How to Gift a Game on PlayStation, Xbox, Epic & Mobile (2026): What Works and What Doesn’t

Buying a game for someone else sounds like it should be a one-click job — and on some stores it is. On others, the “send this to a friend” button you’re looking for simply doesn’t exist, and no amount of hunting through menus will make it appear. That gap catches a lot of people out around birthdays and launch weeks: you find the game, you get to checkout, and there’s nowhere to put your friend’s name. This guide sorts every major store into “yes, you can gift” and “no, here’s what to do instead”, with the real steps and the restrictions that actually break gifts.

Which platforms let you gift a game?

Here’s the whole landscape at a glance. “Direct gifting” means you buy a named title and it lands with the other person — not you buying a code and forwarding it yourself.

Xbox: gifting done properly

Xbox has the most complete gifting system of the console platforms. You can gift full games, add-ons and DLC, and subscriptions including Game Pass Ultimate — and you can do it from your console, from the Xbox app on PC (including handhelds like the ROG Ally), from the Xbox web store, or from the Microsoft Store on Windows. The recipient gets a notification on their console and an email, and redeeming is a single “Redeem code” click.

1. Find the game in the store
   On console, open the Microsoft Store and search for the title. On PC, use the Xbox app or visit the Xbox store in a browser.
2. Open the gift option
   On console, look for the gift-wrap icon on the product page. In the Xbox app, click the “…” button and choose “Buy as Gift”. In a browser it’s the same “…” dropdown; in the Microsoft Store on Windows the gift icon sits to the right of the buy button.
3. Pick the recipient
   From your console or the Xbox app you can select someone from your friends list or type an email address. On the web and in the Windows store, email is the only option — so make sure you have the address tied to their Xbox account.
4. Check the country match
   The recipient must be in the same country as you. If they aren’t, stop here — a gift card bought for their region is the workable route instead.
5. Pay and send
   Complete the purchase. If you’ve redeemed an Xbox gift card into your own account first, the cost comes out of that balance rather than a bank card.
6. They redeem
   Your friend gets a console notification and an email. They click “Redeem code” and the game is added to their library — no code juggling required.

PlayStation: no gift button

This is the one that surprises people most. Despite years of requests, the PlayStation Store still has no “buy as a gift” option — you cannot browse the store, pick a game and have it delivered to someone else’s library. There is no hidden menu and no web-only workaround; the feature simply isn’t there in 2026.

What Sony does support is wallet funding. A PlayStation Store gift card is a code that adds a set amount to a PSN wallet, and the recipient spends it on whatever they like — a game, DLC, a season pass, or a PlayStation Plus renewal. Practically speaking, that’s the sanctioned way to gift on PlayStation, and it has one real advantage over a direct gift: they can’t end up with a game they already own.

1. Check their PSN account country
   Ask before you buy. The card must match the region of the account it’s redeemed into — a mismatch is the number one reason a PSN code fails.
2. Buy a PlayStation Store gift card in that region
   Choose a denomination that comfortably covers the game they want, remembering that store prices move during sales.
3. Send them the code, privately
   A gift card code is as good as cash. Send it directly to the person — never post it in a public chat, comment or screenshot.
4. They redeem it in the PS Store
   On PS5, open the PlayStation Store, scroll to “Redeem Codes”, enter the code and confirm. The balance lands in their wallet immediately.

Steam & Epic: the PC rules

Both big PC stores support gifting, but with different guardrails — mostly designed to stop people from arbitraging regional pricing. Steam’s flow is the more mature of the two, including scheduled delivery for birthdays; Epic’s is newer and stricter about who you can send to.

Mobile: Apple & Google Play

Neither mobile store lets you buy an app or game for someone else. Apple retired app gifting from the App Store years ago and never brought it back, and Google Play has never offered it. On mobile, the gift card is the gifting mechanism — and because so much mobile spending is in-app currency rather than paid downloads, that actually suits how people play.

• iPhone or iPad player? An Apple gift card covers App Store games, in-app purchases and subscriptions from one balance.
• Android player? A Google Play gift card does the same across Play games, in-app currency and subscriptions.
• Buying for a free-to-play game (Fortnite, Roblox, Genshin, mobile shooters)? A store gift card is the only sensible route — there’s no “game” to gift, just currency to fund.
• Match the card region to the store account region, not to where you live.
• Send the code privately and let them redeem it themselves — you should never need their account password.

Direct gift vs gift card

Even where direct gifting exists, it isn’t automatically the better present. A gifted game is a lovely, specific gesture — but only if you’re certain they don’t already own it, that it runs on their hardware, and that they want it now rather than during the next sale.

The 60-second pre-send checklist

• Confirm their platform — PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC store, iOS or Android. A card for the wrong ecosystem is unusable.
• Confirm their account country, and buy for that country.
• For a direct gift, check you’re on the right friends list (and that Epic’s two-day friendship rule is satisfied).
• For a gift card, pick a denomination that covers the game plus a little headroom for tax and price changes.
• Send codes privately — one-to-one message or email, never a public post.
• Tell them to redeem promptly rather than sitting on the code for months.
• Keep the purchase confirmation until they’ve successfully redeemed.