Gaming earbuds? They’re a thing, if you can believe it. In a world where AirPods are now a common sight, why would you want a dedicated TWS earbud just for gaming?
There’s one specific reason: consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series don’t play well with Bluetooth headsets. Well, more like they don’t work. At all. Due to these consoles’ controllers using Bluetooth to connect to wireless controllers, there’s not enough bandwidth to have audio and microphone functionality. It will lag.
In short, no, you can’t connect AirPods to a PS5, despite how readily available these earbuds, and other cheaper alternatives, are.
Enter the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds. This is the Danish gaming peripheral brand’s first foray into earbuds. This is more or less the previous Arctis Nova 5 headset but in a new form factor. Priced as much as well.
And if you know what I thought of the Nova 5: the answer is also the same for the Gamebuds: a pretty great set of audio peripheral for those that can afford the premium.








Hardware
The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds comes in a really small box, the shelfspace of a gift card, a bit bigger than a packaging of AAA batteries but it’s in the same ballpark dimension-wise. The box itself is made out of recyclable materials, yet what seems to be cheap packaging still packs quite the unboxing experience. This feels like opening up a RM800+ product.
And it gets better thanks to the additional items the Gamebuds come with. Alongside the casing, the dongle and the earbuds themselves are two additional pair of ear tips of different sizes, a smaller and bigger one, a USB cable with a Type-C port at both ends, a Type-C to Type-A port converter. SteelSeries isn’t skimping on cables.
Like most wireless gaming accessories, there’s a slight difference between the variant that supports PlayStation and the one that supports Xbox consoles. They have different 2.4Hz dongles. For the Arctis Gamebuds, the way they differentiate it is by having the PS5-compatible version come in white (the one we were provided with for the review), while the Xbox-compatible in good-old regular black (as seen in image assets).
Thankfully, the Gamebuds don’t scream “gaming”. No necessary RGB lighting that just wastes battery life. No gaudy gamer aesthetic. The little case does say “GLHF” debossed on the inside part of the lid, but it’s subtle and isn’t cringe.
Similarly, the design of the earbuds themselves look subtle and not cringe. The Gamebuds has no interest to copy the AirPods aesthetic so there are no stems sticking out like a misplaced ear jewelry. Instead, the main body of the buds rest around your earlobe. For me, it’s floating just above it, so they rely mostly on the grip of my ear holes to stay attached, which they do. Funnily, it gives of the vibes of something a cyber-tribal warrior from Horizon would wear, which I always jokingly refer to as magical AirPods.

The Gamebuds isn’t that magical in that sense though. Heck, even the way you interact with it is oddly old-school. Earbuds these days have touch controls where you simple put the tip of your finger to access functions.
The Gamebuds use clickable buttons, the whole front-facing side with the SteelSeries logo. It’s tactile and clicky, but pressing down on them often is not what I would say a comfortable thing to do. The Gamebuds rests entirely on my ear hole rather than the earlobes, so pressing down on what’s essentially ear plugs every so often to turn on noise cancelling or switching between devices.
But at least the Gamebuds feel solid. The build quality feels hefty in feel but only 3.5g per bud, the matte finish the material means you shouldn’t be worry about visible scratches, and it is IP5 resistant so these buds can be used for workouts, not just gaming. But if you are just using this for gaming it’s good to know that getting figuratively and literally sweaty won’t harm these buds.
The case has a nice size and light. It’s small and compact that I can fully grasp it in my palm, and pocketable. The clasp is magnetic and just wants to auto-close when left on its own unless you push the clasp far enough to snap it in place. Though the clasp is only holding on to it magnetically. So you have to be careful not to wiggle it too hard. At least when the buds are resting in the case, their magnetic grip is stronger. I haven’t got them to drop out of the case by normally wiggling the case around.
The dongle, the thing that makes these earbuds gaming earbuds, definitely took some feedback from the Arctis Nova 5.
The USB-C port now rests closer to one side of the wide dongle, so you can connect it to a console’s USB-C port in a way that it won’t cover the other ports beside it. For the base PS5, this works well, you can have the dongle drop lower and still connect something on the front-facing USB-A port, a problem with the Nova 5’s dongle.
Personally, that means I can use the front USB port to plug my pendrive to transfer files over without having to remove the dongle, a very particular problem I had when using the Nova 5 headset.

If there’s no USB-C port available, the included USB-C-to-USB-A converter can be used. It doesn’t look pretty, but it does the job.
The drawback now is aesthetics-wise, it will look a bit on odd on some portable/handheld devices that the dongle is now asymmetric.
The dongle plug also is a bit elongated, so they don’t rest plush on the device it’s plugged into which may feel like an odd decision at first, but it’s so you can get a good grip to plug it out again. The gap isn’t noticeable on a console or a PC/laptop, but seeing that up close on a handheld may bother some folks.
Other than the use of physical buttons, the hardware aspects of the Arctis Gamebuds are sound.



Software
The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds has the same party trick as the Arctis Nova 5, you can connect it to a mobile app and get access to hundreds of pre-built EQ setting for gaming and more. In fact, the Gamebuds uses the same app, that app is now renamed to the SteelSeries Arctis companion app, now that more devices are compatible with it.
In theory, you can just use Gamebuds on consoles and mobile devices and not have to do any fiddling on PC. However, you can only upgrade the firmware for the buds via SteelSeries GG, the companion app on PC.
The brand-new Gamebuds I have was having problem connecting to the phone app via Bluetooth. It could only detect when it was in 2.4 mode, connecting through the dongle. And odd bug to have, and you’ll need to update that built-in firmware to fix this. Even then, I still find the companion app’s ability to detect if the buds are on quite spotty, spottier than my experience with the Nova 5 headset.
The companion app still suffers from having way too many presets with no way to organise what you want. You can search the list, and you can create your own EQ using the SteelSeries GG app and it will appear in its own listing, but I really wish for a way to favourite or bookmark specific EQs I use.
And I also realised a flaw with having pre-built pre-sets based on specific games. To keep up with the latest games, SteelSeries have to keep making new EQ settings, and there’s no way they can make them all. Even with help from esports teams could do so much.
I was playing a lot of Dragon Age: The Veilguard with the Gamebuds on, and the app doesn’t have a preset for this game. So, what then? I just picked some other game and hoped for the best. At least Dragon’s Dogma 2’s preset works well with Dragon Age.
I suggest having more general, catch-all EQs that you can pick. There are a few for general music and movie EQs, and maybe it needed some for games as well.
The companion app on mobile can’t create custom EQs, you have to have a PC with the GG app to make those. Between this and a the software updates, you still need a PC to really get the most out of these buds.
The Gamebuds have a series of commands you can do all by touching and holding either left or right buttons. But you can also remap the controls from the companion app, which is nice. If you tend to just use one earbud at a time and wanted to have both volume up and volume down on that same earbud, you can. And that’s pretty neat.
Other than that, the Gamebuds also have the same party tricks as the Nova 5, being able to switch between Bluetooth and 2.4 modes across two different devices, answering calls from your mobile as it can switch from 2.4 to Bluetooth, those sort of things. It’s something not all earbuds can do, so these are still neat features that does serves a use case.

Gaming Performance
Personally, I’m not a fan of earbuds. It’s been so long since I used one. So it took some time to get used to the experience of plugging your entire ear to listen to things again.
I do like the noise control options the buds have. When it’s off, you’re effectively wearing an ear plug. You can double down and drown out all noise with Active Noise Control (ANC), and it does feel like my ears are acting as if I’m drowning in a body of water in that it feels pressurised. You can also turn on transparency instead, which used the built-in mic (yes, these have mics on them) to catch the ambient sound and plays it back into your ear drums.
What the noise control options mean that you can use this on your daily commute as well as for in-the-zone gaming. Or game on the go where you want to be alert of your surroundings and still have the option to block out all noise when gaming in a safe spot with your handheld or mobile device.
How good is the noise cancelling? If worn in the right way where the buds seal the ears, it’s good enough to block traffic noises and a passing train. I only noticed a train was passing through because the ground was shaking, none of the chugga-chugga noise is audible. It struggles with crowd ambience though, so some of the annoying sounds in a mass transit commute can seep through.
And as far as sound quality goes, it’s crystal. 3D audio works great, I can tell audio direction and feel the seamless movement of sound as it goes across the buds. It can produce deep bass and clear vocals so it’s also decent enough for music listening, provided you set the right EQ for it.
A lot of the games with pre-built EQs I tried for my Nova 5 review also sound as how I remembered with the Gamebuds. Which really cements me the idea that this is the Nova 5 in a different form factor.
What really impressed me the most is the latency, or the lack thereof. Rhythm games like Hi-Fi Rush have the sound and visual in sync without a beat skipping. There’s hardly any interference issues I face throughout testing these buds as well, it just works.
The battery life for the Gamebuds is really good. It’s advertiesed to be able to hold 10 hours of charge per bud, and the casing itself can hold an additional 20 hours of charge. You don’t need to charge the buds every night like a smartphone would. I went a straight week of regular usage before I needed to charge the buds and the casing. And if you have a Qi charging pad around, you can just leave the casing there to wirelessly charge. I don’t think battery life would be an issue for the endurance gamer or the world traveller.
Though I do find it challenging to wear this buds for hours on end. Again, it’s been years since I used earbuds, so for me it does feel a bit straining to have them on. I much prefer the comfort of an over-ear headphone where the sound feels like it’s enclosing me, rather than earbuds which I get the sound directly to a pinpoint direction.
While I might prefer headphones, the Gamebuds are doing their job as earbuds. For those who commute or go out to touch grass often, having wireless earbuds makes a lot of sense, and SteelSeries is tapping to that crowd of gamers with the Gamebuds.
Value
For RM899, the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds is asking if it’s worth as much as a pair of AirPods. In other words, an acceptable price for a premium set of earbuds.
Is it premium enough to justify the high price? In a lot of regards, yes. The design is stylish. The extra feature set from its companion app is useful. The GG app for PC allows for even more customisable EQs for those who love to tinker. It just missing touch controls to really be in the league of other high-end earbuds.
Plus, this one can connect to most of your gaming devices, something AirPods can’t do.
If you’re looking for some form of earbuds for casual use, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives. But if you are specifically looking to use one for gaming, well, the options outside of this price range is limited. You have to pay a premium if you prefer this form factor for your personal audio deliveries for gaming.
But is it worth it? Now think of it this way. The Gamebuds basically has all of the features from the Arctis Nova 5 headset, but in a different form factor. And it’s priced similarly. So in that regard, you are getting a similar SteelSeries experience, at an expected similar price point.
Earbuds can go for cheap these days. But the Gamebuds does justify its price. You’re getting a lot of value for what you’re paying for.

Verdict
SteelSeries’ first foray into TWS gaming earbuds leaves a strong impression with the Arctis Gamebuds. The stylish and ergonomic look pairs with excellent sound quality and usability for more than just gaming.
The companion app experience could use more work, not having touch buttons is a miss, and the dongle isn’t quite perfect yet, but outside of these quirks, the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds is a premium set of gaming earbuds that earns every penny it asks of you.
Review unit provided by SteelSeries.
SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds
SteelSeries' first foray into TWS gaming earbuds leaves a strong impression with the Arctis Gamebuds. The stylish and ergonomic look pairs with excellent sound quality and usability for more than just gaming.
- Hardware And Equipment 9.5
- Sound Quality 9
- Value 8.5