If you aren't much of a fan of limited-edition tech that leans hard into nostalgia, then the new Designed for XBOX Cozy Collection might be more your style.
Landing on the back of the Xbox 25th Anniversary Collection, this new accessory set trades the transparent green tech for earth tones and images of adorable pixelated woodland creatures. As revealed via Xbox Wire today, it's made of existing 8BitDo and SteelSeries accessories, like the SteelSeries Arctis Game Buds, and coats them in creamy and green colorways to "bring a little wonder" to your Xbox or PC setup.
With the fall season starting, the forest-green colors are maybe a bit behind. That being said, if you're fed up with being pandered to with nostalgia-fueled transparent tech, this cozy collection feels like a nice consolation prize. Should you want a bit less nostalgia and a bit more whimsy in your life, I've gathered all you need in order to transform your Xbox/PC setup below.
8BitDo Retro 87 Mechanical Keyboard – Forest Wonder
The first and biggest part of the Designed for XBOX Cozy Collection is undoubtedly the 8BitDo Retro 87 mechanical gaming keyboard. This 87-key wireless board is a feast for the eyes with its green and creamy-brown color combination and adorable pixelated imagery.
While this board is not officially affiliated with Stardew Valley in any way, everything from the tiny patrolling bear on the space bar to the pixel acorn escape key feels really reminiscent of the equally cozy farming sim.
You can typically grab this board for $99.99 at Amazon, so there is an upcharge of $20 to be found with this collection. Yet whether you opt for the new Forest Wonder edition or any of the brand's existing models, you'll still get the RGB backlit keys, independent control panel, large dual super custom buttons, and 8BitDo Kailh switches to play with.
8BitDo Retro R8 Mouse – Forest Wonder
Much like the con
The keyboard perfectly matches the Forest Wonder 8BitDo Retro R8 Mouse. Again, this isn't an entirely brand-new product, as you've been able to grab the gaming rodent in a range of designs, but this is the first time it's sported this green and yellow color palette.
This gaming mouse comes with a charging dock, which shares some of the same adorable pixel art as the keyboard, and it's equipped with customizable side buttons and HUANO micro switches. You've also got your pick of playing wired or going wireless with Bluetooth 5.3 or via a low-latency 2.4G connection.
8BitDo Ultimate 3 Controller – Mossy Lagoon
This is my personal favorite accessory of the lot. Rather than drawing inspiration from forest creatures, this Mossy Lagoon controller sports a murky blue color palette that makes it look like it was fished out of the nearest lake, and I'm all for it.
The pixelated creatures are also a bit different this time around, showcasing little jellyfish and crabs instead of any forest inhabitants. The bright and vivid sea life pops against the blue chassis, as does the yellow-orange color of the gamepad's sticks.
Talking of which, this is an 8BitDo Ultimate 3 controller you've got TMR sticks, hall-effect triggers, back buttons, an up to 1000Hz polling rate and an integrated charging dock at your disposal.
SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds & KontrolFreek No-Slip Thumb Grips – XBOX Cozy Edition
SteelSeries's accessories aren't as visually interesting as the rest of the Cozy Collection, but I'm still a fan. The SteelSeries Arctis Game Buds remain the best gaming earbuds I've used to date and continue to be part of my gaming and everyday setup, so I'm always on board to see them get a makeover.
SteelSeries has draped its iconic earbuds in new Matcha and Yuzu colors (basically green and a creamy yellow) which are available straight from the brand's online store. Despite being released as part of an official Xbox accessory collection, SteelSeries has generously provided both Xbox and PlayStation models of the earphones, which are available for the same $199.99 MSRP.
No matter which model (or color) you pick up, you'll be greeted with the same fantastic-sounding 6mm neodymium drivers, Bluetooth and 2.4GHz connectivity options, tap controls, charging case, and support and EQ customization via the brand's easy-to-use app.
KontrolFreek's No-Slip Thumb Grips match perfectly with the buds. The "Cozy Edition" textured grips share the same Matcha and Yuzu colorways, which makes sense as SteelSeries owns the KontrolFreek brand. These can easily slip onto the sticks of your favorite Xbox Series X controller to add a drop of color, provide more grip for heated gaming sessions, and protect the default gamepad's sticks from general wear and tear. There's no mention of them being compatible with the 8BitDo Ultimate 3 gamepad above, but as a long-time collector of KontrolFreek grips, I find you can manage to stick them on pretty much everything if you try hard enough.
Want more Xbox? Check out our Xbox Series X25 Special Edition pre-orders for more exclusive accessories for your Microsoft machine.
