How to earn money on video games – 7 popular ways

The video game industry is prospering and, according to the research, its turnover amounted to about 150 billion dollars only in the past year. It is obvious that it will keep growing and expanding in the nearest year. Almost 73% of people between the ages of 4 and 20 have at least one gaming console. Whether it is a zombie shooter or running missions with friends on the Internet, video games provide us with a way to get away from everyday life. People spend lots of money and time searching for a new experience from games.

There is an infinite number of video games to play and have fun. But is it possible to make money by playing? It seems to sound too good to be true. But no, it is real. The video game industry provides lots of ways to make money. Even if there is no objective to make only on games, it is possible to earn good money in this business just by spending the time free from work or other activities.

7 ways to play games and make real money. It is worth noticing that working in the video game industry demands reliable equipment, so some investments will be required.

1. A gaming blog

The creation of a blog for gamers can be an effective way of involving the audience. The received revenue will depend on blog attendance. First of all, you should pay attention to the creation of demanded and high-quality content, which will attract sponsors and gaming companies.

Also, a gaming blog provides an opportunity to generate revenue with the help of affiliate marketing. The scheme of making money is the following:

• Create content, for example, a review and test of gaming equipment (keyboards, mice, gaming chairs, video cards, etc.)
• Put affiliate links to a seller where you can buy this equipment in the content
• In the case, if a user uses the link and buys the product, a seller gives partnership deductions for the sale (usually, it is 5-15% of a product’s price)

You can become a successful gaming blogger by creating high-quality content, being persistent, and patient.

2. Esports

Esports competitions are a nice way to earn by playing games. However, you should remember that esportsmen spend a lot of time and strength on improving their skill, so the competition in esports can scare initially.

So it is worth paying attention to niche games. A unique niche has a bigger demand and lower competition.

Prize pools of professional tournaments start from 20-30 thousand dollars. A few million dollars can be up for grabs in big rating tournaments in the disciplines like Dota 2, CS:GO, LoL, Overwatch, Rainbow6. A prize pool is usually divided among five or six players. It should be understood that not everyone who participates in a competition wins big money but the knowledge about a potential reward demonstrates that it is possible.

Participating in tournaments opens opportunities to cooperate with sponsors. The more achievements you have, the more sponsors will want you to represent them at tournaments all over the world.

3. A YouTube gaming channel

You can start making interesting content for other players by using the popularity of YouTube. Launching your own YouTube gaming channel is not difficult and relatively cheap. Ideas and good equipment are required.

With the growth of the channel, content and professionalism should grow too. A big number of subscribers will guarantee big revenue from advertisements.

Content is very important when you launch a gaming channel. You can make video reviews, walkthroughs, or even tactical tips in competitive or multiplayer games. To create video reviews at the start, it is enough to use the free video editor.

You can gain the support of fans of some gaming series or fans of a particular gaming console. Everyone knows regular arguments about what consoles are better and why people think so. Xbox fans will want to watch a review of the newest games on their console, while PS4 gamers and Nintendo Switch fans will be watching videos on the channels dedicated to their consoles.

Summing up — you should determine a topic of videos on a channel and if the channel supports one or another console.

4. A Twitch gaming channel

For those who don’t know the Twitch Interactive platform — it’s a streaming service for gamers. This unique platform provides support to millions of gaming fans all around the world. This service has levels of subscription but a newcomer can use a free version.

Hundreds of gamers turned this service into their full-time work. It is obvious that it is impossible to achieve success right after the registration but the platform provides a good opportunity for those who treat games seriously.

Twitch is also integrated with such consoles as Xbox 360, Xbox One, Sony PlayStation 3 and 4, and also other devices like Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast, allowing to broadcast content to fans. Twitch offers players a nice opportunity to make money on video games. The process is simple: the more views you get, the bigger revenue will be. After you have, at least, 500 regular views on a video, you can apply for Twitch Partner. Revenue depends on the number of subscribers. Twitch will pay 2,5 for every new subscriber. Also, there is an opportunity to receive donations on Twitch.

However, it is worth remembering that working on Twitch demands good communicative skills, advanced gaming skills, and big perseverance.

5. A game tester

A video game tester is paid for playing video games and giving detailed reports and reviews about particular aspects of the tested games. However, some companies demand certain technical knowledge from their testers, others simply want gamers to play a beta version of games.

6. A video game developer

If you have knowledge about how to work with graphics or you understand in-game mechanics of games, you should probably consider a career of a video game developer. These educational platforms will help you with skills, which are required to develop games.

7. Gaming technical support

Have you spent a lot of time explaining to a friend how to pass a level in a game? Do you have the skills of diagnosing and solving technical issues? These communicative skills and skills in solving issues might lead to a full career in the video game industry.

Technical support specialists can make big money, which can be a serious reason for choosing the profession for those who want to help people play as comfortably as possible.

Earning money in the video game industry is a real opportunity. Real people who love video games make good money every day.

It is worth joining the branch, which places second in the world rate by the growth rate. You can start making money on video games using your passion and knowledge about the video game industry, can’t you? Good equipment and a skill in choosing games wisely will help you.