Xbox just released its first official headset in nearly a decade

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

What’s that you hear? Microsoft is releasing a first-party wireless headset for the Xbox? You heard right, and the $99 Xbox Wireless Headset is hitting shelves on March 16.

The understated styling of the new headset compliments the Xbox Series X design, with matte black and small green accents. Giant leather ear cups cushion your ears, while the headband is similarly cushioned so you don’t end up with brain ache.

It connects via Xbox Wireless, or Bluetooth if you’re using it on your mobile devices. You can even connect to both at the same time, and take cellphone calls while you’re still playing games.

The ear cups rotate to control volume and chat/game balance, and it supports all of the surround sound technologies that Windows and the Xbox support, from Windows Sonic to Dolby Atmos and DTS Headphone:X.

Microsoft spent extra time improving the quality of the microphone, so you don’t sound like a screecher and get muted in multiplayer games. It comes with dual beamforming microphones and features voice isolation so it should go a long way towards muting any background noise in your home.

Microsoft says it has a 15-hour battery life on one charge, with 30-minutes of USB-C charging getting you four hours of charge so you can get right back to gaming. A full charge takes around three hours. The Xbox Accessories app is also getting a makeover, with controls for the equalizer, bass boost, auto-mute sensitivity, mic monitoring, and brightness of the mic’s mute light.

You can get the Xbox Wireless Headset starting on March 16, with preorders already live at the Microsoft Store and other retail outlets.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Which Xbox Series X games support 120 FPS?
• The next iPhone update will support the PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controller
• How much money is Sony making from the PlayStation 5?
• Nintendo has once again crushed it and had its best quarter yet with the Nintendo Switch

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.