The best gaming chairs

There are many gaming chairs on the market now, so here are a few of the others we researched that didn't quite make the list.

• Secretlab Omega ($360): The original hit gaming chair from Secretlab is still an excellent choice for many gamers, provided you are under 5'11" and 240 pounds. Comfortable and fully adjustable, this chair matches our top pick, it's just scaled down and has a pillow for lumbar support.
• Noblechairs Epic ($470, currently unavailable): This is a solid and stylish gaming chair that offers adjustable support, decent comfort, and a sturdy build. It misses out on the list because it's expensive and many user reviews complain that it is too firm. https://www.amazon.com/noblechairs-Epic-Gaming-Chair-Leather/dp/B01EMA3V4A
• Vertagear S-Line SL5000 ($390): With a classic bucket style seat, various color options, and adjustable support with the usual two cushion system, this is a decent gaming chair. It didn't make the list because many user reviews question its durability and the wings on the seat are too pronounced.
• Respawn 200 ($180.79): Another classic race car style gaming chair, what sets this apart is the mesh back, which can help keep you cooler during long gaming sessions. It's also an adjustable gaming chair, but loses points for difficult assembly and questionable durability.

Well known for its headsets, keyboards, cooling fans, and other essential bits of gaming kit, Corsair also makes gaming chairs. The Corsair T2 Road Warrior is intended to cater for big and tall gamers, so it has a high seat back and a strong steel frame that allows for a maximum weight of up to 300 pounds.

This is a classy-looking seat, which comes in plain black, or a selection of two-tone options that combine black with red, blue, yellow, or white highlights. It's shaped exactly like a car seat, curving in at the edges to hug your body, and finished in perforated PU leather. While it is clearly a gaming chair, it won't look out of place in most home offices.

There are microfiber cushions for neck support and adjustable lumbar support. The armrests are also fully adjustable, so you can raise or lower, slide left or right, and swivel for the angle that suits you best. Internal pneumatics afford easy height adjustment and this gaming chair reclines through 170 degrees. The rollerblade wheels finish off a smart design with the ability to coast smoothly across different floor types, though they're best suited to hard floors.

There are positive reviews of the Corsair T2 Road Warrior at IGN and KitGuru. While the Corsair T2 Road Warrior is a roomy chair that feels very durable, it's also on the firm side, so not everyone will find it comfortable. It does also require some assembly. Corsair offers a two-year warranty.

At $399.99, the Corsair T2 Road Warrior is a good choice for taller gamers or anyone seeking a wider seat, though the racing style does mean this is firm and curved in at the sides to hug your body. If you need something really roomy and capable of supporting weights of up to 390 pounds, then we suggest you look at the $480 Secretlab Titan XL instead.

Pros: Comfortable, durable, adjustable, smooth wheels

Cons: Quite firm, armrests can be wobbly

While certain elements of a gaming chair can be adjusted to suit different body types, if you're below a certain height some chairs are just never going to work for you. The Arozzi Verona Junior is purpose built for kids and shorter gamers, offering comfort, adjustability, and durability in a typical gaming chair style.

The Arozzi Verona Junior comes in a choice of four colors and it's finished in PU leather that's very easy to wipe clean. Arozzi suggests a maximum height of 5'2" and a maximum weight of 130 pounds.

It's perfectly proportioned for smaller gamers, with foam padding and cushions for your head, as well as an adjustable lumbar support cushion. The armrests can also be moved up and down and rotated to different angles. You can set it to have some tilt if you want a rocking motion and it reclines up to 165 degrees. The wheels allow for smooth travel across the floor.

There's a positive review of the Arozzi Verona Junior at PC Gamer. There are also a handful of positive user reviews.

Choices for kids and shorter gamers are very limited, so the Arozzi Verona Junior fills a niche. It's a shame that the weight limit is so low, because this gaming chair would probably suit a lot of shorter adult gamers.

Pros: Designed for kids and shorter gamers, adjustable, comfortable

Cons: 130-pound weight limit

If you're not content sitting on the floor, beanbag, or couch for gaming sessions in the living room, then you might want a purpose-built gaming chair like the X-Rocker Pro Series 2.1. This curved, black, PU leather gaming chair offers reasonable comfort and support, but it's the built-in sound that wins it so many plaudits.

Building on the classic rocker style, the X-Rocker Pro Series 2.1 features a pedestal for stability, enabling you to tilt and swivel. There's a cushioned headrest, lumbar support, and armrests, but this is not an adjustable chair. It's not the most comfortable gaming chair either, especially for taller or heavier gamers. The manufacturer suggests 275 pounds as a maximum weight, but we think this chair will work best for kids, teens, and smaller adults.

What sets this gaming chair apart is the built-in sound support. It has two forward-facing speakers and a subwoofer inside, along with vibration motors that make for an immersive sound experience you can feel. It can also pair with devices via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, this does mean it needs to be plugged into an outlet. The sound should work wirelessly, but as it relies on RCA technology to connect to your system, it may require extra kit, such as an HDMI Audio Extractor.

The X-Rocker Pro Series 2.1 delivers surprisingly decent quality sound and the vibrations add something to gaming sessions, but also to movie watching. There's a panel on the right-hand side for controls and various wired connections. Assembly is required and you'll want help, but once it's put together the chair feels pretty sturdy.

User reviews are mostly positive, with people praising the audio features, but there are also some very negative reviews from taller and heavier gamers. If you're 5'10" and up, this gaming chair is definitely not for you. There's also a positive review at Lifewire.

Ultimately, the X-Rocker Pro Series 2.1 has a lot to offer for $250, but if you don't care about the sound features, you should check out some of the other gaming chairs in the X Rocker range, or invest in a good beanbag.

Pros: Affordable, built-in sound and vibration, sturdy

Cons: Not suitable for taller gamers, needs to be plugged in, limited comfort

Most gaming chairs have a certain style, and it often involves bucket seats, designed to emulate sports cars, vibrant patches of color, and prominent logos. If you're hunting for a great gaming chair that has to pull double duty as an office chair, then you probably don't want a garish, leather clad seat that's going to catch people's eyes during video calls.

Our pick, which has been serving as my office chair for a few months now, is the Steelcase Leap V2. It has a well-deserved place in our best office chairs guide, but what sets it apart from the competition there, and makes it especially suitable for gaming service, is the padding and adjustability. This is a chair that's comfortable enough to sit in all day for work and then sit in all night for gaming. Trust me, I do it far too often.

The Steelcase Leap V2 is fully adjustable. It's designed to support your body whether you're leaning forward, sitting upright, slouching down, or leaning back with your feet up on the desk. There's fully adjustable lumbar support, you can tweak the resistance of the back, change the height and seat depth, and you can even adjust the height and orientation of the arm rests. It also spins through 360 degrees, and the wheels roll easily across carpet or hard floors.

You can get the Steelcase Leap in a wide range of fabric or leather finishes in various colors, with or without the arms and headrest. You can get just the right look for your office, though some combinations are very expensive.

It's a relatively expensive chair to buy new, especially if you buy directly from Steelcase where prices start at $880, though it does offer a lifetime warranty. On the other hand, this is a chair that's built to last, and if you shop around, you can find heavily discounted refurbished chairs with plenty of life left in them.

Read my full Steelcase Leap V2 review for more details on this thoughtfully-designed chair.

Pros: Fully adjustable, very durable, understated style

Cons: The seat and back can get warm, expensive

If you're craving a seat that can carry you through hours of gaming, but your budget is limited, then the GT Racing gaming chair could be ideal. With bucket style seats, covered in polyurethane leather, with color patches, extra cushions, and logos all over, this gaming chair certainly looks the part.

There's padding over the metal frame here, so this is a reasonably comfortable chair to sit in for a few hours. More padding would be nice, and the raised sides and metal frame can make this chair uncomfortable after a couple of hours, especially for larger folks. While the height of the armrests and the seat can be adjusted, the armrests don't go as high as we'd like.

There's a removable headrest pillow, and you'll find a lumbar cushion on the back that you can slide up and down. A lever at the side enables you to recline the chair all the way back to a 170-degree angle. This chair also spins 360 degrees, and the wheels roll freely and quietly on hard floors or carpet.

The GT Racing chair starts from just $157.99, which makes it the cheapest option on our list by a distance. You can get red and black, blue and black, or just plain black in the polyurethane covering. While it wipes clean easily, it can also get sweaty, and it's not something you want against your skin, so you may prefer to pay a little more for a fabric finish.

While this chair feels reasonably sturdy, and does a good job of emulating more expensive gaming chairs, you can feel the difference when you sit in it. This is a budget gaming chair and the quality reflects that. We can't speak to longevity either. Online research reveals reports about different faults and parts of this chair breaking. Customer service looks to be good, but we have some concerns about the long-term durability. Ultimately, although there are better gaming chairs, we can't find a superior option at this price.

Pros: Affordable, some adjustable support

Cons: Can get uncomfortable after a while, prone to faults

Secretlab was founded with the aim of making ergonomic gaming chairs that combine affordability, comfort, and quality construction. With black polyurethane leather and golden logos, the Secretlab Titan is unmistakably a gaming chair, but the design is classy enough that it can blend into a home office.

Comfort is a priority, so there's generous padding beneath the durable PU leather. This is no ordinary PU leather, though, Secretlab has dubbed it Prime 2.0 PU leather, and promises that it is far more durable than your average gaming chair cover.

The stitched golden logos and carbon fiber style highlights on side panels, along with red stitching, add some style. However, you can customize most of these elements, opting for fabric or real Napa leather, and choosing different color combinations or special editions linked to esports, specific games, or even Houses from "Game of Thrones."

A knob on the side of the Secretlab Titan provides adjustable lumbar support, instead of a cushion. The excellent arm rests are fully adjustable, so you can move them not just left, right, up, and down, but also angle them to suit your position. The top of each arm rest is padded and concave, which helps to keep your elbows in the right place. To round off the comfort and support, there's a velour-covered memory foam pillow with a layer of cooling gel for your neck and head.

The Secretlab Titan can also tilt and fully recline, with a lever to lock it in place, and the pneumatics allow for easy height adjustment. The PU-coated wheels allow for smooth movement across different floors. This is a durable and thoughtfully designed gaming chair and Secretlab offers a five-year warranty.

All these features will be appreciated by gamers, but it's the $400 price that makes the Secretlab Titan so compelling. Secretlab keeps prices down by selling direct to consumers, and while a fabric finish bumps the price to $430 and real leather makes it $800, these are still very competitive prices for what you get.

We previously reviewed the Secretlab Omega and loved it, but the Titan offers some improvements and is designed to accommodate taller and heavier gamers. Secretlab suggests the Titan is suitable for gamers who are 5'9" to 6'7" and up to 290 pounds. There is also an XL version that goes up to 6'10" and 390 pounds.

The Secretlab Titan garnered very positive reviews from IGN, TechRadar, and PCMag. On the downside, it does require assembly, which takes a while. The padding is also quite stiff compared to some other chairs and it can get warm during long gaming sessions.

Overall, the Secretlab Titan is a worthy champion that strikes the right balance between comfort, style, adjustability, durability, and price. This is the best gaming chair for most people.

Pros: Comfortable, durable, adjustable, 5-year warranty

Cons: The seat and back can get warm, assembly required