Best Steam Deck accessories 2026

There is an official Steam Deck Docking Station that, just like the Nintendo Switch, allows you to hook up the Steam Deck to an external screen. However, it’s expensive, so instead we recommend the Jsuax Upgraded 5-in-1 Docking Station.

This dock is incredibly cheap yet still offers a wealth of connections, with two USB ports, an HDMI, Ethernet, and a USB-C port for power. What’s more, it’s very nicely built, with a solid aluminum frame and chunky, robust rubber sections for supporting youd handheld without the risk of scratches.

This Upgraded version is identical to the older Jsaux docking station in terms of features, but adds an improved rubber support at the back of the dock’s docking slot. This taller support makes it more stable and makes this dock even more compatible with a wide range of handhelds, although it doesn’t really work with the Xbox Ally X, due to that handheld’s extra large grips.

If you’re looking to put together a great Steam Deck TV setup, or fancy using Valve’s handheld as a low-spec desktop gaming PC, picking up this Jsaux Upgraded Docking Station is an affordable, effective solution.

Read our Jsaux Upgraded Docking Station dock review for more info.

The Jsaux Carrying Case for Steam Deck is a great choice for those who already have a general bag for travel, such as a backpack, and who just need a little extra protection for their handheld – along with somewhere to store essential handheld accessories such as a charger.

This tough case will protect your Steam Deck from most knocks and includes several useful extras, such as a small accessories pouch and a separate section for all your larger accessories. The pouch can also be positioned to support your handheld like a kickstand, letting you sit back to game or watch a video.

For those just wanting a little bit of extra scratch protection, this case is slightly overkill, and you might want to combine a Steam Deck skin with a screen protector instead, or stick to the official Valve Steam Deck case. However, if you value having all your accessories with you in one place, it’s a great buy. This case is also compatible with the ROG Ally X and Xbox Ally X.

Read our Jsaux Carrying Case for Steam Deck review for more information, and check out our best Steam Deck case guide for more case ideas.

Upgrading your Steam Deck SSD isn’t essential, as you can just add and swap storage via its microSD slot instead. However, it is still worth doing if you just want a large, fast baseline storage option. The crucial factor to consider for Steam Deck SSD upgrades is that it doesn’t fit the same size drives as your main PC. It uses shorter 2230 format drives. Thankfully, there are still plenty of choices that fit.

The Teamgroup MP44S is a great choice with speedy NVMe PCIe 4.0 specs and claimed read and write speeds of 5,000Mbps and 3,500Mbps respectively. It’s not the absolute fastest and best SSD for gaming but it more than surpassess the maximum SSD speed that the Steam Deck can use. This drive is also suitable for the original ROG Ally but other handhelds like the ROG Ally X, Legion Go and Xbox Ally X can all fit normal-size SSDs instead.

Available in 1TB or 2TB capacities you can grab the 1TB option of the Teamgroup MP44S for under $75, so it’s an affordable upgrade, while the 2TB model is available for around double that price.

Read our Teamgroup MP44S review for more information.

Not all Steam Deck models are equal, and if you have the 64GB eMMC version, you’ll need to pick up a microSD card to expand your storage and download more games. Samsung’s Pro Plus microSDXC card will enable you to bring with you a huge chunk of your Steam library, and in many cases you won’t notice a difference in speed compared to the Deck’s internal SSD.

Even if you’ve got the 1TB Steam Deck OLED, you could opt for a 2TB Samsung Pro Plus microSD card and triple your portable capacity. Naturally, you don’t have to buy quite such a high-capacity option, but since the latest games take up more storage than ever, we wouldn’t recommend investing in anything less than 512GB. If you’re looking for more storage options, check out our best Steam Deck microSD card guide.

A skin is a great way to protect the majority of your Steam Deck from light knocks and scratches while adding some pizzazz to your portable. They won’t protect from severe knocks – you’ll still want a proper case and screen protector – but we consider them an essential extra to keep your Deck looking as pristine as possible.

As for which skin to go for, Dbrand’s are top-quality and come in a vast range of design options that start at a very reasonable sub-$20 price, though do rise to as high as $50. Styles include one that mimics the look of the Nintendo Switch and one that shows the circuitry that lies beneath the Deck’s casing. They’re easy to fit and are precisely made, for a clean look once applied.

The skins come in two main options. There’s the Essential Kit (starting from $19.95, though most are $24.95 or more) that includes a front skin, two trackpad skins, and a microfiber cloth, or there’s a Deluxe Kit (from $39.95) which includes everything in the Essential Kit plus a back skin and top strip skin to cover the edges of your Steam Deck.

To ensure the screen on on Steam Deck stays as pristine as possible for as long as possible, a screen protector is an essential purchase. Ivoler’s Steam Deck screen protector kit adds an extra tempererd glass layer to provide a highly scratch resistant surface. The pack comes with two ultra-thin glass sheets that are rated to 99.9% transparency, so they are about as undisruptive to your view as you can get.

Anyone who has a screen protector on their smartphone will already know that lining it up perfectly is a pain. Thankfully, Ivoler includes an ‘easy install frame’ with its kit, which takes a lot of frustration out of the process. Once applied, your Steam Deck will be all but impervious to screen scratches, and because you get two protectors in each pack, you can easily replace the first one if and when it does get too marred by scratches itself.

The Xbox Wireless Controller is a fantastic choice for your Steam Deck. Not only is its iconic design comfortable to hold and suitable for a wide range of games and genres, but it’s also seamlessly compatible with practically every game on Steam.

It really is just a case of connecting (or plugging in) your controller and that’s it. No set-up is required, although you can remap the buttons if you want to. Unfortunately, there’s no real customization available, so you’ll be disappointed if you like swapping out thumb grips or adjusting the depth of the triggers.

Meanwhile, in terms of portability, while this isn’t the most compact or light controller, the fact it runs on AA batteries is actually quite useful for travel. Sure, it’s not hard to recharge a controller once in a while but the fact that you can just grab some AAs from almost any store means you should seldom be caught short.

Of course, you could opt for a more pro-ready controller with the Xbox Elite series, a fantastic budget option like the EasySMX X05, or a purely wired option such as the Scuf Valor Pro, but at the end of the day, the basic wireless controller will fit most people’s needs.

Read our Xbox Wireless Controller review.

The Corsair HS65 Wireless is one the best gaming headsets for Steam Deck, primarily because it’s one of the cheapest wireless options to include Bluetooth. While you could hook up a wired headset to the Deck using its headphone jack, cordless options are in keeping with the idea of portability.

With both Bluetooth and a 2.4GHz wireless connection, the HS65 Wireless is a great single headset to use for both your gaming handheld and your PC. Just plug the 2.4GHz wireless dongle into your PC and use Bluetooth for your Steam Deck. For $120, that’s a great combination of features.

The Corsair HS65 Wireless isn’t the last word in headset quality so you may also want to consider the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro (our choice of best gaming headset overall), the Alienware Pro Wireless, or the EPOS H3Pro Hybrid (our top travel headset choices). Crucially, though, the HS65 Wireless is the most affordable of all these choices.

Read our Corsair HS65 Wireless review.

If a headset seems like too bulky an option for upgrading your Steam Deck audio, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds should instead be your go-to option. These tiny earbuds can slip into a pocket with ease yet provide amazing sound quality.

What’s more, they block outside noise really well, getting rid of airplane and train noise, and much more. Crucially, while you could just pickup a pair of AirPods or even some wired earbuds – we recommend the Sennheiser CX 300S if you’re on a budget or the Sennheiser IE 200 for a more premium option – these earbuds include a USB-C dongle that you can use to connect these to your main gaming PC. That means you could use this one set of gamebuds for at home listening as well as for taking out on the road… or to the couch.

Other rival gamebud sets like the Razer Hammerhead Pro Hyperspeed provide the same function but the Arctis Gamebuds are much better sounding, plus the case has room for the PC dongle, so you can connect to other devices easily.

Read our SteelSeries Arctics GameBuds review for more information.

Let’s be clear, a gaming headset is a much better choice for a gaming handheld than a dedicated microphone, when it comes to game chat. However, if you’re looking to use your Steam Deck for on-the-go recording or you just really want top-tier audio quality for your comms, a standalone mic will get you that.

The Steam Deck does actually come with a built-in microphone, but as you might expect, it’s pretty basic – similar to what you’d find built into a gaming laptop. The Elgato Wave:3 is a much higher-quality microphone that will bring production-level audio to your gaming and recording.

It’s really easy to use, with a simple USB-C connection and a single dial that can tweak your input gain, PC mix, and headphone monitoring volume so that you can get everything just the way you want it. It even has a convenient tap-to-mute button on the top of the microphone.

Elgato’s software is excellent too, though it won’t work on the Linux-based SteamOS used by the Steam Deck. It will work with any Windows-based handhelds, though.

Read our full Elgato Wave:3 review.

Swapping between a Steam Deck dock setup and a desktop PC is a pain, but picking up a Ugreen USB switch box will save you from unplugging your mouse, keyboard, and other devices every time you want to change between machines. In practice the add-on functions just like a four-port USB hub that can hook up to two different devices at once, enabling you to seamlessly jump between the two with a button.

If you’ve looked up how to install Xbox Game Pass on Steam Deck or anything else that involves desktop mode tomfoolery, you’ll know that plugging in a mouse and keyboard is almost mandatory. So, while you’ll likely always choose to play games on your actual PC over your Deck when seated, being able to instantly hook up all your standard peripherals is a boon. Naturally, connecting up the switch box will also expand your docking station’s IO, something that could make all the difference when using our favorite Steam Deck dock.

Although the Steam Deck’s battery life is impressive for such a small machine, it can still benefit from a portable boost once in a while. So, to prevent unexpected shutdowns from spoiling your session, we’d suggest adding a power bank, such as this Anker Power Bank, to your accessory arsenal.

With a capacity of 20,000mAh, the Anker Power Bank 1383 can fully charge the Steam Deck nearly four times, all while delivering power as fast as the Steam Deck can chew through it – you’ll be able to game just like you were plugged in at the wall.

A built-in USB-C cable also makes for a convenient setup that doesn’t require you to remember another cable. At 440g, it’s not the smallest or lightest object around – it’s two-thirds the weight of the Steam Deck itself – but with it also able to charge all your other devices, it can be a one-stop portable power solution, all for under $70.

For many people, a monitor is going to be an entirely superfluous Steam Deck accessory because they’ll just play it exclusively in handheld mode. However, if you’re going to use it in docked mode, then you’ll want to make sure you either have a TV that works well with the handheld or you have a monitor that makes the most of the Steam Deck.

We recommend aiming for a larger screen so you can really take advantage of the ability to sit back and away from your Steam Deck while its docked. A 32-inch panel like the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE OLED would be amazing but that’s an expensive screen and its 4K resolution is far beyond the graphics abilities of the Steam Deck. Instead, the MSI MAG 325CQRF QD is a great option as it gets you that screen size without breaking the bank – it’s just $310.

As one of the best gaming monitor options for its size, this MSI panel has a 1440p resolution that is plenty for the resolution at which the Steam Deck can run games. It also delivers great image quality and a speedy refresh rate of 170Hz, ensuring that your games aren’t going to feel sluggish, or at least if they do it won’t be the screen’s fault.

Read our full MSI MAG 325CQRF QD review for more information.