Gaming headsets offer a nearly complete immersion experience for gamers, especially the ones designed to focus on surrounding footsteps, distant gunfire, and an overall realistic sound environment. 

Once you’ve tried a good gaming headset that does all of that while offering fantastic and crystal-clear communication with your teammates, you’ll never want to fire up the PC or your game console any other way. 

Not everybody (in fact, this applies to most gamers today) has only one gaming device. Most households have consoles and PC gamers like to go portable when they want to or need to. Can you expect that shiny, brand-new gaming headset to be universal and work across all your gaming devices?

Are Gaming Headsets Universal?

Some gaming headsets are universal and some of them are not. For instance, there are a lot of Sony fans out there that have to be frustrated with Sony’s refusal to allow non-Sony” gaming headsets on their consoles. 

Once you have the perfect gaming headset for a Sony Playstation, you’ll struggle to use it anywhere else. Likewise, some gaming headsets will work on PC and PlayStation but not Xbox. That’s not the case for all gaming headsets but Sony sure does try to make it difficult. Fortunately, Corsair, Universal, Turtle Beach, DreamGear, Razer, Edifier, and several other manufacturers make universal headsets. 

Some stick with devices you wouldn’t consider to be a traditional headset. Take the Edifier Hecate GX07 for instance. These are fantastic-looking and even better-functioning gaming earbuds that are universal. But, they’re just earbuds, no matter how out of this world they look. 

If you want something a little more traditional, Turtle Beach, Logitech, Steelseries, and the above-listed manufacturers produce gaming headsets designed for use on just about any platform. However, many of them may not work on Playstations 4 and 5 because of that whole Sony thing.

There is one solid option that will work across practically all consoles and PC, but you’ll pay a pretty penny for it.

Related Article: Can Wireless Headphones Cause Headaches? (Explained)

Best Universal Gaming Headsets

If you’re in the market for a universal gaming headset, you’ll find that oftentimes, manufacturers market their headsets as devices that work on “consoles and PCs.” While that technically meets the definition of “universal,” there may be a console or two that they don’t work on. Keep that in mind when shopping online.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless

This gaming headset connects wirelessly via 2.4GHz to PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox making it one of the most universal headsets you’ll find.

The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless also features 360° Spatial Audio, with a Gen 2 microphone and active noise cancelling, which is great for fully immersing yourself in your favourite game.

The only thing you mightn’t be too hyped about is the price.

Razer Barracuda X

A budget-friendly, universal option, the Barracuda X does not resemble a Razer product because of its purely ordinary aesthetic. However, it’s a good headset that works on most consoles and PCs. It includes 40mm drivers and a 50-hour battery.

Audeze Penrose

The Audeze Penrose is marketed as a gaming headset that works on everything, including all the Playstations and even handheld gaming devices like the Switch. It features 2.4gHz and Bluetooth 5.0 for seamless gaming sessions.

Bottom Line

While there are some gaming headphones that are considered to be universal, not all of them are. When you go looking for one, be sure to check which systems it’s compatible with. Gaming headphones aren’t cheap (at least not the good ones), so don’t forget to do your homework first.