When you think of gaming and headphones, you’re gonna think about huge bulky over-ear headset with glowing RGB lights. And maybe even cat ears. That image has been pushed for YEARS through esports tournaments, YouTubers, streamers, and even non-gaming commentary channels.
But now that earbuds have been getting more popular, especially in gaming, here’s a question we’d like you to ask yourself: why aren’t you seeing more people using them?
In this post we’ll dig into the 3 biggest reasons why gaming earbuds aren’t as popular as gaming headsets (and why they should be!). And then after that, we’ll give our take as to why this is happening now.
It’s a great time to be an earbuds enthusiast.
Reason #1: Cultural & Marketing Influence
Gaming has always been tied to the headset look. If you look at a logo for “Gaming” + [Anything], there are 2 main silhouettes you can expect: a game controller, or a big headset.
Major brands have pushed the idea that to be a gamer is to wear big, over-ear headsets, with a boom mic and some RGB. Why??
It’s because this was all that gamers started with way back in the 90s (think LAN parties, if you can remember such arcane memories). But more recently, gaming headsets started gaining traction back in the X-Box 360/PS3 era when voice chats became more integrated to the online multiplayer experience, and headsets with a boom mic was one very reliable way that you could do that on a console.
Then, over time e-sports started to grow, along with streamers who would wear e-sports equipment from sponsorships during recordings or streams, so that the sound recording of their voice would be clean and not contaminated with the gameplay sounds. And then over time, the association just set itself in; all of these combined was how headsets became the “standard look” when it came to gaming.
Earbuds simply never had the same marketing muscle behind them in the gaming world, and this was largely due to…
Reason #2: Sound Quality
There’s been a long-standing perception that bigger headphones = better sound. It’s not entirely wrong since over-ear drivers have more space for more bass and wider soundstages. Audiophiles also tend to dismiss earbuds as “inferior” when it comes to immersion, and an earbud’s ability to cover a wide frequency range, let alone having a loud enough volume cap.
And they’re not wrong.
For the longest time, earbuds have been the “giveaway” thing that came with most devices that had a 3.5mm headphone jack. Smaller drivers and cheaper quality (for the most part) meant that you, as the end-user, simply didn’t spend money for earbuds. And you didn’t care whether you lost them or not.
Remember how it was suddenly such a big deal when you lost your AirPods when they first came out? But nobody complained about earphones getting lost.
Plus, gamers usually game at least a few feet away from their PCs or consoles and earbuds, at least until AirPods came into the picture, usually only had wires that ran as far down as your waist and into your pocket. The place where you’d store your MP3 player or phone when you were walking; or the cable would just be long enough for the laptop in front of you.
But the market’s undergone changes in the last few years, thanks to big leaps in not just driver technology, but also through wireless tech too. Even though competitive players still need zero lag and clarity and positional accuracy are features favored above everything else, modern 2.4GHz connections are actually close enough to zero latencies already – perfect for gaming casually at home.
And, while bargain bin earbuds are still lacking severely in quality, earbuds like IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) have sound quality that are as good, if not better than, most mid to higher-end over-ear headphones.
But sound quality is nothing if you can’t use them for long periods of time, such as when you’ve blocked off your day for gaming. Which brings us to…
Reason #3: Comfort Myths
One of the big myths of earbuds is the belief that they’re uncomfortable to wear for long sessions …and this is half true. Many gamers assume that earbuds will hurt after an hour or two, or that they’ll fall out mid-match …and they do!
But this is more due to this phenomenon in life called “You get what you pay for.”
Remember the “bargain bin earbuds” we just mentioned? Back then, there was barely any thought or engineering that went into the design of these earbuds. So in both sound quality and ergonomics, not only did these hurt a lot but these things also fell out of your ear too. Quite often, if we may add.
But since Apple made earbuds cool again with the AirPods, manufacturers had to innovate to actually keep up because now not only is the bar higher in terms of quality, these things could actually be priced higher. Which meant companies could now have the excuse to actually dedicate some proper R&D time and develop better products with better ergonomics – which brings us to modern earbuds.
Modern designs have sculpted designs, ergonomic tips (usually made from medical-grade silicone), lightweight builds, and even memory-foam options – which used to be aftermarket add-ons only. With the right fit, earbuds are much more comfortable than over-ears can ever be, because they’ve eliminated a whole plethora of pain that simply came with the territory of using over-ear headsets.
And more and more people are waking up to it.
However, because of the old stereotypes earbuds are still fighting that uphill perception battle when it comes to comfort because again, it goes back to association: we see a pair of earbuds and we think of the cheap throwaways that (historically) pokes deep into our ear canals and also fall out a lot.
Why Should Gaming Earbuds be More Popular?
To summarize, it’s on these points:
- Earbuds are as good, if not better sound quality than headsets (at least the good earbuds and IEMs are)
- They’re lighter and more comfortable to use (assuming you get the right fit, of course)
- They’re cheaper than headsets (in general, but you still get what you pay for. So don’t cheap out!)
- They’re way much more portable, comfortable, and easier to bring around.
- If you want wireless, it’s actually pretty good for gaming. The latest Bluetooth protocols are already fast enough for casual use, and 2.4GHz connections are functionally the same as wired.
And Why Are Earbuds Gaining Popularity Now?
We’re not exactly sociologists or market analysts (officially) to call these out more definitively. But we’ve identified these two things:
- The rise of mobile-first gaming, whether that’s mobile ,i.e., phones and tablets; or handheld, i.e. Switches and Steam Decks, and ROG Allys, and Legion Go’s.
- E-sports teams are choosing earbuds over headsets because of their performance and comfortability.
Titles like Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, and Call of Duty Mobile, as well as handhelds like the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, ROG Ally, etc – all make bulky headsets feel out of place. Yes, the audio quality is good, but you honestly wouldn’t be seriously considering carrying that thing around WITH your portable gaming setup? Along WITH everything else you’re carrying, right?
Mobile games are simply not just vertical puzzle games anymore. Actual MMOs like Diablo and Path of Exile require higher-end phones to run well. And then you have games like Genshin Impact, an Action RPG; and COD-Mobile and PUBG, both phone-based games that are built like traditional console games like Skyrim, and of course, Call of Duty.
Most phones and tablets don’t necessarily have the best speakers, and it’s generally accepted to be “not cool” if you have your speakers on full blast whenever you’re gaming in public, so earbuds or headsets are necessary to actually enjoy playing these games on-the-go.
So, will earbuds overtake headsets, and replace them entirely?
It’s too early to say. However, we believe the even bigger thought we’d leave you is this:
Conclusion
Gaming earbuds aren’t common yet because …they’re new.
Earbuds have been a thing for a while, as is gaming. But earbuds specifically built for gaming are what’s new to us. And they’ve been fighting years of bias, tech limitations, millions and billions of $ in marketing that shape what our perceptions and ideals are when it comes to gaming.
But those barriers are slowly breaking down and people are waking up to it, especially on social media. As more gamers, influencers, and content creators split their time between home gaming and outside of it, the convenience relative to the overall quality of earbuds is simply getting harder and harder to ignore.
Headsets may still dominate, but earbuds are no longer the underdog anymore.
If you want to check out our top picks, you can find it here.
