Best Energy Drinks For Gaming
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Powdered Gaming Drinks Vs Canned Gaming Drinks
- Energy Drinks And Gaming - What Matters?
- Best Energy Drinks For Gaming (In Order)
- The Worst Gaming Drinks On The Market
- Conclusion
Gaming and live streaming are more popular than ever and people are turning to gaming drinks to improve gaming and streaming sessions. If you are reading this, you probably love video games and want to know your best gaming energy drink options. In this very quick article, we will exclusively discuss the key things to look for when selecting a gaming drink brand and will list the best gaming drinks on the market today.
POWDERED GAMING DRINKS VS CANNED GAMING DRINKS
When you think of energy drinks, you probably picture a drink in a can. However, there has been a shift in the market as consumers desire more effectiveness out of their beverages in order to improve performance while gaming or streaming.
Powdered gaming drinks are taking over.
Powdered gaming drinks are fundamentally more effective at increasing your energy, focus, endurance, and reaction speed because more ingredients can be packed into each serving. Powdered gaming drinks are essentially supplements that can deliver greater amounts of active ingredients at more appropriate gram weights to induce an effective reaction in your body.
Additionally, the powdered tub format allows more servings to fit in one container (usually 30 or 40 servings per tub) allowing for a lower cost-per-serving. That means consumers get a better value per drink.
These factors add up to powdered gaming drinks being the best option for gaming drink consumption.
ENERGY DRINKS AND GAMING - WHAT MATTERS?
When selecting a gaming drink, it’s important to look at these 5 key factors.
- Caffeine - Ideal caffeine per serving for a gaming drink will be 150-200mg per serving.
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Total Formula Gram Weight - This is one of the most important factors when determining if a drink will actually work. Not all drinks are created equal. A good gaming drink will have 3 grams or more of active ingredients per serving to achieve the desired energy, focus, and endurance effects.
- Cost Per Serving - A typical gaming drink will have a cost of about $1 per serving. Many of the canned options are 2-4 times higher than this.
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Mixability - How well does your drink mix? Only applicable for powdered formulas.
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Formulas will be rated below on a 3 point scale (Great, Moderate, Poor).
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Great indicates full mixing and no chalkiness.
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Moderate indicates there will be residue left in the bottom of the shaker and chalky texture.
- Poor indicates there will be significant residue and chalkiness after mixing.
- Taste - You want to drink something that tastes great. No nasty aftertaste or vitamin flavoring. This one is subjective but it’s obvious when a brand is doing well.
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Drinks will be rated below on a 4 point scale (Amazing, Good, OK, Not Good).
- Amazing indicates top-of-the-line, premium flavor and drinkability.
- Good indicates a pleasant flavor that is better than average.
- OK indicates below average flavor. You would be unlikely to want more.
- Not Good indicates bad taste that you would not want to drink again.
BEST ENERGY DRINKS FOR GAMING (IN ORDER)
1. Rogue Energy (Winner)
- Caffeine - 175mg
- Total Active Weight - 3.50grams/serving
- Cost Per Serving - $1.00/serving
- Mixability - Great
- Taste - Amazing
Rogue Energy is the strong front runner as the best gaming drink on the market today.
Rogue Energy is a powdered energy drink that was built from the ground up with the most robust formula in the industry. The 3.5 grams of active Energy & Focus ingredients per serving are the most for any gaming drink brand. Each 16oz serving has 175mg of caffeine paired with 200mg of L-Theanine (amino acid found commonly in tea leaves) for a smooth, well-tuned energy increase with no crash and a strong emphasis on focus.
The Mixability of Rogue Energy is the best out of any sampled powdered gaming drink.
There is no residue after mixing and consumers regularly report a complete lack of “chalkiness”. You can mix a shaker full of Rogue Energy and put it in the fridge for later and have no worries about the residue at the bottom of your cup.
Maybe the most impressive benefit of Rogue Energy is the amazing taste.
Every single flavor is dynamic and nuanced and tastes like the advertised flavor. The flavor is sweet or sour and well balanced. There is no after taste and no vitamin taste present which can be hard to achieve with powdered gaming drinks. Compared to the popular competitor, G Fuel, it is easy to see how much more thought was placed on perfecting each flavor.
At $1/serving and 30 servings per tub, Rogue Energy is an incredible value not only per drink, but also per purchase (compare it to Sneak’s $40/tub cost or Bang Energy’s $3.25/serving cost).
Additionally, Rogue has launched a caffeine-free Hydration line and a high-stimulant Extreme line. Rogue Hydration replaces sugar-filled sports drinks like Gatorade and can be consumed any time of day. Rogue Extreme replaces traditional preworkout supplements or high-stimulant energy drinks like Bang Energy for use during high intensity situations.
All of these factors make Rogue the clear consensus best gaming drink brand on the market.
2. Ghost Gamer
- Caffeine - 75mg
- Total Active Weight - 2.42grams/serving
- Cost Per Serving - $1.00/serving
- Mixability - Moderate
- Taste - Good
Ghost Gamer is a very new product line launched by the fitness supplement company, Ghost Lifestyle who is trying to enter the gaming space.
Ghost Gamer takes a unique approach with their formula where it comes with 40 servings but they design it to be doubled. This means the formula is a bit weaker when mixed as 1 scoop and too chalky (and double the cost) when mixed with 2 scoops. It’s an interesting strategy that they might regret.
Ghost Gamer does branded flavor collabs with popular candy brands like Warheads and Sour Patch Kids. The flavors were good but surprisingly not amazing.
Overall, Ghost Gamer reaches the number 2 spot on the list due to the better mixability and taste than the next 2 powdered drinks on this list. The formula isn’t perfect but they get points for making the effort with the branded flavor collabs.
3. Sneak Energy
- Caffeine - 150mg
- Total Active Weight - 3.16grams/serving
- Cost Per Serving - $1.00/serving
- Mixability - Poor
- Taste - OK
Sneak Energy is a powdered gaming drink based out of the UK.
Their formula hits the coveted 3grams/serving goal however there are some serious mixability concerns.
Sneak Energy recommends mixing one scoop with 10-12oz but when we sampled this, the chalkiness was unbearable and there was a thick layer of powder at the bottom of the shaker that wouldn’t dissolve. We increased the water amount to 16oz but the chalkiness was still very unpleasant and the residue at the bottom of the shaker was still present.
Sneak Energy is priced well at $1/serving and at 40 servings per tub it is a larger investment than the $29.99/tub cost of Rogue Energy but still reasonable.
One thing Sneak Energy is doing well is branding. They find a way to put their bunny mascot and logo on nearly every square inch of their packaging, lid, seal, and scoop. This leads to a cohesive brand identity.
Overall Sneak Energy is a respectable brand who is doing their best. Their branding looks great but the flavor and mixability will not leave you wanting more.
4. G Fuel
- Caffeine - 140mg
- Total Active Weight - 2.79g/serving
- Cost Per Serving - $.90/serving
- Mixability - Poor
- Taste - OK
G Fuel is the original powdered gaming drink and has been around since 2011. They are very popular predominantly due to their big name brand partnerships with FaZe Clan and other large streamers and less for their quality.
When you dig into G Fuel’s formula, you see it is built for moderate performance. The 2.79g/serving falls below the desired 3g/serving mark but it isn’t the worst formula on the market.
Hands down the most common criticism of G Fuel is the chalkiness. The texture of the powder is more granular and it leaves a texture on your teeth when you take a sip.
One thing G Fuel is doing well is offering a lot of flavor options. They launch a new flavor nearly every month. The variety of flavors available excite many consumers however flavor execution is quite poor at times.
G Fuel flavors tend to taste fairly similar; a sweet drink with underlying hints of the advertised flavor but no depth. Often, it can be difficult to determine what the flavor is supposed to be when tasting and it doesn’t taste like the flavor name.
Overall, G Fuel is an adequate gaming drink brand with a lot of flavor varieties albeit mediocre flavor and formula. Their cost per serving is low. They are kind of like the Toyota Camry of gaming drink brands; they get the job done but they won’t wow you. There are numerous better options out there.
5. Monster Energy
- Caffeine - 160mg
- Total Active Weight - Not published (less than 1 gram)
- Cost Per Serving - $2.75/serving
- Mixability - n/a
- Taste - Good
The first canned energy drink to hit the list, Monster Energy is of course a household name as one of the most popular energy drinks in the world.
We discussed the benefits of powdered gaming drinks over canned gaming drinks earlier in this article so we already know Monster (and the other canned options below) falls short of the powdered gaming drink options on this list.
Relying primarily on caffeine and a few B vitamins, Monster Energy will increase your energy but does little to increase focus, endurance, or reaction speed.
The $2.75/serving price tag for a convenience store can is nearly 3 times that of the top drink on this list.
Overall, Monster Energy hits this list for its good taste and accessibility (you can find it in nearly every store).
6. Bang Energy
- Caffeine - 300mg
- Total Active Weight - Not published (less than 1 gram)
- Cost Per Serving - $3.25/serving
- Mixability - n/a
- Taste - Good
Bang Energy has grown in popularity in recent years in the traditional energy drink market. They are a high stimulant energy drink with 300mg of caffeine so it will not be suitable for all consumers.
Their cost per serving is the highest on this list, often in excess of $3/serving when purchased from convenience stores.
Bang Energy offers a number of unique flavors that taste good and are an adequate choice as a gaming drink if you intend to go the canned energy drink route versus the more effective, more affordable powdered gaming drink route.
7. Game Fuel
- Caffeine - 90mg
- Total Active Weight - Not published (less than 1 gram)
- Cost Per Serving - $2.99/serving
- Mixability - n/a
- Taste - Not Good
Game Fuel is Mountain Dew’s attempt at creating a gaming specific energy drink. Most of their flavors have high amounts of sugar but they have recently introduced a sugar free option which is a step in the right direction.
The taste of Game Fuel is VERY sweet. This stuff is sugar water. Some younger people might enjoy the obnoxiously sweet flavor but most people 18+ will likely not have a palate for it.
Overall this is a pretty mediocre drink at a pretty high price point with moderate levels of energy ingredients.
THE WORST GAMING DRINKS ON THE MARKET
When writing this article about the BEST gaming drinks, we felt it was also imperative that we highlight bad business practices that some gaming drink companies are using to trick consumers.
We will not name any companies in this section but it is important to note that there are more companies doing it the wrong way versus the right way.
The biggest problem with the gaming drink industry is “angel dusting” where you put trace amounts of an ingredient into your formula, not to make it work, but simply so you can list the ingredient on your label.
This is a tactic designed to trick and confuse the consumer and make them think the formula is more robust than it really is.
It is critical that you look at the amount of each ingredient and the overall gram weight of each serving to know if a company has designed a drink to work, or if they built a brand as a money grab.
CONCLUSION
The popularity of gaming energy drinks is skyrocketing and there are a lot of factors to consider when selecting a good drink. We firmly believe that Rogue Energy is the best gaming drink in the World for a number of reasons.
Equally important, there are new companies that are popping up regularly and are trying to sell weak caffeine-water formulas to consumers who might not be familiar with reading nutrition panels.
Do your research and choose the best companies when selecting your gaming drink of choice!
