Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The best gifts for the stylish gamers in your life

We’ve evolved beyond the era of no-style gamers. Now, people pay up for all kinds of gaming apparel and accessories, like rainbow keyboards. In fact, some of us might want to update our style instead of looking into the next best hardware upgrade this holiday season. I once joked about writing a “top Black Friday deals list for e-girls.” This isn’t it, but it’s close enough.

These gifts keep quality, price, and aesthetics in mind. Products have to be at least decent quality at a reasonable price. You shouldn’t need to go broke to be stylish. Aesthetics are highly subjective, but many of these items should be familiar to those who browse “kawaii” gamer setups on YouTube and Tiktok. At the very least, enough of us like these items for them to be a thing.

Here are our top stylish gifts for gamers.

Charan Sakura Themed Keycaps: $29

charan sakura themed keyboard caps
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Most gamers probably have a computer, even if they don’t have a designated gaming PC or laptop. So why not look into some keycaps that can add some cuteness to your keyboard.

Amazon is one of the easiest places to find keyboard caps with interesting designs. Cherry blossom keyboard caps like the Charan Sakura Themed Keycaps are especially popular because of their reference to Japanese culture and unique, delicate aesthetic. Charan in particular also has some other cool-looking, non-pink alternatives. If you’re not that into pastel aesthetics, maybe go for the Starry Sky or Knight sets instead. Other honorable mentions include Gliging’s Sunset Backlit Gradient Rainbow Keycaps and IJKT’s Pink Pokemon Themed Keycaps.

Those who want more customized or unique keyboard caps can also look on Etsy. However, these sets also tend to be more expensive because many of them are artisan items. That might not stop me from buying this sweet Strawberry Daifuku Keycap Set, though.

StickyBunny Cute Lunar Sky Nintendo Switch Skin: $40

StickyBunny Cute Lunar Sky Skin on Nintendo Switch
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Skins, shells, and decals remain some of the top ways to decorate your console. It can be a challenge filtering through all the basic designs in shopping results, so here are a few recommendations to start.

StickyBunny covers major consoles like the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch with its skins. Heck, it even makes them for the Nintendo Switch OLED. There are no PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S skins yet, though. I recommend Lunar Sky — a dreamy stars and skies design that comes in a range of pastels.

Labotech also sells cute anime-themed console skins to cater to all kinds of fandom fanatics. The Naruto Akatsuki PlayStation 5 Skin might tempt those who like street-style looks. On the other hand, the Sailor Moon Nintendo Switch Skin should stand out to those who gravitate toward sweeter styles. If you’re not an anime fan, Labotech also offers skins based on non-anime franchises like Spiderman and Halo.

GeekShare Sweet Sakura Theme Thumb Grip Caps: $10

GeekShare Sakura Grip Caps on DualShock PS4 Controller
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Thumb grips add form and function to the average Joy-Con or controller. Thankfully, they come in sizes for different console controllers including the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Think of them like pencil toppers: They can be cute, but how functional they are is up for debate.

GeekShare sells removable plates and silicone skins for consoles of all kinds. Most notably, the indie company sells many stylish skins for the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite. However, because we have console skins covered, let’s focus on their thumb grip caps. My favorites are the GeekShare Sweet Sakura Theme Thumb Grip Caps — a four-pack of light pink thumb caps with cherry blossoms imprinted in the silicone.

GeekShare has many other options in its catalog, too. For example, it offers plenty of pastel-colored paw print and fruit-related grip caps. Most of the other options come in packs of two different designs with two thumb caps each, or even four different designs with one thumb cap each.Uou can pick from one of the other many designs from the GeekShare catalog on Amazon.

Razer Kraken Kitty Headset: $150

Pink Razer Kraken Kitty Headset with other Razer Products
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Cat ear headphones are one of the trendiest accessories for gamers with aesthetic needs. However, quality comes with a price. I’d assume that most people would want cat ear headphones that look and sound good.

The Razer Kraken Kitty Gaming Headset is one of the most popular and readily available options. These “purrfect” PC accessories come in either black or pink with light-up ears that can change colors. They’re an “e-girl” staple along with the other Quartz Pink products in Razer’s catalog. However, the Kraken Kitty headset is a bit of an investment at $150. Black Friday might offer a small discount, but it typically doesn’t go down much. You can just get attachable ears if you don’t like the price or specs, though. Razer Kitty Ears can wrap around any headset and cost way less at $20.

There are also cat-ear headsets from smaller brands like the YOWU Cat Ear Headphones, which have been successful enough to land Hatsune Miku and Cardcaptor Sakura collaborations. These are one of the ones I’m watching for myself because they look adorable and have gotten great reviews. Plus, the brand has a banging Instagram.

Smoko Rilakkuma Light: $24

Rilakkuma Smoko Light on desk
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Screens offer enough light for gaming purposes, but some of us need the extra light in our life for whatever reason. So, instead of a basic lamp, why not have a plush-inspired one like Rilakkuma?

The Smoko Rilakkuma Light adds a cozy, cuddly vibe to just about any setup. It’s about 8 inches tall, which is only slightly bigger than my hand and shouldn’t take up that much space on a desk. Plus, it offers more of an ambient, warm-toned glow instead of a harsher light meant to brighten an entire room.

I’d recommend Smoko in general, since it has no end to cute mascot-themed lights. If you’re not a fan of Rilakkuma, you can get a boba buddy, frog, or even a potato. You can even get an extra-large potato. String lights are another alternative if you keep fire safety in mind. These babies can add some festiveness to a bookshelf, desk, wall — you name it.

Gengar Sweater: $48

Girl wearing Gengar print sweater
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This Gengar sweater has somehow made it into different corners of the internet, and it’s cute. You can get it on Amazon, Etsy, or Wish. If you’re feeling thrifty, you can probably find one through a secondhand seller on eBay or Depop.

I bought one of these earlier this year and always get compliments on it. No matter what kind of gamer you are, it’s hard to deny Gengar is one of the coolest Pokemon ever. The sweater has that edgy aesthetic that can fit with tons of different styles. Some sites say it’s a men’s sweater, but let’s be real: It’s unisex. Gengar doesn’t discriminate against guys, gals, or nonbinary pals. I bought medium, which is huge on me, and I love it. It’d probably also fit my boyfriend if I had one.

Also, fun fact, Valkyrae wore it (or at least one that looked a lot like it) on stream. It’s basically celebrity material at this point.

Editors' Recommendations

Jess Reyes
Jessica Reyes is a freelance writer who specializes in anime-centric and trending topics. Her work can be found in Looper…
I rated this summer’s biggest gaming showcases. This was the best one
An astronaut stands on the moon in Starfield.

Over the past month, it's been nice to see the game industry truly get back into the swing of things with its midyear showcase. While there was no E3 this year (and it doesn't look like there will be ones in the future), the likes of Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, Ubisoft, and Geoff Keighley all still held exciting live streams of their own that were filled with surprising announcements and entertaining moments. With the season's biggest gaming showcases seemingly over, I began to ask myself which one I enjoyed most. To figure out what makes an event like this work for me, I devised a rating system built on my own metrics and gave each one a grade.

I considered a variety of factors while looking at these showcases. The quality of the announcements is obviously very important, but so is the pacing of the stream and the relevancy of what's shown. I assigned each showcase a letter grade based on that, with some notes on what worked and what didn't. Here's where each show landed for me.
PlayStation Showcase

Read more
Xbox Games Showcase can succeed where the PlayStation Showcase struggled
Senua stares ahead wearing war paint.

If there’s one video game presentation happening over the next week that has the most to prove, it’s the Xbox Games Showcase. Despite a strong start to the year with Hi-Fi Rush and a solid Developer Direct showcase, Microsoft’s gaming branch has floundered in recent months because of struggles with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the rocky launch of Redfall. With the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature, Microsoft must reconfirm its commitment to gaming and to releasing high-quality first-party exclusives.

That said, Xbox is in an excellent position to do just that because of Sony’s underwhelming May showcase. As the first major gaming presentation of the summer, Sony had the chance to “win” the whole game reveal season early with its PlayStation Showcase. Ultimately, that live stream proved disappointing because of its focus on CGI reveal trailers and live service games.

Read more
Marvel’s Midnight Suns for Nintendo Switch canceled ahead of last-gen launch
Hulk shouts at an enemy in Marvel's Midnight Suns.

Superhero strategy game Marvel's Midnight Suns is getting its long-delayed Xbox One and PS4 port on May 11, but there's some bad news for Nintendo Switch owners: The Switch version of the game has been canceled.
2K Games and Firaxis released Marvel's Midnight Suns, a card-based strategy game focusing on the supernatural side of the Marvel comic book universe, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S last December. While Digital Trends enjoyed the game, it underperformed financially and the game's director left Firaxis altogether following its release. Originally slated to launch alongside the current-gen versions of Midnight Suns in October 2022, the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch versions of the game were indefinitely delayed when the game was pushed to December.

Now, the PS4 and Xbox One ports will finally come out digitally alongside the Blood Storm expansion on May 11, but 2K confirmed in the press release announcing the date that "the Nintendo Switch version of Marvel's Midnight Suns will no longer be offered as part of updated plans."
Additionally, the release calls Blood Storm the "final" DLC for Midnight Suns, so it seems unlikely that the game will continue to receive lots of post-launch support, unlike other Firaxis titles such as Sid Meier's Civilization VI and XCOM 2. That's certainly a more muted ending than one would expect from a Marvel game from the industry's premier strategy developers.
Marvel's Midnight Suns will finally launch for PS4 and Xbox One on May 11. It's currently available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. 

Read more