SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds Review – If you want buds, these are the ones to get

There’s not a massive range of gaming buds, and it’s still an area I’m not sure many gamers want to put their toes into. After years of overhead headphones being the only choice, especially if you wish to have a decent mic and noise cancellation, can buds sit in the same market? The Sony InZone Buds are the current highlight in this area; though they’re for PlayStation and PC only, the other decent options are all wired. Fortunately, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds immediately tick a big box as they work with everything and have multiple connection options.

When you open these things up, they look good in either the available white or black options. They’re not flashy, and I appreciate the simple two-colour choices. Once you slot and twist them into your ear, they don’t look like ‘gaming buds’ at all; they simply look like many other buds out in the market for regular everyday use. The oval charge and carry case is a little larger than others, like the Samsung Buds or the Apple AirPods, which are the two most popular comparisons, but its size is similar to that of some JBL models on the market. And even with the case, it’s fairly low-key, other than the SteelSeries logo on top of it. 

The case can perform a quick charge of the buds and hold enough juice to get you a quick 5-minute between-game refuel to the buds. You can connect the buds via either a 2.4GHZ dongle or Bluetooth and even quick-switch between the two, which has become a staple for SteelSeries headsets. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova also works with the SteelSeries app and the hundred-odd audio presets that are included in that app. The ‘COD Footprints’ one is becoming a must-use when playing multiplayer and wanting to give yourself that slight boost up on the enemy. 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Unlike over-ear sets, there are no controls or secret buttons on the buds. The face of the bud makes up an entire button that can customized to fit your needs. Although you won’t accidentally press it, as it’s not super-touchy, the button did feel like it required too much push to use it each time. It never made the buds fall out of my air, but it made it feel like I was pushing my head to the side with the amount of comfort needed.

What may push some players into going for over-ear headsets over buds is always going to be the worry they won’t fit or be comfortable. Fortunately, SteelSeries has said they scanned some 40k ears to get the shape of the Arctis Buds, and I’ve had no issues wearing them. They fit in fine and don’t fall out, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling them comfortable. On my comfort scale, being something like my AirPod Pros at the top and a $59 pair of JBLs I’ve tried that felt like they were attacking my ear holes, these fit squarely in the middle. I think it comes down to the rubber tips just not being that soft, as much as the over-shape of the bud itself is totally fine. You can buy 3rd party ones that would fit, as they’re offered for just about every type of bud you buy now, but of course, we all would rather not pay extra on top of our products for comfort.

I played through the entire Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign, a bunch of multiplayer, a random assortment of PS5 games on the Pro’s launch week and then some before having to charge the buds. SteelSeries says you get about ten hours with the buds and up to forty hours with some intermittent charges inside the case. That sounds about right to me, as I never got a low battery warning, but I also never did a ten-hour gaming session.

Outside of gaming, it’s easy to set up and use these with your phone for music and calls, with the mic being adequate, especially for buds, and also on your PC. I recorded one of our podcasts using these instead of over-ear headphones, and it was comfortable not to have as much weight over my ears. Getting off that call and returning to using them on my PS5 was as simple as moving the included USB-C dongle. Using these with the SteamDeck and Nintendo Switch via Bluetooth connection is also super-easy. It could be an excellent audience for those travelling with those devices and wanting a smaller, dedicated pair of buds for gaming. Especially with the active noise-cancelling and great audio quality that boasts some surprising bass and smooth audio for vocals. Perfect for whatever you may be playing, from big-budget action games like the aforementioned Black Ops 6 to enjoying the sounds of cards being placed down to smite your opponents in MTG: Arena.

(A review unit was supplied for the purposes of this article.)