PC Gamer Hardware Awards: 2025's wildcards—the best of the rest is full of surprises

Gear of the Year

(Image credit: Future)

Check out more of the year's best tech in our PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2025 coverage.

My favourite hardware award category is the wildcard by a wide margin. Each year, all bets are off for what to expect from these nominations, and every now and then you may even come face to face with some tech that makes you go, "They make those, now? What a time to be alive!"

Suffice to say, the wildcards are full of surprises, shining a spotlight on...