Gifting Guides
Plain-English answers to the questions that stop a non-gamer buying with confidence — how to gift a digital game, and whether a gift card beats an actual game.
Buying the gift is the easy part. What stops most non-gamers is the how: can you even gift a digital game? Do you need to be “friends” with someone online first? Is a gift card a cop-out or actually the smart move? These short guides answer exactly those questions, in plain English, with no assumed knowledge.
Gifting a digital game works differently on every platform, and that’s where people get stuck. On PC, Steam is now the easiest of the lot — Valve dropped the friends-list rule in July 2026, so you can send a game to a plain email address without even having a Steam account. On Nintendo Switch it’s a cartridge, a download code, or an eShop card. On Xbox there’s a real gift button in the store. On PlayStation there’s no direct gift button at all, so a store card is the route. We spell each one out step by step so you can do it without second-guessing.
Settled on a gift card? Our gaming gift cards buying guide compares the Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Roblox and Steam options side by side — which card suits which person, how much to put on it, the region rule that catches people out, and the one card Amazon doesn’t actually stock.
Still deciding between a card and a game? Our gift card vs an actual game guide gives you a simple way to choose based on how well you know their taste and their library.
Buying for a child? Start with game age ratings explained — what E, E10+, T and M mean, what the small print underneath the letter is telling you, and the “Users Interact” label, which for a lot of modern games matters more than the age rating itself.
Would you rather know the pitfalls than the process? The eight most common gaming gift mistakes lists the specific, preventable ways a well-meant present goes wrong — wrong console, invisible duplicate, no batteries on the morning — each with the two-minute check that avoids it.
When you’re ready to pick the gift itself, head back to gifts for gamers or the games to gift lists — and if you want to know how we choose what goes on them, that’s on how we pick.
Everything in Guides
How to Gift a Game on Steam
The current step-by-step for sending a PC game through Steam — to a friend, to an email address, or with no Steam account at all since Valve's July 2026 update.
How to Gift Nintendo Switch Games
The easiest way to give a Switch game as a gift — physical cartridge, download code, or an eShop card, explained plainly.
Gift Card vs an Actual Game: Which Is the Better Gift?
When a store gift card is the smarter, safer present — and when a wrapped game will mean more. A simple way to decide.
How to Gift PlayStation Games
PlayStation has no 'gift this game' button — here's what actually works instead, explained step by step for a non-gamer.
The Gamer Gift Checklist
Five questions that narrow any gamer down to the right gift in about two minutes — the shortcut if you're starting from nothing.
Building a Starter Gaming Setup as a Gift
What a beginner actually needs (and what they don't), plus how to build a complete starter setup across a $50, $150 or $300 budget.
How to Gift Xbox Games
Xbox has a real gift button in its store — here's where to find it, what it can and can't send, and the gift-card route if the game you want isn't giftable.
Game Age Ratings Explained (E, E10+, T, M)
What the letter on the front of the box actually means, what the small print underneath it is telling you, and how to buy for someone else's child with confidence.
The 8 Most Common Gaming Gift Mistakes
The specific ways a well-meant gaming gift goes wrong — wrong console, silent duplicate, dead battery on the day — and the two-minute check that prevents each one.
How to Accept a Steam Gift
You've been sent a game on Steam and nothing obvious has happened. Here's where the gift actually is — in Steam or in your email — how to accept it, and the deadline nobody mentions.
How to Gift a Steam Game to Someone Who Isn't Your Friend on Steam
Steam dropped the friends-list rule in July 2026. The four ways to send a game to someone who isn't on your friends list, and which one keeps the surprise.
How to Redeem a Game Code on Any Console
The exact steps to turn a code into a game on Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and Steam — plus what to do when a code is rejected.
Nintendo eShop Cards Explained
What a Nintendo eShop card actually buys, why the country on the card matters, and how to give one without it feeling like handing over cash.
Gaming Subscriptions Explained: Game Pass, PS Plus and Switch Online
The three subscriptions a gift buyer runs into, what each one actually gives someone, and when a subscription beats buying a game outright.
Which Console Should You Buy as a Gift?
Switch, PlayStation, Xbox or something smaller — a plain-English way to choose the right console for the person you're buying for, not for the internet.
Can You Return a Video Game? What Gift Buyers Need to Know
Sealed games, opened games and digital codes all have different rules. What's returnable, what isn't, and how to buy so a mistake stays fixable.
Steam Gift Cards Explained: How to Send Steam Money
What a Steam gift card actually is, the three ways to give one, why you can't buy one on Amazon, and when the game itself is the better present.
Gaming Gift Cards: Which One to Buy, and Where
Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Roblox and Steam credit compared for a gift buyer — which card suits which person, what each one actually buys, and the one you can't get on Amazon.
Top pick
Nintendo eShop Gift Card
$50.00 · See it on AmazonPrice as of September 8, 2026. #ad How we’re funded
