2026-01-08
The Coolest And Weirdest Gaming Tech Of CES 2026
At the start of the year, you can always rely on the Consumer Electronics Show to be a hub for exciting innovations, bold prototypes, and downright weird ideas that aim to make life more convenient. While CES 2026 is (predictably) being dominated by AI shoehorned into various products this week, the show still has a few surprises up its sleeve. Between iterative gaming laptop upgrades for 2026 and flashy new OLED TVs, the event is also serving as a hub for interesting and weird technology.Some of this gear--like Razer's holographic AI companion tube--is already scheduled to be released later this year, while more experimental stuff, like brain-scanning headphones, are still a long way from being seen on store shelves. In case you couldn't make it to Las Vegas this year, here's a quick look at the technology that caught our eyes. These XR glasses will beam an IMAX theater into your eyesAsus and XReal have teamed up for a new set of extended reality glasses, and on paper, these have some seriously impressive tech inside. Scheduled to launch in the first half of 2026, the Asus ROG Xreal R1 features 240Hz micro-OLED 1080p lenses and a dock that lets you connect them to a console or PC via HDMI and DisplayPort. Asus is bringing back the ROG Zephyrus Duo with an even bigger second screenWhat's better than one 3K 16-inch OLED screen on a gaming laptop? Two 3K 16-inch OLED screens, of course. While this isn't the first time Asus has experimented with a multi-monitor display on one of its ROG laptops, this new take on the Zephyrus Duo looks like a wild approach to dual-screen gaming. This PC gaming case has customizable hologram techHolograms make everything cooler, and Asus is leveraging this technology to create a seriously cool PC gaming case. The Asus ROG GM1000 can use its case fans to project holographic images, and users can upload their own GIFs and short MP4s to create custom effects. GameSir put a tiny racing wheel in its new controllerGameSir might be onto something, as the idea of a gaming controller with a dedicated steering wheel right in the center sounds like a fun idea. You've got all the inputs you'd require from modern gaming, a direct drive motor, and up to 65,000 levels of resolution for ultra-accurate steering, the company claims (via The Verge). Pricing and a release date have yet to be revealed. GameSir and HyperX's new controller is massively customizableGameSir's other big controller reveal was the X5 Alteron, a Swiss Army knife of a peripheral designed for iPad, iPhone, Android, and Nintendo Switch. HyperX is helping develop it, and the modular system lets you customize the controller with various modules. This means that you can customize it extensively with different D-pads, thumbsticks, and buttons to create your dream controller. 8BitDo has a new Game Boy-inspired smartphone controller on the wayA gamepad that connects to a smartphone via its USB-C port, the 8BitDo FlipPad borrows heavily from the design of the classic Nintendo Game Boy. The company says it'll reveal more details on the Android and iOS controller ahead of its launch in Summer 2026. CyberPower's new PC cases look sophisticated, have knobsIt might look visually inspired by Nespresso coffee machines, but the new mid-tower case unveiled by CyberPowerPC at CES has an elegant quality. It has everything you'd expect--tempered glass panels, mesh ventilation, and ports--but the real showstopper here is a selection of knobs for controlling the LEDs on this sleek case. This new 8BitDo controller could be the Elite Series 2 alternative you're looking for8BitDo makes some of the best controllers, and at CES 2026, it unveiled the 8BitDo Ultimate 3E wireless modular controller for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, Apple devices, and Android. Just don't expect this to be a budget-friendly option, as the Ultimate 3E will retail for $150 at launch in Q2 2026. Asus is teaming up with Kojima Productions for a new line of PC gaming gearIf you're a fan of Kojima Productions--the studio headed by famed game developer Hideo Kojima--then you'll want to check out these new peripherals from Asus. This special-edition hardware features hand-drawn illustrations by Yoji Shinkawa--the art director for the Death Stranding games--and it'll launch on February 4. The new Corsair keyboard comes with an Elgato Stream Deck attachedThe newly revealed Corsair Galleon 100 SD mechanical keyboard doesn't have a numpad, but it does have a built-in Elgato Stream Deck Plus. This part of the keyboard features 12 customizable buttons, a five-inch 720 x 1280 IPS screen, and rotary dials. It launches on January 29 and it's priced at $350. Project Ava is a holographic anime pal for your desktopRazer's Project Ava is aiming to be a holographic AI desktop companion that can fulfill several roles. From lifestyle reminders to gaming wingman, the device will come with several AI personalities and is expected to launch within the first half of 2026. This neurotech gaming headset will maybe make you better at gamesWe're skeptical about this concept for a "non-invasive" gaming headset that supposedly improves your skills in competitive games, but at least Neurable and HyperX's protoype looks like a comfy set of brain-scanning cans. Lenovo goes ultrawide with this new concept gaming laptopUltrawide monitors have become a popular option over the years, but laptop users can't enjoy them on the go--unless they want to lug a spare monitor around. That's where this concept for a rollable screen comes in: Lenovo is courting "athletes who need pro-level performance" with its gaming laptop. The screen can unfurl to 16, 21.5, and 24 inches. Project Motoko is Razer's AI assistant headsetHyperX isn't the only company with AI-powered headphones at CES 2026, as Razer also showed off its Project Motoko concept. The idea behind this wireless headset is that it uses a ton of tech--including two 4K cameras, a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, near and far field microphones, and built-in AI--to serve a similar function to other AI wearables, like taking photos, translating foreign text, or conversing with an AI assistant. An ultrasonic chef's knife that is basically an IRL Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance bladeIt's not gaming tech, but this $399 ultrasonic chef's knife from Seattle Ultrasonics is the closest thing we have to owning a high-frequency blade in real life. Can it effortlessly cut through a Metal Gear mech? Probably not, but the vibrating piezoelectric ceramic crystals will let you slice through fruit and vegetables easily. Nvidia continues to evolve its DLSS upscaling techWhile Nvidia didn't have a new GPU to show off this year, the company did reveal its DLSS 4.5 upscaling technology. The company claims it can dynamically boost performance in compatible games, enabling up to 240+ frames per second with path tracing on 50-series GPU cards.
