5 Of The Best Rechargeable Battery Packs For Your Xbox & PlayStation Controllers

A dead battery is the bane of any gamer's existence. You could be mid-combat, taking on a monstrous troll guarding the end to whatever side quest you were bamboozled into taking, and your controller will alert you that it needs charging at the most inopportune moment. It kills your rhythm, forcing you to pause and either swap out the AA batteries, set it aside to charge, or tether yourself to the console. Worse yet, if it dies altogether, it's a massive inconvenience and a potentially huge setback if you're playing a soulslike game. So, how do you avoid such an unfortunate scenario?

You can either pay closer attention to the charge left on your controller's battery, or go the more convenient route with a rechargeable battery pack. If you're gaming on an Xbox Series X|S, you may need to upgrade from the two AA standard for a pack that can be dock recharged. As for PS5 gamers and their DualSense, some packs will prolong the life of the built-in battery, so you can game for longer.

For either console owner, the worst-case scenarios are having to pause to recharge or turning your aesthetically-pleasing wireless controller into a wired one. Which is why we've dug through a multitude of options to find the best rechargeable battery packs for your Xbox and PlayStation controllers. The choices made were largely based on hands-on experience, but we did have to rely on user reviews and product features for a few. More on the methodology later.

Dating back to the Xbox 360, with every Xbox console I purchased, I also grabbed the play and charge kit. I loathe wires, and it was the logical solution. The simple battery pack and charging cable worked for me in 2005 and its updated counterpart for the Xbox Series X|S still works for me today. Complete with an extra long 9 foot cable, the Play & Charge Kit has yet to falter or prove inefficient or inconvenient.

Technically, the best AA batteries may last just a little longer, with the Play & Charge battery rated for 30 hours and AA's usually coming in around 35. However, they're wasteful and expensive, and another thing I have to remember to buy. Tom's Guide offers criticism of the kit's lack of a charging indicator, but I've yet to have it be an issue. With a full charge time of four hours, I know I can leave the controller plugged in, get some work done, or sleep, and when I come back to the game, it will be ready to go. Maybe it's a silly oversight, but hardly anything that swayed me from sticking to a rechargeable battery that I know works very well.

This was more of a curiosity purchase than anything. Since buying my PS5, I haven't been disappointed with the DualSense's battery life, though, in my experience, it has proven the shortest of its Xbox Core and Switch Pro controller counterparts. That's not really a surprise, considering some of the added features that enhance the gaming experience. However, I did want to see if I could get it to last longer, so I tried NexiGo's Rechargeable Battery Pack. Unlike something like Xbox's Play & Charge Kit, this isn't meant to replace the DualSense's internal battery, but just extend its life a little longer.

Think of it as a portable power bank designed specifically for the DualSense. The USB-C-powered pack is form-fitted for both the original DualSense and the Edge, and once it's plugged in, it stays pretty snug. It is only a 1,600mAh capacity battery, which gave me an extra four or so hours of play time. Maybe that's not groundbreaking. Then again, it's also not meant to replace the controller's internal battery, just supplement it so you can game for longer. Coupled with a random wall-mounted charger I snagged, I've yet to be left dead in the water.

Without any hands-on time with this specific battery pack from the DXKK Store, user reviews, practicality, and a very convenient design were considered. A highlight for the four-battery rechargeable pack is its configuration. Rather than be some bulky on-desk charging dock, it's a very discreet slim case that can easily plug into a USB outlet to keep four 5,520mWh batteries charged and then get stored away in a drawer or backpack until it's needed.

The battery size was another draw, as 5,520mWh should get you close to 30 hours of play time, similar to the Play & Charge kit. If you figure the average AA battery is 1.2 volts, then it's okay to assume the Xbox Core controller requires a minimum of 2.4 volts, giving an average of 2,100mAh per battery pack in this kit. That's hovering around the same efficiency as a pair of AA batteries. Users are also pretty happy with the product, with over 270 reviews on Amazon scoring a 4.7-star rating. Most reviews praise the battery life, though it's surprising no one mentioned how this would be a great kit for tournaments or traveling with your Xbox.

The selection of rechargeable battery packs for the DualSense controller is pretty slim. In fact, most alternative options simply mimic the NexiGo design, and not in any way where I feel there's a better or even comparable option. They either can't balance their bulk well enough or make the DualSense a little awkward to hold, like Amazear's Edge battery pack. I did, however, have my Anker Nano Power Bank sitting around, and so I tested that on my DualShock and found that it really serves the same purpose as a rechargeable battery pack.

Based on their listed weights, the Anker is only an ounce or so heavier, and it really doesn't weigh down the controller. It takes a bit to get used to the extended component jutting out of the top, as it doesn't conform neatly to the DualSense as the NexiGo does. It does have a considerably higher capacity at 5,000mAh compared to 1,600mAh, so there's no doubt the Anker would outlast the formfitting alternative. The Anker also delivers 5 volts compared to NexiGo's 3.7 volts, so there's more than enough power coming from the power bank.

I performed a quick test of using the Anker versus having the controller plugged into the console, and there's no contest. I'll gladly get used to the marginally awkward power bank than having a wire ziplining down from my wall-mounted PS5. Not only is it ugly, but it winds up being a conquest for my cats to pull on.

It was difficult to ignore the 28,000 reviews and 4.5-star rating of Fosmon's Dual 2 Max Charger for the Xbox Core controller. Similar to DXKK's four-pack, this two-pack comes with a pair of batteries extending into the 2,200mAh range. You won't be short on play time with the pack, though the manufacturer's 45 hours per battery pack may be on the generous side. While the six-hour charge time is a little higher than alternative options, being able to set and forget your controller overnight or have one charging as a backup is mighty convenient.

The biggest hurdle with this option for the Xbox Core Controller, simply its bulk. Whereas every other rechargeable battery on this list is either very compact or easy to manage, you'll need some space in your entertainment center for a docking station. Thankfully, it's not that big, and it doesn't have an unnecessary flared base. What it does have is two charging indicators and a no-snap connector, so there's no confusion whether it's fully charged and no concern over wearing down a connector.

There are two main components of a good rechargeable battery packs: efficiency and convenience. For the battery packs I already had hands-on time with, I knew those I selected satisfied both quite well. I've used other packs for my Xbox Core controller, and several didn't make the cut because either the battery pack fit poorly in the controller or I wasn't getting the prolonged game time I expected.

Choosing my remaining recommendations was a matter of listening to user reviews, considering how long they're rated to last, factoring in how easy they'd be to integrate into the average setup. For example, I liked the idea of a wall-mounted charger, but it's the least convenient in terms of the space and proximity to a power outlet it needs. The one downfall with rechargeable battery packs is they don't tend to attract professional reviews unless it's a first-party option like the Plug & Play kit. However, there were more than enough user reviews to justify each selection. The one thing I didn't factor in to any decision was price, and that's only because they're rather comparable.