Gaming has well and truly left the bedroom. It’s now one of the world’s biggest hobbies, an everyday part of life for more than three billion people, and at home it moves from sofa to kitchen table to the corner beside the homework. That leaves a very familiar problem: a tangle of cables, controllers balanced on the arm of the couch and a console shoved wherever it fits.
IKEA and Xbox think they have the answer. YXSTABY is a nine-piece collection that IKEA and Xbox designed around the way people actually game at home, whether that means the living room, kitchen table or bedroom. The collection creates space for gaming when you need it, then blends back into your home when you finish playing.
Designed together, not just co-branded
This wasn’t a logo-on-a-lamp collaboration. One designer from each team worked on every piece, with Xbox bringing 25 years of understanding how people play and IKEA contributing more than 80 years of life-at-home expertise. The designers also visited homes where gaming is part of daily life. IKEA’s Philip Dile sums up the goal as furniture people really want in their home, “not furniture they accept because it is what you need to game.”
The pieces that move
The star of the practical side is the TV stand on castors, the first of its kind IKEA has developed. It rolls to wherever play is happening, with storage for gear at the back, then rolls away when the game is over. The side table does the same, giving controllers somewhere to rest other than the arm of the sofa, with space to charge behind its sliding doors.
The pieces that tidy up
For anyone without a dedicated gaming space, the toolbox keeps controllers, cables and hardware together, and its lid closes over the lot and doubles as a laptop stand. That means the dining table can become a place to play, then simply go back to being a dining table. The monitor stand raises one or two screens to a comfortable height, with storage underneath and holders for a phone, headphones and a controller. And the lounge chair supports different playing positions and moods while giving you a discreet place to store your gear when the game is over.
The pieces with a sense of humour
Then there are the pieces that wink at the controller. The D-pad becomes a comfortable cushion and a shiny stainless steel platter, a mirrored display box shows off a controller from every side alongside figurines and other collectibles, and the thumbstick stool takes the idea furthest. Developed from the controller’s original 3D design files with Xbox device designers, it turns an object moved by a thumb into one designed to sit on. It even tilts with you while you play, and the grip texture that keeps a thumb from slipping now helps keep you in place. IKEA designer David Wahl admits he queued all night 25 years ago to get his hands on the first Xbox, so the shapes are nostalgic for him. [Your take: would the thumbstick stool earn a place in your home?]
Designed to blend in
Everything is designed to sit alongside the furniture you already own. Straight lines and softer shapes in muted white, black and beige bring familiar Scandinavian simplicity, while a pop of green guides the eye to the pockets, slings and compartments made for gaming gear. In other words, it’s gaming kit that doesn’t shout about it.
Who it’s for … and where to find it
IKEA’s Ainslie Woodham says the range is built for real setups, “whether that’s a dedicated room, a corner of your bedroom, or a shared living space that needs to work harder.” Whether you’re the player, the partner who shares the space or just someone who wants the cables out of sight, that’s the point.
YXSTABY was unveiled at Gamescom in Cologne on 26 August and is now in stores and online across IKEA Australia and New Zealand, with pieces starting from around $25.
