2022 was a great year for video game tech as Sony and Microsoft started to come into their own with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, while the PC space introduced its next generation of graphics hardware. However, there is more to gaming than simply better hardware and nicer graphics. For competitively-minded gamers or those simply looking to get the most immersive experience out of their systems, third-party peripherals play a massive role in how games are enjoyed.
This year was a particularly good one for content creators looking to take their content up a notch thanks to a slew of high-quality upscale-production-level tech flooding the market at a great price. For those not so inclined with content creation, there were also plenty of screens, headsets, and peripherals that made games look better, sound better, play better, and fit into the lifestyle of any gamer in 2022. With lots of good stuff introduced to this market this year, the following list includes the 20 best video game hardware and tech of 2022, in alphabetical order.
8BitDo Ultimate Controller
8BitDo creates some of the best third-party controllers for the Nintendo Switch and PC, and this year’s 8BitDo Ultimate Controller is the best one yet. At the same price as the official Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, the 8BitDo Ultimate makes some solid improvements, like adding two rear buttons and a wireless charging dock, while being as high-quality as Nintendo’s first-party offering. The 8BitDo Ultimate also includes the all-important Hall Effect sensors, which eliminate the possibility of the dreaded stick drift. As if that wasn’t enough, the controller is also fully customizable and can store up to three profiles on the device.
Analogue Pocket
Retro gaming is as popular as ever, making the Analogue Pocket a must-have for gamers still holding on to their precious Game Boy and Game Boy Advance cartridges. The Analogue Pocket is a perfect solution for gamers needing a device to play their old games as their 20 to 30-year-old Game Boys start to fail. However, it also enhances the experience beyond what these retro consoles could ever do. The Analogue Pocket’s 3.5 in, 1440p LCD screen makes those retro games look the best they ever have while also improving the experience with quality-of-life improvements like save states and a sleep-and-wake function.
Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE Gaming Laptop
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 Special Edition is one of the best gaming laptops on the market right now. Packing a 16-core Intel i9-12950HX with an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti at 175 watts, there is no game that the Strix SCAR 17 can’t handle. At 1440p, the Strix SCAR 17 SE has enough horsepower under the hood to take on demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 fully maxed out with ray tracing at 60 FPS with ease. Asus’ cooling solution for the Strix SCAR 17 SE this year is also improved as the laptop uses a liquid metal solution to ensure that both the CPU and GPU stay cool even in the most intense gaming sessions.
ASUS TUF RTX 4090
This year, Nvidia revealed its flagship RTX 4090 GPU, ushering in a new generation of graphics architecture and creating one of the biggest gen-on-gen leaps in rasterization performance in a long time. Not only is 4K gaming at 60 FPS fully achievable now, but so is 4K gaming at 120 FPS. Nvidia’s new DLSS 3.0 upscaling solution also brings gaming into the future with A.I.-processed frame insertion for a smooth gaming experience, even in the most demanding titles. The Asus TUF RTX 4090 leads the pack as one of the best AIB graphics cards that gamers can buy, being both quieter and cooler than other brands while also being marginally more expensive than the Founder’s Edition RTX 4090.
BEACN Mic
Any great Twitch stream or YouTube video has its foundations in great audio quality. BEACN’s brand new USB-C broadcast microphone promises to take content creation to the next level thanks to its studio-grade components and robust BEACN software that lets content creators customize their sound to however they like. It's an XLR-grade microphone without all the hardware required to get it working on a PC due to its simple USB-C connection. The BEACN Mic takes the complexity of a traditional studio set-up and simplifies it, letting content creators quickly and efficiently take complete control of whatever they make.
Bose QuietComfort II Earbuds
The Bose QuietComfort II earbuds are a perfect choice for gamers looking to break away from traditional gaming headsets and step up their audio experience in gaming or any other media form. Their 9mm drivers deliver the same crisp audio experience that Bose is known for, while its active noise-canceling functionality creates an immersive experience for movies, music, or gaming. The Bose QuietComfort II’s BlueTooth capability makes them perfect for the Steam Deck, the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, or mobile phones, and their 6-hour battery life makes Bose’s in-ear headphones a real competitor to Apple’s Airpods Pro.
Corsair K70 RGB Pro Keyboard
Versatility is at the heart of Corsair’s K70 RGB Pro keyboard. As a refresh of the original K70 keyboard, the K70 RGB Pro retains everything that made the original so successful, like its durable aluminum frame, Cherry MX mechanical switches, and per-key RGB lighting, while also improving its performance with 8x faster processing and inclusion of a tournament switch for competitive gamers. With up to 50 keyboard profiles that players can quickly swap through and a fully customizable RGB layout, the Corsair K70 RBG Pro is tough to beat.
Elgato FaceCam Pro
Webcam quality can often be hit-or-miss and frequently pales in comparison to a proper DSLR camera. However, the Elgato FaceCam Pro finally brings DSLR-like image quality to a webcam form factor, ensuring that all types of content creators look the best they can without needing to spend tons of money on a DLSR camera. The FaceCam Pro uses a studio-quality Sony Starvis CMOS sensor to ensure that every detail and color is properly represented at 4K 60 FPS. Combining the FaceCam Pro with Elgato’s Camera Hub software takes this webcam to the next level, with options to tweak exposure, shutter speed, white balance, and more to get the look content creators want.
Elgato Stream Deck+
The original Elgato Stream Deck was a versatile tool, helpful for content creation and general PC use due to its nature as a macro keyboard. The Elgato Stream Deck+ takes everything great about the original Stream Deck and adds four dials and a touch screen to it, further expanding the possibilities of an already versatile device. Fine-tuning lights, changing webcam settings, and on-the-fly audio mixing are all a breeze with the Stream Deck+, and it even expands the Wave Link software to any microphone. However, content creation is only the beginning. The Stream Deck+ still functions as a macro keyboard, meaning that workflows are simplified with third-party integration for apps like Photoshop, Premiere, or even non-work related apps like Spotify.
HYTE Y60 ATX Case
As PC parts get faster, they also get hotter. The recent trend among PC case manufacturers involves designing cases with proper airflow and ventilation to accommodate power-hungry and hot PC components. HYTE’s Y60 ATX case has all the room current-gen CPUs and graphics cards need to breathe while also sporting a stylish aesthetic with functionality to boot. Its rounded glass front and side panels allow gamers to showcase their hardware proudly while not compromising on build quality. The Y60’s design is also highly flexible, allowing for two AIO water coolers or even the biggest third-party RTX 4090 graphics cards.
Logitech G502 X Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse
Logitech has been at the forefront of competitive mice for a long time, and this year’s Logitech G502 X Lightspeed is the latest and greatest addition to the company’s wireless lineup. For FPS gamers that want to have a competitive advantage in Apex Legends or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the Logitech G502 X is the one for them. The G502 X is a new iteration of the previous G502, except significantly lighter and performs better than the previous version thanks to its Lightspeed wireless connection and improved sensor. With less drag and more precise inputs, the Logitech G502 X Lightspeed is the best and most competitive version of the G502 so far.
NZXT Signal Capture Cards
This year, NZXT broke into the content creation market with the release of the NZXT Signal HD60 and Signal 4K30. For any content creators that may not have the expansion slots to put a capture card in their PC, NZXT’s Signal lineup is a fantastic option. Both capture cards offer 4K 60 Hz passthrough and YUY2 and NV12 encoding to ensure that all footage captured remains crisp and looks great. The 4K30 is the more robust of the two, featuring HDR support and recording at 4k 30 FPS while also allowing passthrough at 1440p 144Hz and 1080p 240Hz. However, for those looking to get in on the ground floor of streaming and game capturing, the HD60 is more than accommodating for any project.
PlayStation Backbone One Controller
With many great games released in 2022, some gamers may be compelled to stream some of their favorites to their phone via remote play just to keep up. To get as close to the PS5 experience on the go, the PlayStation Backbone One allows mobile gamers to get the same feel from a DualSense controller but on mobile phones. Its simple plug-and-play nature allows users to get gaming right away, wherever they are, and is compatible with any games featuring controller support on iOS. With game capture functions, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a collapsible design, the PlayStation Backbone One is the mobile controller to get for mobile gamers.
Razer Leviathan V2
The Razer Leviathan V2 soundbar elevates the audio experience for gamers who want to break away from the lower-quality built-in speakers of monitors and TV screens to something better. As a soundbar, the Razer Leviathan V2’s form factor delivers a better audio experience for gamers on their desktops without needing to find space for two large speakers and all the wires necessary to set everything up. All gamers have to do is plug in the soundbar and subwoofer, and they’re good to go. The Leviathan V2’s audio quality is also superb, featuring an emulated 3D soundscape to mimic a high-quality Surround Sound setup.
Rodecaster Pro II
Streamers, YouTubers, podcasters, or any type of content creator should take a look at the Rodecaster Pro II audio interface for its incredible versatility and superb quality. Featuring six physical audio faders and three virtual faders for a total of nine programmable tracks, the options for sound mixing are endless. What’s more, the Rodecaster Pro II includes four microphone inputs and one of the best mic preamps on the market, meaning that the Pro II contains everything a content creator would want to create high-quality content at a fraction of the cost of a real studio setup. It's also one of the few interfaces that can communicate with two computers simultaneously, making workflows more efficient and opening the door for even more creative content.
Samsung S95B OLED
Inky blacks, accurate colors, and crisp visuals at any angle make OLED screens the go-to panel for gamers wanting to get the most out of their consoles or PC. Samsung’s S95B pushes the envelope for OLED screens with its next-gen QD-OLED panel offering a higher peak brightness and more vibrant colors. For gaming, the S95B OLED is the screen to beat, featuring HDMI 2.1 ports for high resolution and refresh rate gaming and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support so that the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S play the best they possibly can. The Samsung S95B OLED has it all, being the first OLED 4K 144Hz refresh rate TV on the market, and should be the go-to screen for any gamer willing to splurge on a TV any time soon.
Steam Deck
This year saw the release of Valve’s highly-anticipated handheld gaming PC, the Steam Deck. While portable gaming PCs aren’t a new idea, Valve took the concept of a hybrid handheld gaming system and ran away with it to create the best mobile gaming PC so far. Using AMD’s powerful RDNA2-based Van Gogh APU and a refined version of SteamOS capable of translating almost any game to Linux, there is virtually nothing the Steam Deck can’t handle. Demanding titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered run great on the Steam Deck while the system also serves as the best place to play some of the most popular small-scale indie games on PC this year, like Vampire Survivors.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headset
Steelseries continues to produce some of the best headsets on the market and leads the charge in the wireless space with this year’s Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headset. The Arctis Nova Pro improves upon the previous Arctis Pro Wireless model in every regard, featuring a longer battery life, improved Surround Sound and audio mix, and adds active noise canceling. While the Surround Sound features are only accessible on PC, consoles and cell phones can still take advantage of the Arctis Nova Pro's great default sound quality thanks to its multiple inputs and BlueTooth signal. Its best-in-class sound makes them a must-have pair of headphones for gamers looking to get a competitive edge or simply further immerse themselves in games.
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max Headset
Turtle Beach has been making gaming headsets for almost 20 years, and 2022 saw the release of one of its best pairs of headphones yet. The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is a wireless headset boasting an impressive 48+ hour battery life and compatibility with all gaming platforms. While most other wireless headsets are only compatible with either the Xbox family of consoles or the PS4 and PS5–with many ignoring the Nintendo Switch altogether– the Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max can work with all of them and has the battery life to keep gamers going for days, if not weeks between charges. Featuring 50mm speakers and Surround Sound features at close to $100, the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max is an easy recommendation.
ViewSonic XG340C-2K Curved Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
Faster clock speeds, more CUDA cores, and room-heating wattages mean nothing if gamers don’t have a monitor that takes full advantage of the latest and greatest graphics cards. ViewSonic’s new XG340C-2K curved ultrawide gaming monitor has everything an enthusiast PC gamer could want to complement their speedy new Nvidia RTX 4090s or AMD RX 7900 XTX GPUs. Featuring a 34-inch 1000R curved ultrawide screen at a resolution of 3440 x 1440 at 180 Hz along with AMD FreeSync Premium and HDMI 2.1 support, there is a lot to like about the XG340C-2K. ViewSonic’s high-end curved ultrawide monitor ensures that games look as crisp as possible thanks to its high-resolution screen and are tear-free with the use of FreeSync Premium. What’s more, at a 1 ms response time, the XG340C-2K is also an excellent choice for any competitive gamer.