Being a PC gamer is an inherently social experience. Even if you're not into multiplayer games, there's a good chance that you have a few subreddits, forums, and comment sections you like to hang around in. It's a great way to expose yourself to new games and opinions you might not have considered, but finding the right community isn't easy. Lively, respectful conversation can be a hard thing to find. That's why we've rounded up our favorite PC gaming communities to hang out in.
The PC Gamer Club
If you can forgive us for tooting our own horns for a second, the PC Gamer Club is the coolest place to hang out since treehouses were invented. While you get a ton of perks for signing up, the most relevant one is access to our Discord server, a bumping place where just under a thousand PC gamers are chatting and making friends. There's dedicated lobbies for specific games, so finding a party is easy, and we also host a ton of giveaways. We're proud of the community we've created and the lively discussion happening every minute about everything PC gaming.
Reddit is probably the most popular community for anything on the internet, let alone PC gaming. It's no surprise that quite a few recommendations on this list are specific subreddits. Of all of them, though, the PC gaming subreddit casts the widest net by being a one-stop-shop full of breaking news, weekly discussions, and the odd giveaway. I'm a particularly big fan of the weekly "What are you playing" posts, which has more than once led me to a great game I never would have tried otherwise. If you're looking to stay abreast of the goings on in the PC world, r/PCgaming is a great place to be.
Wanting to get into PC gaming for the first time or refresh your old hardware? The Build a PC subreddit is an invaluable resource to doing just that. While our own build guides provide a solid template, the friendly folks here have made a pastime out of creating tailor-made builds that'll fit your budget—no matter how small it might seem. Even if you're not on the hunt for a new graphics card, r/BuildaPC is a great place to participate in discussion on the latest hardware, hilarious and unconventional builds, and even some troubleshooting.
Okay, you're beginning to sense a theme here, right? Subreddits are invaluable—and Gamedeals is no different. While not PC-specific, Gamedeals is one of the best places to stay in the know about current sales across a wide variety of digital marketplaces. The comments section can get a little too discerning about the value of specific games, but if you see a deep sale and want to know if it's worth it to reach for your wallet, they're a helpful place to start.
PC Gamer is going back to the basics with a series of guides, how-tos, and deep dives into PC gaming's core concepts. We're calling it The Complete Guide to PC Gaming, and it's all being made possible by Razer, which stepped up to support this months-long project. Thanks, Razer!
One of the coolest gaming communities online, the Game Detectives are a community devoted to sussing out and solving mysteries woven into popular games we play. These internet sleuths are a hivemind that no ARG can best, as evidenced by their work cracking Overwatch's infuriating Sombra ARG and the years-long quest to find Frog Fractions 2. Even if you're not interested in being a detective yourself, it's hard to not get wrapped up in the mystery. Their persistence and passion for solving in-game riddles is infectious.
Though it's not PC-specific, Resetera has become a valuable alternative for gaming conversation after NeoGAF nearly imploded due to allegations of sexual assault made against its owner. And frankly, Resetera makes it easy to move on. Though forum boards kind of feel like a relic of the 90s, Resetera is a lively place full of discussion and—best of all—rumor mongering. You'll need to keep some salt within arm's reach, but developers and insiders have been known to frequent both Resetera and NeoGAF to leak sensitive information. Either way, if you game on other platforms or don't mind the non-PC focus, Resetera is a good site to have bookmarked.
Some of my favorite games are ones I didn't get around to until they'd been out for years, like Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines. I got to play it with the fan-made patch, but missed out on the experience you get with a new game where you feel like part of The Conversation, able to say "What about that bit!" and have your friends or a bunch of strangers on the internet nod along.
The Patient Gamers subreddit lets you enjoy that feeling even if you're several years late to the party. It's for discussing games released at least six months ago, and often way older than that. There's a "game of the month" thread at the top and right now it's full of people talking about Metro 2033, which is eight years old. Underneath that are people talking about Gothic 2, the first Resident Evil and its 2002 remake, and some of the earliest Total War games. Maybe it's because nobody has hot takes on games this old, but there's definitely a pleasantness here that's rare on Reddit.
If you’re the kind of person who spends as much time tidying cables, dusting your desk, and carefully positioning your mouse and keyboard as you do playing games, this is the subreddit for you. A symphony of minimalist IKEA desks, colourful LED lights, and pristinely cable-tied wires, Battlestations is a fascinating insight into people’s gaming setups. Be warned, though: feelings of intense jealousy are an inevitable side effect of browsing this community, as are sudden trips to Amazon to buy garish strip lights.
Do you like clacking keys? Do you like sensitivity? Do you like pretty pictures of nice keyboards, tips on building keyboards, and comically large key switches? The people of MechanicalKeyboards also like these things, and are pretty much always talking about them. It’s a pretty relaxed, very friendly, well moderated place where someone is always thinking about keyboards. Beyond that, it’s really useful for seeing the literal rainbow of keyboard options out there. For example, I didn’t know about 40% size keyboards until I joined this community. They’re also great for alerting you to good hardware sales and even better for alerting you to weird, custom things like concrete keycaps.
