99 USD mark, give or take about five bucks, depending on where you go. You can find it at GameStop, Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, and if you’re in Canada, they say Toys R Us, though it’s not on their website.

You can see what else they have to offer at the official website.

Cable Guy controller/phone holders

Sure, you can toss your controller or smart phone anywhere, but don’t they deserve better than that? Of course they do.

That’s where EXG Pro’s Cable Guy line of video game figures come in. These non-posable figures will display your controller, phone, or whatever else fits in their hands with a sense of pride, and are based on a wide-range of characters, including Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Marvel Super Heroes, and more.

More specific to the Xbox brand are a few Master Chiefs, including one from Halo Infinite (the one holding the controller above), a version of the same with a light-up Xbox base (the one with the square base), and a 20th Anniversary 2-pack, featuring his original appearance and a second figure in Cortana. And for good measure, there’s Banjo and Kazooie, too.

You can see their entire assortment here. The individual figures tend to stand about 8.5 inches tall, come with a 1.2m Type C charging cable, and go for about $29.99 USD each, with a few exceptions (such as the 12″ “XL” Spyro). In addition to their website, you can find them at various retailers.

Hyperkin 20th Anniversary Duke Controllers

They say you can’t go home again… but with Xbox’s backwards compatibility, the right games, and this throwback to the launch of the original Xbox, maybe you don’t need to.

Hyperkin is celebrating 20 years of Xbox with this special edition release of their Xbox “Duke” wired controllers, which closely (but not precisely — more on that in a second) replicate the look and feel of the large controller which came bundled with every Xbox console at launch way back in 2001.

In addition to a 3.5mm headphone jack and detachable Type C cable, the black and white versions of this controller each come emblazoned with the Xbox 20th anniversary logo, feature bumpers which emulate the functions of the Black and White buttons (where they were moved in later console generations), a Share button which works with the Xbox Series X|S consoles, and a jewel screen Xbox button in the center which plays a short video of the original Xbox console’s startup animation.

The third version celebrates a different 20 year anniversary, in addition to the Xbox’s: Halo, and more specifically, Master Chief’s AI partner, Cortana. Featuring a special purple Halo 20th Anniversary Cortana design with Cortana graphic in place of the Xbox 20th Anniversary logo, the Xbox button at the center of this version instead plays a special Cortana montage.

The MSRP for these controllers is $89.99 USD each, and they will be available on December 15th at Hyperkin’s website, along with other retailers.

Xbox Achievement Trophy LED Light

If the Xbox gamer in your life loves getting Achievements, then you can help them celebrate with this 8.3 inch-tall LED light from Paladone, shaped like the Xbox Achievement Trophy. You can power this with the included USB cable, or if you have them handy, a pair of AA batteries will allow you to celebrate untethered.

The price seems to fluctuate, depending on where you find these, but the MSRP seems to be about $29.99 USD. FYE has them on sale as of this writing, but they’ve also popped up in various other places, such as Target and Amazon. Be sure to grab while the grabbing is good, because some places have already sold out.

Xbox Gear Shop

This isn’t really an item, per se, but if nothing so far has tickled your fancy, then maybe something at the official Xbox Gear Shop will do the trick? They’ve got apparel, accessories, drinkware, home & office, and collectibles for multiple Xbox franchises, from Halo to Gears to Sea of Thieves to Forza, and more — to say nothing of various items celebrating the Xbox brand itself. (And if they restock, you can find the above Trophy light, among other light designs, too.)

You can check it all out by following this link.

But before you go, we’re not done yet. It’s time to look at the Big Ticket items.

Xbox Series X Replica Mini Fridge Thermoelectric Cooler

What started as a meme has become a reality. Resembling the Xbox Series X, this miniature refrigerator features LED lights, a DC power adapter, and even a USB port on the front for charging devices, all while keeping up to twelve cans and whatever you can fit in the two door shelves nice and cool.

The Xbox Series X Replica Mini Fridge Thermoelectric Cooler (or “Xbox Mini Fridge” to its friends) has already been released in the States with an MSRP of $99.99 USD, and you can find it at Target, or go through the website of manufacturer Toynk here, where it costs a little bit more.

Canadians can also go through Toynk for a late January delivery, or they can wait for it to hit the Xbox Gear Shop (linked above), where the first shipment for Canadians is expected to roll out this month.

Xbox Design Lab Controller

Nothing says caring like the personal touch, and that’s just what you can add with an Xbox Design Lab controller.

Using the Xbox Wireless Controller as a base, you can customize virtually every facet of the controller, from the casing to the analog sticks to the buttons, in the colors you get to choose. Add a metallic finish to the triggers or hybrid D-pad, or throw on some rubberized grips for when things get intense. You can even add a laser-engraved message of up to 16 characters.

The Xbox Wireless Controller (Design Lab and otherwise) is compatible with the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Windows 10, Android, and certain versions of iOS, and can run for up to 40 hours on two AA batteries. The Xbox Design Lab controller is priced starting at $69.99 USD (laser-engraving and rubberized grips are extra), and comes with free shipping. It will be delivered in 3-4 weeks, so if you absolutely need to show them something in the meantime, you can always take a screenshot of your creation.

Find out more at the official website, or jump right in to experimenting here. And in case it wasn’t obvious, this is exclusive to the Microsoft Store website.

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Halo Infinite Limited Edition

Conversely, if you really want to help the Xbox gamer in your life step up their game and aren’t worried about the personal touch, then what you’re looking for is the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. And to celebrate the launch of Halo Infinite, there’s even a Halo Infinite Limited Edition version.

The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 is for serious players, and offers tons of customization options, from additional analog sticks and interchangeable D-pad to four paddles that can be added to the back for further functionality, as well as voice commands. Up to three custom profiles can be stored, in addition to the default, swappable at a moment’s notice with the Profile button. It also comes with a charging dock, or can be recharged inside its own included custom carrying case.

All this for $199.99 USD.

For further details — and there are plenty more — go to the official website.

It also comes in black for an MSRP of $179.99, but as of this writing, can be had for $157.99 USD with free shipping from the Microsoft Store.

Seagate Storage Expansion Card

The Xbox Series X|S’s Velocity Architecture can be both a blessing and a curse. Put simply, its SSD technology is fast — very fast. But that speed comes at a cost — normal external hard drives don’t work with it so well. If you’re running a backwards compatible game, or just need to store your game somewhere off the internal hard drive, they’re fine. But if you need more storage for Xbox Series X|S games that you can run them from, you’re going to need something that can keep up.

Enter the Seagate Storage Expansion Cards. Available in 512GB ($139.99 USD MSRP), 1TB ($219.99 USD), and 2TB ($399.99 USD), take it from me — these things are sure to really come in handy, especially if a) you’re bringing along a library of games from past Xbox generations, and b) you play a lot of top-of-the-line games, which can easily run in the 100GB range.

You can find out more about the cards and what they do here, and purchase them from Seagate directly here.

Short of purchasing an entire Xbox Series X|S console itself, this is probably the best gift you can get for anyone who owns one.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

We covered this at the start — there’s a good chance that if you’re buying for an avid Xbox fan, then they’ve already got Game Pass Ultimate. But here’s the thing: it’s a subscription, and subscriptions run out. So as long as they aren’t such a fan that they’ve already maxed out the three years’ worth of stacking you can do, then you’re basically giving them something that they want and will definitely need.

Or maybe they haven’t tried Game Pass yet? In which case, what better way?

Everything I said at the top of this article (and more) applies, but if you’d like to look further into it for yourself, you can do so here

You can go to the Xbox Store (here for US, and here for Canada) and click on the little “gift” icon, which looks like this:

From there, you can enter the email address of the recipient, and boom, you’re ready to gift them three months of service for $44.97 USD. They’ll receive a digital code, and be ready to go instantly!

Or, if you’re looking for something a little more tangible, be it for a stocking stuffer or gift exchange, you can also find gift cards in stores like Walmart and other retailers who offer such things. Yes, I know what I said about gift cards at the start of this thing, but this is different. This is a gift card with a laser-focused precise purpose.

And that’ll do it for this year. I hope this guide helps you find the perfect item for the Xbox gamer in your life.

Thanks for reading!

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.