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The modern gaming experience is a far cry from what it was in the early days of 8-bit computers and consoles. But all of the original immersive and captivating magic has only become more pronounced with each successive generation’s technological leap in graphics and processing power. Today’s best games are sure to provide robust entertainment no matter how you play them, but there’s one thing you’ll need: A great gaming chair to elevate your player experience even further.
Screens and sound systems are the most commonly discussed pieces of hardware when it comes to gaming rigs, but an equally important and often overlooked element is the gaming chair itself. Built to support players through the most grueling sessions, a proper gaming chair is an easy piece to add to your setup that’s essential if you’re looking to break the fourth wall while sitting in comfort rivaled only by the best recliners, bucket seats, and movie theater chairs. In addition to being comfortable and looking good, the best gaming chairs can also be the difference between developing neck and back pain and experiencing your favorite games with the same awe and unbroken focus of an 80′s kid in an arcade.
- Best adjustable: Flash Furniture X30 Gaming Chair
- Most comfortable: Dowinx Gaming Chair Ergonomic Retro Style Recliner
- Best with speakers: VON Racer Rocking Video Gaming Chair
- Best-looking: Best Choice Products Reclining Folding Floor Gaming Chair
- Best breathable: Gabrylly Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair
- Best budget: Devoko Mesh Office Chair
What to consider when buying the best gaming chairs
The best gaming chair for most situations will feature adjustment settings for customizing the seat to your needs as well as sufficient ergonomic design features and material options to promote overall comfort and a healthier body over long-term use. This wide-ranging category offers a variety of visual esthetics to choose from as well, and some models even include their own dedicated sound systems.
What level of adjustability does a gaming chair need?
Flexibility is key to consistency and success in gaming regardless of genre and duration of play. When adding a gaming chair to your setup, consider whether it provides the adjustability to contribute to your ever-changing needs as well as other factors that may arise. For example, a basic gaming chair with little to no adjustability may excel at keeping your body in one position, but over the course of longer gaming sessions, it’ll likely become necessary to shift your position for comfort. Body position may also have a large effect upon players’ experience across games of different genres, with first-person shooters requiring an attentive upright position and racing games favoring a more reclined resting position, thereby emulating the body position of your on-screen character and reinforcing your own connection to the action.
Gaming environments involving multiple people can also benefit from featuring adjustable gaming chairs, making an adjustable chair a good choice for families, friends, and roommates gaming together.
Best adjustable: Flash Furniture X30 Gaming Chair
Find Your Settings
This adjustable gaming chair offers a full 360-degree rotation as well as a retractable footrest that folds up underneath the chair when not in use. It also features pivoting height-adjustable armrests as well as an adjustable back with a tilt range of 87 to 145 degrees, allowing it to excel in a variety of gaming and media-viewing scenarios. It even offers tilt tension adjustment if you’re looking to add a little bounce to your seat.
How should you measure comfort in a gaming chair?
Longer play sessions are commonplace in modern gaming, especially when speedrunning, grinding for experience, competing online, or losing yourself in immersive and cinematic storytelling. The potential toll of extended hours of gaming on the body is not unlike the well-known effects of spending too much time working at a computer, so it’s important to choose a computer gaming chair that keeps your body in a safe and optimal position to mitigate some of the potential negative effects of sitting for long periods of time.
Among the most critical features to look for in an ergonomic chair is lumbar support for the lower back, where the natural inward curvature of the spine can strain after long periods without proper reinforcement, leading to slouching and other potentially serious postural problems. Lumbar support usually exists as a small cushion that juts out from the base of the chair back, and some models even include massaging tech within the lumbar cushion to stimulate circulation and provide even more relief. Adjustable armrests are another key ergonomic feature to look for in a gaming chair, as they’ll allow players’ shoulders to rest in a natural position free of tension. Freeing the shoulders of this burden also results in lower spine and neck tension, further adding to the long-term health benefits of sitting in such a position. By ensuring that your gaming chair features the right ergonomic features, you’ll be able to enjoy gaming for hours on end without building up tension and taking it with you when you’re finished.
Most comfortable: Dowinx Gaming Chair Ergonomic Retro Style Recliner
Sit In Style
An emphasis on ergonomic features makes this gaming chair a well-rounded option, with multiple cushions, adjustable armrests, and winged back for enhanced spine care during long play sessions. It offers a retractable footrest and reclines up to 170 degrees for added comfort, with a seat that swivels a full 360 degrees.
What is the best gaming chair with speakers?
Integrating a robust sound system with your gaming setup can make a big improvement in immersion and overall quality of experience. Some models of gaming chairs feature onboard speakers and built-in amplifiers to enhance your game’s audio and transport you right into the middle of the action. Wattage, number of speakers, and connectivity options are the most common variables to weigh when considering a sound system for your setup, and a gaming chair with speakers is truly no different. Generally speaking, the best gaming chairs with their own sound systems will feature stereo sound at the headrest and include a subwoofer to introduce low-end rumble into your seat that you can feel. For convenience, Bluetooth is the audio connection interface of choice within these systems, allowing players to wirelessly connect to their entertainment system without the hassle and hazard of extra wiring. The value of a chair with integrated sound goes beyond gaming, too, since it can be used to enhance the viewing experience of movies, sports, and other media.
Best with speakers: VON Racer Rocking Video Gaming Chair
Rock Out
The VON Racer Rocking gaming chair comes at a comfortable pre-set angle and features two speakers on the headrest and a four-inch subwoofer on the outer portion of the backrest. Connect the audio to your television with the built-in wireless Bluetooth interface and enjoy full, rich sound paired with comfortable, high-density padding.
Do you want a gaming chair that looks … normal?
The majority of gaming chairs on the market are fine-tuned for a visual esthetic that matches the intensity of modern gameplay combined with the utility of the best racing seats and ergonomic work chairs. In other words: they don’t exactly blend in with your other decor. Some gamers may prefer to opt for a gaming chair that looks normal without sacrificing the comfort and adjustability that sets this category apart. Since the amenities of traditional gaming chairs like adjustability and ergonomics add extra visual bulk to seats, it’s important to choose a model that doesn’t skimp on these features just to serve a superficial appearance. Fortunately, a wide variety of unique chairs are available for the style-minded gamer, and in the end, all it comes down to is ensuring that you’re getting a chair that enhances your comfort and experience above and beyond just looking good.
Best-looking: Best Choice Products Reclining Folding Floor Gaming Chair
Fits Into Any Room
This reclining chair from Best Choice Products is available in three stylish fabric finishes and features a quilted, cushioned surface for sustained support and comfort. Most of all, it’s strikingly stylish and will fit in seamlessly with the design aesthetics of a modern home. It’s lightweight and fully foldable, making it easy to move from room to room, and its 360-degree swiveling frame can support up to 285 pounds.
Slash sweatiness with a breathable gaming chair
Memory foam, bulky cushions, bucket-style seating, and overall extra mass are some of the most common features of the softest and most comfortable gaming chairs on the market, but in certain situations, there exist a few downsides to these designs that may make a lighter mesh chair a superior choice. Mesh seating is breathable above all else, and this design feature is key for heat management and airflow. In traditional leather and foam chairs, extra cushioning can promote the creation of localized pockets of heat during intense gaming sessions and over prolonged periods of remaining seated. Players who tend to overheat or sweat while gaming may benefit from a mesh chair in lieu of one in a traditional leather finish, especially if time is spent with intense genres like horror and first-person shooters. Mesh seats are relatively lighter than traditional designs as well, which makes them easier to move about a room, but because of the relative lack of extra padding, it’s crucial to select a model that can offer comfort as well as ergonomic features like lumbar support.
Best breathable: Gabrylly Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair
For Work And Gaming
This breathable mesh gaming chair features lightweight construction with several ergonomic features including height- and tilt-adjustable headrest and a built-in lumbar support section. The front edge of the seat aims to improve spinal circulation and opening the torso’s angle by tilting toward the floor.
Best cheap gaming chair: What you get for under $50
Gaming chairs are niche products that are specifically engineered to facilitate comfort and health as well as the quality of entertainment over long periods of sitting. It’s possible to get results in this ballpark for under $50, but you’ll have to opt for a traditional office chair that sacrifices the bells and whistles that come standard on most gaming chairs. We tracked down the Devoko Mesh Office Chair, which offers armrests, a full 360 degrees of swivel, height adjustment, and lumbar support, making it a worthy contender for shoppers on a budget. You’ll still have to spend a bit more if you’re looking for the more luxe best gaming chair amenities like adjustable headrests and armrests, massaging lumbar support, extra padding, reclining backrests, or footrests. There are some surprisingly good semi-affordable options, however, so check out our comprehensive list of the best gaming chairs under $100.
FAQs
The best gaming chair for comfort will feature appropriate cushioning and support for the body’s natural pressure points and areas of need. Ergonomics plays a major role in determining user comfort, so look for a chair that offers armrests and some degree of lumbar support if you want to get the most bang for your buck.
The best gaming chair for small spaces will provide adequate weight support, adjustability, and range of motion without being too bulky or heavy. A light, foldable chair that swivels and reclines is probably the best gaming chair for a small space due to the likely need that it be moved around from time to time.
The best gaming chair for immersion will feature some form of onboard speaker system to deliver clear audio straight to users’ immediate surroundings as well as a subwoofer unit to add low-frequency rumble and vibration sensations. The physical and aural aspects of gaming are just as important as the visual elements, so spring for a chair that enhances your connection to the game.
Final thoughts on the best gaming chairs
A proper gaming chair is as essential to any home gaming setup as the right keyboard, mouse, controller, or screen, because you’ll be using it for hours at a time. Fortunately, there are plenty of models on the market that can appeal to anyone’s preferred level of comfort and aesthetics. By choosing a model with the right features like ergonomic support and adjustability, you’ll be able to customize your experience and ensure that your body remains free from the pain and slouching that can arise from long-term use of inferior seating.
