How To Get Paid For Gaming & Playing Video Games

The world of the internet has really exposed every niche market you could possibly think of and advertisers have quickly caught on. Even a decade ago, making money by playing video games was limited to a very specific pool of people, but has now grown into an incredibly popular phenomenon with a multitude of opportunities.

As someone who has actually made some money by playing video games, I have some personal insight into the various ways you can capitalize on it. Here’s how you can actually get paid by playing video games.

Go Pro

You can get paid vast amounts of money by being good at a game that has a significant following. Games like Counter-Strike, Starcraft 2, and Dota 2 have tournaments for thousands, if not sometimes millions of dollars. But it’s not as easy as playing a couple games after work or school. Professional gamers usually work more than 40 hours a week and can practice for up to ten hours a day. Additionally, you’d need the natural ability and skill required to be in the top percentile of players in the world.

In the end saying, “become a professional gamer” is as realistic as saying “become a professional basketball player” as studies have shown that pro gamers have greater cognitive functions. If you are that person who is the best in the world however, a life of professional gaming means traveling around the world, making tons of money, getting sponsored by tech companies, and living a pretty good life.

Become a Streamer

Yeah, this one won’t make sense for some of you, but you can actually make money by playing a game on a webcam and allowing other people to watch you. It doesn’t require you to be exceptional at the game either, as streaming is more about having a fun personality that attracts new people while maintaining a strong following. Being a successful streamer can bring in six figures a year in sponsorships, donations, ad-revenue, merchandising, and subscriptions. Twitch.tv and YouTube offer live streaming services where people can donate money to your stream.

Being successful at streaming is a lot like being successful at making money on YouTube and many of the same strategies can be applied, which leads us to our next topic…

Make Gaming Videos on YouTube

You can do almost anything if you have a video capture card. Video game walkthroughs, “let’s plays”, tutorials, and reviews can capture millions of views. Many of the same concepts from my “Ploymint Guide: How To Get Paid For Making YouTube Videos” article can be applied here too.

There are a couple of strategies you can employ, but your best move would probably be to create content for a single game and then gain an online cult following through that. By making your play-throughs episodic, you can get a better click-through rate and thus more subscribers. Ultimately there is no “one trick” to becoming successful at getting views on YouTube, other than making regularly engaging content that people want to watch.

Making Money in the Gaming Industry

Making money by playing games sounds like a dream for many, but is actually really hard work. It’s sometimes less about how good you are and more about the quality of your brand. You could become totally irrelevant overnight, like if the game you’re good at stops getting sponsored tournaments, or if another game in the same genre takes over.

In the end the most successful people are the people who diversify their streams of income. By having YouTube content, regularly streaming, getting sponsored, and merchandising, you’ll ensure that you’ll be making and saving money for the long run. Even if you do all of those things, there’s still a chance you won’t make much money in the industry. In many ways, being a successful gamer is a lot like being a performer. Many people want it, but only a few can actually do it.