How to make money from gaming

Many of you have been playing games for years probably. And the fact that you have been gaming for all these years shows just how much you’re enjoying it. So I’m sure you’ve wondered at least once before whether you can make money from something you love so much. So I will present you the best ways to make money from gaming.

1. E-Sports

The most obvious way you can make money is from professional gaming. That means that you choose a game you really like and are good at it, that also has at least an existing e-sports scene, then you become one of the best players for that game and get hired from a team or organization. This offers a regular salary, and extra money from sponsorships.

Another positive for pro gamers is that e-sports in general is budding; it’s still relatively new, and every year, more and more money is spent on such events, and more and more people are interested with watching them.

The negative is the huge amount of time you have to spend in order to become better at the game and eventually master it, as well as about 6 to 8 hours of daily practice. Also, it’s quite risky, as you never know if you really are good enough to be pro, although with enough practice it’s doable for almost anyone.

In the end, being a pro gamer might seem like a dream, but many do not realize that it’s just like any other regular job, with a salary and 6-8 hours of daily work. But, if you are talented at a particular genre, then it’s only natural you end up being pro.

Don’t forget that if you end up a pro, when your professional days are over, you can then move on to become a coach for the newer generation of games, thus building a decent account size for your retirement.

2. Streaming

Another well-known way to make money from gaming is streaming. Essentially, you play games for various viewers though a streaming platform, the most notable one being Twitch.tv. You don’t have to be good at a game to stream but you certainly need to bring something to the table, or why would someone want to watch your stream.

If you don’t plan on playing to show off your skills (the reason being that you’re simply not that good), you can choose a niche within your stream. For example, you can just troll and have fun, and people would watch you because you’re funny. You can be charismatic and have a core fanbase who follow because they like you. You can offer services such as rank boosting, or coaching.

The main disadvantage is the setup. You need amazing internet speed, both upload and preferably download speed too. That might not be possible where you live. Another disadvantage is that you have to be comfortable with playing on a specific schedule, and play specific games within that schedule. You will not have the freedom to stop and take a break to unwind, best case scenario, you play another game.

If you want to start streaming, you should start with either a game that is topping the charts in terms of views or newer games that are booming with popularity. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t have many viewers at the start, just work on improving on what you think is best, or current viewers like most about you.

3. YouTube

YouTube is a lot like streaming, only you will not be forced to play regularly or for 8 hours straight. It is very important though to find a niche, even more important that streaming.

Your audience must have a reason to watch your videos and subscribe, whether it’s educational videos, funny moments, or awesome plays montage. Of course, it can be any combination of the above, or become more creative and try showing another talent you might have combined with the games you love.

YouTube is pretty straightforward, and doesn’t have many requirements like the aforementioned ways, but it certainly is harder to have as much profit as them. YouTube is paying you by a percentage of the ad revenue produced by your videos. This means that, the more people watch your videos (and therefore the ads in your video, or page), the more you will get paid.

It will take a lot of time and effort to make it big on YouTube, but of course, like any other way mentioned and to be mentioned, if you are talented, or at least really unique, you can certainly make it.

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4. Website

You can create a hit website, solely dedicated on your preferred game. It can be about its news, about information, or anything you deem interesting enough for people to see.

Another straightforward way of making money, if the website is successful, you just insert ads, and earn money while you sit back and post on a daily to weekly basis.

Another way to use the website is to sell various products you own (and ideally create!), so you don’t have to count on people clicking on ads, or visiting many pages. By selling products you create, you practically rely almost fully to your talent.

Most negative part is that it’s very hard to get started, and you need to be smart early on your website, with your page titles, and other decisions you make. But once you get started, you’re practically earn money while sitting all day.

5. Gaming Industry Employee

Not many think this when thinking about money from gaming, but a very valid option is working as an employee at a gaming company. You can be a game designer, programmer, or balance decider, or even a game artist.

Most will not think of this way because it’s really like any other job. You have to get to a decent university, get a decent degree, and apply to various companies. I know it’s not glamorous, but it is a realistic way. This all come with the advantages and disadvantages of regular work.

Repeating myself, while not glamorous, and with significantly less chance to become rich, or at least really wealthy, it is a very much valid option for realists who do want to deal with games for the rest of their lives, but know that they don’t have what it takes to risk with any of the above.

6. Game Owner

The last option I will suggest is actually make a game. That requires excellent programming skills (or someone who can do it), a decent chunk of money (or at least someone who has it), and some good artists (or do it yourself), among other specialties that will be required.

The benefits are tremendous. If the game becomes a huge success, you will create a company and actually become rich. You can move on to develop more games, hire people to do that, or just rest easy with your stocks while others run the company. Hell, you can even sell your share of the stocks for a sizeable amount of money.

Of course, the game must be a success, and for that to work, you also need to be extremely patient. It will take years to be able to release a game without (almost any) bugs and glitches, and it might not even be successful. But if you dream of owning a game of your making, that you make the the decisions about its playstyle, genre, etc, and also have some close people sharing that dream, then give it a go.

These were the best ways I could think of to make money for a living from gaming. In the end, making money from what you love is any man’s dream.

So, I suggest that if you are really passionate about gaming, and not just doing it as a time-killing activity, then give one of the methods in this list a go. Which method would you prefer? Is there another method I didn’t mention? Do you have any questions about how to start any of these methods? If so, just leave me a question, and I will answer as fast as I can.

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