The Verge’s favorite splurge-worthy gifts for 2023

Hello everyone. The year 2023 has been a standout year for games, as we have been blessed with the release of countless top-notch titles. I hope everyone was able to discover new favorites that blew their minds and engaged them in amazing gaming experiences.

2023 was an absolute unit of a year for gaming. No one could possibly have played all the awesome titles that came out across platforms. I certainly didn’t. But that also means that you have options for grabbing a last-minute gift for that gamer in your life! I’ve gathered a few of the best titles that happen to be the type someone might have put off while playing the latest Final Fantasy or Call of Duty.

Gamers can’t help but love the holiday shopping season, if for nothing else than the rush by retailers and digital storefronts to slash prices on the year’s greatest games. These incredible sales may seem like tempting opportunities to gift your favorite gamer with a Game of the Year contender. Before you do that, take a moment to stop and consider an unspoken hurdle for gamers: Does the gift recipient have enough storage for that game?

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What a year, huh?

Every year, about this time, I have friends that come out of the woodwork asking for advice on what gift to get the gamer in their life. Some already have a list they’ve been given, while others are frantically begging for ideas. From basic kit, to $2000 monitors to gift ideas for the gamer who has it all, our holiday gift buying guide has you covered. To ensure you are getting a quality gift, we did our best to stick to items reviewed by our team this year, but we have relied on older reviews as well as outside reviews for picks to fill in gaps in our coverage. I’ve also added a few items on my wishlist this year, and you can always check out our 2022 holiday buying guides for even more picks.

Though Owlcat Games just released the Warhammer 40k CRPG Rogue Trader, it's still been hard at work updating its previous game, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. The game's just started a free weekend lasting until December 17th, while it will also be on sale for 75% off until the 21st.

The former NPD Group (now named “Circana”) has released its full North American sales data for November, typically the biggest gaming month of the year, and surprisingly, the results weren’t that great. Players spent $5.9 billion on games, additional content, and hardware in November, a 9 percent year-on-year decrease. This was largely driven by a 24 percent drop in hardware spending, with all consoles being down double digits year-on-year. The PlayStation 5 was the #1 console, followed by the Xbox Series X/S, with the Switch really dropping off this season. It seems like inflation, and rumors that a new Switch is right around the corner, likely impacted hardware sales this year.

Since the recent merger of ArcheAge andArcheAge: Unchained, there have been some updates and patches, but the December update adds new content to take on, including a return to Mistmerrow, a new boss, and more PvE options too.

If you have someone in your life who’s often zipping off to exotic locales, or just traveling frequently for work, there are some amazing gifts you can get for them that can make their downtime during travel pass them by a little quicker.

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