SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds review: earbuds for PlayStation or Xbox

SteelSeries’ Arctis GameBuds are the first gaming earbuds I actually want to buy. Sony, Razer, and Logitech all offer similar gaming-focused earbuds, but SteelSeries is the only company offering low-latency earbuds with Bluetooth connectivity and console compatibility, a mobile app with powerful per-game EQ settings, active noise cancellation, and a wireless charging case, all for $159.99.

It’s a unique combination at this price, and I’ve come to appreciate it in recent weeks, even swapping my trusted Arctis Nova Pro headset for these earbuds for PC gaming. Unlike Bluetooth-only earbuds, the GameBuds also work on PlayStation or Xbox, so I’ve been using them to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, among other games.

The Arctis GameBuds look very similar to Jabra’s discontinued Elite line of earbuds, housed in a pill-shaped wireless charging case that can deliver up to 40 hours of battery life in total. The case also includes the 2.4GHz USB-C dongle that can be attached to a game console, PC, or phone. There’s a cable inside the packaging that turns this into a USB-A dongle, for those without a USB-C port.

Each earbud has a single button. Pressing the left-hand-side button cycles through transparency and noise cancellation, while the right-hand button is play / pause. You can also tap and hold the right earbud to increase the volume or tap and hold the left earbud to decrease it. 

Switching between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless is just three taps away with the side buttons and is instant. Unfortunately, you can’t use Bluetooth at the same time as the 2.4GHz mode, so you can’t listen to music from your phone alongside game audio from your PlayStation or Xbox. It’s a shame because many of SteelSeries’ other headsets, like my Nova Pro, are capable of this.

The GameBuds come with a variety of silicone tips to help you find the best seal for your ears, so you can get the best use out of the active noise canceling mode. They use four microphones to tune out distractions, and they do a good job of filtering out sounds around you if you’re playing music or a loud game, but they’re nowhere near as good as Apple’s AirPods Pro or the Bose earbuds. You’ll still hear some ambient sounds if you have the volume low or your game doesn’t have a ton of audio.

The audio quality is good for $159.99, and the equalizer presets let you choose options with more bass if you’re listening to music or a flat EQ if you’re listening to podcasts. There’s also a transparency mode, and you can control the levels of both the ANC and transparency modes in the Arctis mobile app. This app is easily the best part of the Arctis GameBuds because it also includes the gaming equalizer presets that have become so popular and useful on SteelSeries’ line of headphones. There are presets for more than 100 games, and you really notice the differences when you toggle between them. The Valorant preset is tuned in a way that makes it a lot easier to hear footsteps in that game, and it can honestly be the difference between winning and losing a fight because you hear the other player before you see them.

The same presets are available on the SteelSeries GG desktop app, so if you use these on a gaming PC, you’ll be able to take advantage of Sonar — SteelSeries’ excellent audio system for Windows. I used to hate that SteelSeries forced you to use Sonar, but it’s actually a far superior system for managing audio in Windows than what Microsoft offers out of the box. It even has spatial audio and AI-powered noise cancellation for microphones to filter out things like your dog barking in the middle of a game or video call.

I’ve been using the GameBuds primarily on a PC, but it’s easy to plug the USB-C dongle into an Xbox or PlayStation as long as you’ve bought the correct version. All models of the GameBuds work with PlayStation, PCs, and other consoles like the Switch. But Xbox users will need to get the Xbox version, which is the same price but includes an additional chip to adhere to Microsoft’s security policies plus a slider button on the USB-C dongle to switch to Xbox compatibility. It’s disappointing that the Xbox version only comes in black; the white version looks nice.

I used the GameBuds with my Xbox, and the setup is seamless. You simply plug the dongle in and the Xbox recognizes there’s a headset attached and assigns it to your profile just like any other headset. You can then control the EQ settings, ANC, and more from the Arctis mobile app.

The mobile and desktop apps also list battery life, which I’ve found comes close to matching the 10 hours SteelSeries advertises. Using ANC and the microphone regularly, I averaged around nine hours, but if you have those disabled, it’s closer to 10 hours. It doesn’t seem to make a difference whether you’re on Bluetooth or 2.4GHz mode.

The case has enough extra battery life to charge the GameBuds around four times before you need to plug them into a USB-C charger. You can also charge the case on a Qi wireless charger, so I’ve been able to use the same charger I use for my AirPods Pro.

The only issues I ran into while testing the GameBuds were related to video calls on my PC. Sometimes the audio would distort to the point where the buds felt like they were vibrating on calls when the other person’s microphone peaked too high. I managed to get this under control by reducing the chat volume in the Sonar app. I also found that the 2.4GHz signal still breaks up in the same spots of my house that the Nova Pro Wireless headphones do. It’s only when I go too far away from the dongle, though.

I do wish the GameBuds had a mode that let you switch microphone inputs on the fly. I use a dedicated XLR microphone on my PC, but when I walk away from my desk with the GameBuds in, I’d love to be able to tap the side buttons and switch to the microphone input on the buds instead. I’d also love to be able to use Bluetooth and 2.4GHz modes at the same time, so I’m hoping SteelSeries will continually improve these GameBuds like it has the rest of its headphones. But that doesn’t mean you should buy them hoping they’ll get better in the future.

If you’re looking for something less gaming-focused with better sound quality, and you’re willing to spend a little more, there are plenty of other earbud options. But for $159.99, these are a great option for your PlayStation, Xbox, or PC. The GameBuds are comfortable, sound good, and offer great game presets that you won’t find on other earbuds.

Photography by Tom Warren / The Verge