In the pre-apocalyptic fog of 2016, I wrote PC Gamer's first guide to the best gaming chairs. My words are now lost in the erosion of regular updates, but I vividly remember sitting in Steelcase's Gesture for the first time and being as shocked as anyone would be by the furniture.

At the time, I called it the "little bear porridge" of luxury chairs and declared that I would sell my kidneys to cover the high cost of owning this chair; a year later, I made good on that claim and thankfully, my organs were intact and I have loved sitting in this chair ever since. I have recommended this chair to colleagues who have had the same experience. Wes got a used chair (a failed startup is on our side here) and simply calls it the "King Chair."

When I wrote this article, I categorized chairs suitable for gamers into three broad categories: basic office chairs offered by Amazon and Ikea, high-end "task" chairs from Herman Miller and Steelcase, and the rapidly The bucket-style racing chairs that were rapidly becoming popular among streamers. At the time, I favored the ergonomic "task" chairs and found the racing chairs cheaper and less comfortable. Since then, the quality of specialized gaming chairs like the Secretlab Omega and DXRacer's Master, which Steven recently reviewed, has improved dramatically. They now have substance to match their style.

So now seems like a good time to check out Steelcase's entry-level ergo chair, the Series 2. Launched last fall, the Series 2 is said to offer many improvements over the Series 1. It is sleek, modern, and classy, not overdesigned. The biggest selling point of the Series 2 is what Steelcase calls "Air Live Back Technology," a mesh backrest made of a combination of plastic and fabric. It is extremely supportive and stretchable, and the perforated holes allow for good ventilation, which is probably the selling point. This would be good news for those who get especially hot during marathons.

What I did not like initially was the interlocking of the hips and lower back, which was initially uncomfortable for the Series 2. However, after adjusting the lumbar support bar between the fabric and plastic layers of the backrest, I quickly found the sweet spot and my impression of the chair was transformed.

To get other opinions, I lent the chair to the front desk of my apartment for the holidays and received excellent reviews from extended use.

As with the Gesture, the seat and backrest of the Series 2 are interlocked, and the seat pan slides forward when leaning against the backrest. Because the seat and backrest move in tandem, the seat pan slides forward when the backrest is leaned against. There are three settings that can be toggled from full support to reclined with very little effort. I stuck with the firmest setting for both work and gaming, so it is unfortunate that there are so few settings to choose from. Ideally, I would avoid chairs with seat pans that are too hard.

Also, chairs with fixed armrests should be avoided. The basic arms move up and down, but for an additional $57, you can opt for "4D" arms that can be adjusted up, down, back, forward, and even angled to fit your body perfectly. Like the Gesture, it is made of a firm foam and flexes comfortably. I found it easy to position it so that it is always comfortable, but if you are radically opposed to arms, you can opt for none at all, in which case you save $133.

However, this is the only savings, and any other customization options would bump the price of the Series 2 up a notch; some people could live without the $16 coat hanger, but the $70 headrest would be a deciding factor.

So who would we recommend the Series 2 to? For those of a certain age or those who don't want to go all out with the aesthetics of a gamer, this is a simple, functional task chair that is also moderately priced. You don't get the high-end construction and genuinely great performance of the Gesture chair, but you do get Steelcase's excellent design. However, given that the price of this chair is about half the price of the Gesture chair, it is not surprising.

I can't help but feel that if you choose the Ergo chair, it's worth saving up for a top-of-the-line one that you can appreciate. Especially since it is an investment that you will be using every day for years, if not decades.

Another caveat about the Series 2 is that it needs to enjoy solid, upright back support for me to strongly recommend it.

Overall, as much as I would love to recommend the Series 2 as an entry-level ergo chair, the quality of specialty gaming chairs has improved dramatically over the past five years. The gamer's butt market is now incredibly competitive and the number of entrants is constantly growing.

Sounds more erotic than I expected from my chair coverage. After using the Series 2, my impression is that, while it has the functionality of an excellent ergo chair, at this price, something like the Secret Labs Omega would be the safest option for many gamers looking for a significant seating upgrade.