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 gameworks differently on every platform, and that’s where people get stuck. On PC it’s a genuine gift button inside Steam (with one catch about friends lists). On Nintendo Switch it’s a cartridge, a download code, or an eShop card. 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.
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.
When you’re ready to pick the gift itself, head back to gifts for gamers or the games to giftlists — 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
A simple step-by-step for sending a PC game to someone through Steam — and what to do if you're not friends on Steam yet.
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.
