Heaps of gamepads are discounted as part of Amazon Prime Day 2026, but there's only one I'd unreservedly recommend

While traditionally best for headsets, keyboards and mice, Amazon sales are increasingly the best opportunity to pick up PC-compatible gamepads for cheap. The market for gamepads and controllers is nowadays very competitive, mostly because the likes of Razer, 8BitDo, Turtle Beach and GameSir make good products, and not cheap and inferior alternatives to first-party console controllers like was the norm a decade ago.

Actually, most third-party gamepads are plainly better than the Xbox or PS5 controllers. Drift-free Hall effect analog sticks are nowadays de riguer for third-party controllers. Similarly, rear paddle buttons. They tend to be a tad pricier than the DualSense or the Xbox controller, but they also come with more buttons, more customisation, and technology that avoids rapid stick wear.