Why you can trust Windows Central
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Can earbuds replace your gaming headset? SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds say “yes.”
A little while ago, SteelSeries sent over this review unit of their new(ish) Arctis Gamebuds, ANC earbuds with Bluetooth, USB-C 2.4 wireless connectivity, and mobile and PC apps to boot.
I’ve used a couple of “gaming” earbud options in the past, and found most of them to be fairly underwhelming. I like the idea of having a single headset that can do “everything,” from gaming, to chat, to travel, to music, and so on, but so far the options out there have either been incredibly expensive, or a bit iffy.
The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds are the first Xbox and PC “gaming” earbuds that I feel truly check all the right boxes, across performance, features, and price. Without a doubt, in their category, they’re among the best Xbox headsets you can get right now in my view.
If you’re someone who has been waiting for a product like this, do read on, because there are some downsides worth mentioning.
This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by SteelSeries. The company had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.
Arctis Gamebuds: Price and specifications
The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds aren’t the cheapest earbuds on the market, but there aren’t many out there that can boast such an impressive feature set.
In the bundle, you get ear tips, two USB-C cables, a USB-C dongle for use on PC or Xbox with a toggle switch, the earbuds themselves with on-ear controls, and a 30-hour wired and wireless recharging carry case to house it all.
|
Type |
Spec |
|---|---|
|
Freq. Response |
20 Hz to 20 kHz |
|
Connectivity |
2.4 GHz wireless or Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
Features |
Active Noise Cancelling with transparency mode, on-ear buttons, charge case, in-ear detection, Qi wireless charging case |
|
Compatibility |
Xbox One, Series X|S, Windows 10+ PC, Bluetooth devices. |
|
Battery Life |
~10 hours, ~30 hours in the case |
|
Price |
The whole package will set you back around $160 MSRP in the United States, although tariffs and the like could impact the price in the near term.
Arctis Gamebuds: Build quality and features
The earbuds I typically use for travel and the like are Samsung’s Galaxy Buds, and I kind of hate them. They’re obviously the most compatible earbuds with my Galaxy S24, but they have such an odd shape — I’m not sure Samsung actually made them for human beings.
Thankfully, the Arctis Gamebuds are far, far more comfortable. In fact, I think they might be the most comfortable in-ear headphones I’ve ever used.
The Arctis Gamebuds come with a variety of tips to tailor the experience to your particular ear shape, but the curvature and soft plastic used on the outer body create a smooth sensation on the skin, complete with an impressive ergonomic fit.
RELATED: How to use Apple AirPods and other Bluetooth earbuds on Xbox
Another aspect I like here is the clicky buttons, rather than capacitive. My Galaxy Buds are prone to accidental taps and clicks when I’m doing something as simple as scratching an itch.
You have to actually activate these controls, which I feel like every headset on Earth should opt for.
Triple taps let you instantly switch between Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz signals for moving between mobile devices and your primary gaming platform. Other motions can be configured in the apps available for both PC and mobile — both of which are high-quality, with good usability and polish.
It’s a bit annoying that you have to make an account to use the apps and even do basic things like update firmware, but I guess that’s just where we are in 2025. Once you’re in, the experience is good, with a high degree of configurability.
SteelSeries partnered with publishers to build per-game audio profiles for a variety of the world’s most popular games, while also including some EQ pre-sets like Bass Boost and the like. I think more general-use pre-sets would be nice to see, but SteelSeries is often adding more via updates. And you can always create your own, too.
To make the deal a bit sweeter, the headset comes with active noise cancellation, which is something I find to be absolutely necessary for travel earbuds these days.
Since these earbuds are trying to be your “everything” device, it’s good to see this included. They also have an on-click transparency mode if you need to hear another person, without having to take them out of your ears.
They’re easy to set up on an Xbox and PC, too. Simply plug the USB-C dongle in directly or with the USB-A cable, and you’re pretty much good to go. A switch on the dongle lets you point at Xbox or PC, which will beat out Bluetooth for signal quality generally.
Sadly, you can’t mix signals like you can on some devices like this, but these days, you can listen to Spotify and take Discord calls on your Xbox directly without having to use an additional device.
Arctis Gamebuds: Sound and microphone quality
SteelSeries nails the feature set with the Arctis Gamebuds, but how does it perform sound-wise?
Naturally, the sound stage on earbuds is going to feel more intimate than headphones with bigger drivers, which does impact positional and spatial awareness to some degree, I find.
I played Overwatch for a few hours with these yesterday, and still found them to be more than viable for pinpointing the position of Cassidys and Sombras trying to flank me.
I find the sound quality is also up there for earbuds. They’re perhaps not as punchy or impressive as more expensive over-ear gaming headphones out there, like SteelSeries’ own Arctis Nova or something like the new Turtle Beach Stealth 700, but they do deliver a more than adequate response.
The Arctis Gamebuds have impressive separation for earbuds. Listening to bass boosted music gives each instrument a distinct platform and clear performance, even in loud genres like death metal and the like. I would argue that the maximum volume is perhaps not as loud as I would like, but that’s most likely a “me problem.” Yes, I am old.
While the sound delivery into your ears is really impressive for this type of device, the sound quality your friends will be hearing may take a hit.
On-ear microphones have improved over the years in quality, but there’s always going to be a trade-off when you’re not using a dedicated boom mic. The trade-off here is significant, as you can hear in the above audio clip, recorded directly from the SteelSeries Arctis to my PC.
The sound quality on the mics is just about passable for basic party chat. I was using it to play competitive games like WoW and Overwatch for several evenings, and nobody complained or had an issue hearing me. But, it’s still worth being aware of.
Overall, I’m more than impressed with the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds audio reproduction. They’re great for music, easily replacing my Galaxy Buds. They’re decent for gaming, and more convenient in a lot of cases given their size and rechargeability. And the features make the price point feel fair, too.
Arctis Gamebuds: The competition
The main competition to speak of here is the Razer Hammerhead range, which I really, really wanted to like.
I generally prefer Razer for most of my gaming accessories, but the signal interference on the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed for Xbox was significant to the point of being unusable.
I also found the listed battery life wasn’t quite up to par with reality. Even though I think they look a bit nicer than the SteelSeries, and have a more ergonomic carry case, I don’t think it’s worth the saving.
Indeed, they are a bit cheaper at $130 on Amazon as of writing. I would argue that the Arctis Gamebuds are significantly better overall, though, and something I would far sooner recommend for the extra $30.
The elephant in the room, potentially, is that the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) are better overall, while also being a similar RRP of $160 on Amazon. They aren’t earbuds, though, and do not have active noise cancelling.
The Gamebuds are designed specifically around that form factor, and squishing the tech down into something small enough to fit into your ear is obviously a bit of extra engineering.
The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds are, without a doubt, the best earbuds you can get for Xbox, PC, and mobile gaming right now. But you need to want earbuds specifically to get the most value out of them.
Arctis Gamebuds: Should you buy them?
I can’t help but be thoroughly impressed with what SteelSeries has put together here. A large feature set, with Qi wireless charging, active noise cancelling, solid apps, good audio, and premium-tier comfort makes the $160 RRP absolutely worth it in my view.
There aren’t many gaming earbuds on the market that are fully wirelessly compatible with Xbox, but of the few out there, the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds are the best.
✅ You should buy this if …
- You want a truly “everything” headset for Xbox and PC gaming, music, travel, and beyond.
- You don’t mind spending a bit more for things like ANC.
- You’re specifically looking for earbuds for Xbox and PC gaming.
❌ You should not buy this if …
- You’re not planning to use them everywhere. There are better dedicated headsets for gaming for a similar price.
Yes, there are better dedicated headphones for a similar price for Xbox, and better dedicated earbuds for music on mobile, but if you want a device that can do it all — the SteelSeries Arctis Earbuds are your best option right now.
If you have any questions about them, hit the comments!
SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds
