The modern mom is many things — more than ever, probably a gamer. Because why can't moms be badasses who nerd out on Elden Ring mods, kick back with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, or co-op with the best in Call of Duty or League of Legends?
Sure, get your mom flowers, chocolates, and a card to show you remember it's Mother's Day, but if mom is a gamer, show you really love them with gifts that will upgrade their setup and make them not regret having you in the first place.
Here are 14 gift ideas for the mom gamer this Mother's Day. And no, they're not all pink and covered in flowers. It's 2022, not 1992.
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If there's one thing mom will appreciate, it's that you put some thought into your gift. An easy way to do that for any gamer: customize an Xbox controller. Microsoft's Xbox Design Lab lets you choose the colors for literally every part of the controller, from the body, to the triggers, to the buttons. You can even add an engraving for an extra special touch.
You can find a good gaming mouse at almost any price point. Logitech's G502 Hero is our affordable go-to wired gaming mouse. It's got 25,600 DPI, 11 programmable buttons, five adjustable weights to fine-tune the feel, and RGB. It's also only around $40.
The G502 Hero is great if you're a righty, but not if you're a lefty. It's also wired and not wireless. If your mom games on a laptop, you want to gift a wireless mouse like the Logitech G Pro X Superlight. This gaming mouse is ambidextrous, comes in three colors (including a sick magenta), and weighs under 63 grams. The only downside is that it requires a USB-A wireless dongle. Fine if your computer has a USB-A port, but not if you need a dongle to convert it to USB-C.
We love us a good affordable mechanical keyboard like the Keychron Q1, Q2, or Q3 or even high-end boards like the Mode SixtyFive or Meletrix Zoom65, but as much as we stan, made for gaming they are not. Unless your mom is into hot-swapping switches or messing around with PCBs and foam and such, a premade gaming keyboard will likely suffice. Razer's 65-percent BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed is a solid wireless option, especially with the blacked-out keys on the Phantom Edition.
Moms are superheroes. They stand on their feet all day long doing thankless work that you probably should show more appreciation for. At the end of the day, mom probably just wants to plop on a sofa and pass out. But standing is actually good for your back! So while we do recommend getting a comfy gaming chair (like the one we just recommended below), an adjustable standing desk is a good way to keep mom's posture in check even while gaming. The 48 x 30" EC1 from FlexiSpot is relatively affordable and spacious enough for a single-person gaming setup. It only has two buttons (one for up and down). If you want one with programmable height positions, step up to the EC3/EC5. FlexiSpot sells a number of different surface finishes and leg colors, as well as alternate configurations like an L-shape desk or one with drawers. Adding bells and whistles will increase the price, though. The EC1 is a basic adjustable standing desk that won't break your budget.
Not everyone loves pink, but if your mom does then this Razer Iskur X Hello Kitty and Friends Edition gaming chair really stands out. Nothing more boring than going to your desk and sitting in a chair that doesn't spark joy. Also, my mom approves of it. But get a regular plain Iskur X gaming chair if your mom can do without the pink.
This one is for PC or PS5 moms (or if you have both). Our reviewer Samuel Polay recommends the SteelSeries Arctis 7+ if you switch regularly between PC and PS5; get the Arctis 7P+ wireless gaming headset if you only play on PS5. This headset is comfy and sounds great. Its only downside (at least for PS5 owners) is that there are some system-level quirks that put it at a slight disadvantage behind Sony's official Pulse 3D headset.
While a room makeover would probably blow your mom away, a simple way to spice up their gaming room or corner is with lighting. Nanoleaf makes a bunch of different-shaped programmable LED panels that can be arranged on a wall. This 7-pack Shapes Hexagon pack is an excellent starter kit. Nanoleaf also sells triangles and squares and even the Elements wood-like panels that are more discrete when they're not lit up.
There's a reason the Philips Hue Smart Lightstrip is so popular among YouTubers, gamers, and streamers. It's cheap, reliable, and just enough pop to spice up a desk setup. The light strip can be configured in a gazillion colors and it works with voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as HomeKit. This one is three-feet long, but Philips also has one that's six feet. Stick these behind a monitor or around a desk and your mom's space will feel brand new.
If mom is with the gamer times and streaming on Twitch, keeping tabs on a Discord, or just needs a quick way to switch between apps or shortcuts, the Elgato Stream Deck is a no-brainer. This desktop controller has 15 programmable LCD buttons and works with software services like Twitch and YouTube as well as 4KCU, OBS, and StreamLabs. There’s also a ton of third-party plug-in support and it comes in black or white. If 15 buttons aren't enough, Elgato makes the Stream Deck XL with 32 programmable LCD buttons. There's also a Stream Deck Mini if mom only needs six buttons.
On the topic of streaming (we've got a whole gear guide for aspiring streamers here), it might be time to upgrade mom's webcam from either the one built into their laptop or the crappy one they bought years ago. While it's no Opal C1, the AnkerWork B600 is a solid pickup mainly for its 2K resolution and built-in LED light panel that softens your face and doubles as a physical cover for the camera. Mom doesn't need a new webcam but still wants an upgrade for streaming? A small LED light like Logitech's Litra Glow can work small magic for on-camera video.
Another game-streaming essential: a capture card. Your mom can't stream a game if they don't have a way to do it. Elgato is the leader in capture cards. The HD60 S+ streams and records in 4K60 HDR or 1080p 60 fps — all mom needs to show the world gaming domination.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus 15 tops many buyers’ list for best gaming laptop for a number of reasons. The QHD screen is large, bright, and has a 165Hz refresh rate. The AMD Ryzen 9 CPU screams and the RTX 3070 GPU is a beast; there's also 1TB of fast PCIe SSD and 16GB of RAM. Naturally, more powerful configs cost more. Mom works hard all day long, the least you can do is let them game wherever they want and on a laptop that can actually keep up.
I'm not saying to drop two grand on a GPU (the global supply chain issues still have GPU prices inflated), but if there's any way to literally buy your mom's love this Mother's Day, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Editon GPU would be it. It pretty much guarantees that mom will be able to play any new game with ray tracing for the next few years.
