Amazon has a ton of gaming deals happening today - here are the ones most worth your time

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• Amazon has rolled out "12 Days of Deals" to deliver discounts on items from one category per day until December 13.
• Today's deals are all about gaming with a focus on PC hardware and accessories. Among the deals, you'll find a $70 discount on the Oculus Rift VR headset, $120 discount on a 34-inch Alienware monitor, and $50 off a totally beefed up iBUYPOWER desktop computer.
• You can find everything that's on sale here, but we rounded up the 15 best deals below to help save you time. These deals are all going to expire in a few hours, so if you see something you like, act now.

The holiday season is here, and Amazon has rolled out "12 Days of Deals" to help you save on the best gear from its most popular categories.

Today's deals are all about gaming, with a particular focus on PC hardware rather than consoles. Below you'll find the discounts on laptops and desktops that can run some of the latest games on their highest settings. There are also important accessories like a gaming mouse and keyboard, which will help you step your game up to the next level.

The standout deal is a $70 discount on the Oculus Rift, one of the most popular and high-end virtual reality headsets. You'll need to connect it to a pretty powerful computer in order to play games smoothly, but if you're a serious PC gamer who's curious about VR, don't let this deal pass you by.

Although this sale is mostly about PC hardware, it also includes a few special edition PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch games for up to $30 off. If you're looking for a console hardware deal, the best I could find is a $50 discount on an Xbox One X bundled with Fallout 76. It's not a part of the "12 Days of Deals," but it's a sold discount nonetheless.

If you're shopping for a gamer, any of the hardware, accessories, or games below would make great gifts. But remember, because they're all part of a "deal of the day," they're only going to be available for a few more hours. If something catches your eye, you should act sooner than later.

The best gaming hardware deals

• MSI Gaming Laptop (15.6" screen, 2.3Ghz i5 processor, NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti 4G graphics, 16GB RAM, 1TB Hard Drive), $799 (originally $899) [You save $100]
• iBUYPOWER Gaming PC Desktop (3.7Ghz i7 processor, NVIDIA Geforce RTX 2070 8GB, 16GB RAM, 1TB Hard Drive + 256GB SSD), $1,549 (originally $1,799.99) [You save $150]
• Omen by HP Laptop (15" screen, 2.2Ghz i5 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD), $1,699 (originally $1,799) [You save $100]
• SkyTech ArchAngel Gaming Computer Desktop PC (3.1Ghz Ryzen processor, NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti 4GB, 8GB RAM, 1TB Hard Drive), $679.99 (originally $739.99) [You save $70]
• Oculus Rift VR Headset, $329 (originally $399) [You save $70]

The best gaming accessory deals

• HyperX Alloy FPS RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, $89.99 (originally $109.99) [You save $20]
• HyperX Cloud Pro Gaming Headset, $49.99 (originally $78.89) [You save $28.90]
• SanDisk Extreme 500 Portable SSD (1TB), $197.99 (originally $299.99) [You save $102]
• Acer Predator Cestus 500 RGB Gaming Mouse, $34.32 (originally $59) [You save $24.68]
• Fosmon Xbox One/One X/One S Dual Controller Charger, $17.49 (originally $26.99) [You save $9.50]
• Dell Alienware 34" Curved Gaming Monitor Screen (1080P), $679.99 (originally $799) [You save $120]

The best game deals

• Hitman 2: Gold Edition (Xbox One), $69.99 (originally $99.99) [You save $30]
• Dragon Quest XI Echoes of an Elusive Age: Edition of Light (PlayStation 4), $39.99 (originally $59.99) [You save $20]
• Dark Souls Trilogy (PlayStation 4), $69.99 (originally $79.99) [You save $10] (Also available on Xbox One)
• MY HERO One's Justice (Nintendo Switch), $49.99 (originally $59.99) [You save $10] (Also available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4)

Looking for gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.