Pc Gamer Hardware Awards: The Best Gaming Microphone Of 2025

Join me for a look back at the microphone movers of 2025.

Check out more of the year's best tech in our PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2025 coverage.

Gaming microphones have come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years, putting great vocal capture in the hands of anyone with a USB connection and a small slab of cash to spend. However, 2025 has seen the rise of several reasonably-priced contenders that can swim remarkably close to the pricier players for minimal expense, and that's the sort of development I can really get behind.

Each of the three microphones below is very well-priced for what it delivers, and also happens to be one of the best mics we've tested all year. All that's left now is to give one of our contenders the best microphone of 2025 award, so we'd better round up our nominations into one big capsule-shaped basket, hadn't we?

If you're looking for the cheapest of the cheap, look no further than the Amazon Basics USB Condenser Microphone. It might be a frill-less option with no included software, but it's incredibly difficult to argue with the sound quality it's capable of capturing for less than $30.

Still, if you don't mind spending a bit more cash for a whole lot of features, there's the NZXT Capsule Elite to consider. It's a remarkably good microphone wrapped up in a retro-themed chassis, and comes complete with a software suite full of bells and whistles, including noise cancelling.

And last, but far from least, there's the HyperX SoloCast 2. This $60 microphone has a clever trick up its sleeve in the form of a breech-like stand design, which means its just as at home on your desk as it is on a boom arm. It's also got noise cancelling software, a sleek design, and the sort of price point that makes it a tempting offer, even with the little Amazon mic being so cheap.

Amazon Basics USB Condenser MicrophoneThe first thing you need to know about this Amazon Basics mic is that it's cheap. I mean, really cheap. For less than $30, I wasn't expecting a huge amount from this little microphone—but wouldn't you know it, it really delivers the goods.The sound quality it's capable of capturing, both close up and at a distance, sounds far, far better than you'd expect given the minimal expense. It's not going to blow anyone's socks off, but if you'd told me I was listening to a $50-$80 microphone when I first heard the playback, I would have believed you.It's also built remarkably well, with a studio-like heft to its tiny frame that suggests

Source: PC Gamer