- Have fun and monetise your hobby. Learn How to Make Money Playing Video Games like a pro!
- Check out the list below to find out some money-making ideas and the video games that you can make real money on. Playing games is fun, but the possibility of earning some money while doing so can make it even more fun. There are multiple ways to earn money on games, from skin trading to account boosting, coaching services, and doing some.
- This post outlines 13 effective options you can use to earn money by playing video games, turning your hobby into an effective side hustle and income source.
Most people spend money to play video games. A small segment of the population actually does things the other way around: They make money by playing video games. If you’ve ever wondered how you could turn your gaming hobby into a paying gig, you’ve come to the right place. Here are four ways you can make money playing video games.
Go Here Make Money Playing and Testing Video Games, Benefits of becoming a. There are no limits to how much money you can make.
1. Streaming
Thanks to the advent of video streaming sites like Twitch and YouTube Gaming, some lucky (and smart and talented) people are raking in cash by broadcasting their video game play sessions on the internet. It’s a good job if you can get it.
How to do it: Turning streaming into a lucrative business is a bit more complicated than it might sound at first blush. After all, building up a sizable audience willing to watch — and, ideally, pay for — your content is no trivial task.
First you need the gear. While PlayStation 4 and Xbox One let you stream games over Twitch using their built-in apps, most pro streamers use a game capture box and a PC to do the heavy lifting. And once you have your gear, you’ll also need to be charismatic and entertaining if you want people to keep coming back to watch you. Once you have that down, you’ll want to start streaming on a regular schedule so viewers know when they can tune in to catch you. Oh, and having a background in business won’t hurt, either, since once you have an audience you’ll probably want to work on partnerships and promotions.
For a detailed look at all aspects of how to stream, check out this article from Tom’s Guide.
2. eSports
Source: Capcom
If you’re exceptionally skilled at certain games that are big in the competitive multiplayer scene, you can make money by competing in tournaments. Games like Dota 2, CounterStrike: Global Offensive, and Street Fighter V are all popular eSports games with tournaments that offer millions of dollars in prize money to the best players. You can find a list of eSports games, with information about their tournaments and prizes, here.
How to do it: This is one of the tougher ways to get paid to play video games because it’s all based on how skilled you are at the games in question. To get started, you’ll have to get good a game and start competing in tournaments. You can win money all by yourself in solo games, but for team-based games you’ll have to join up with a team. Many eSports players also earn money from sponsorships by companies like Red Bull and Adidas.
3. QA testing
Every major game developer has a team of quality assurance testers on staff to play games at various stages of development and comment on them. The thing is, QA testers don’t play games like normal customers do. They’re looking for bugs, so they have to spend lots of time in each section trying to “break” the game. Then they file reports based on their experiences.
How to do it: Look at job board postings at major development companies like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Nintendo, and any other company that makes games you like. The downsides of QA testing are that you’ll almost certainly have to live near the studio to be a QA tester, and it’s an entry level job that doesn’t pay much.
4. Writing
Hemingway definitely would’ve written about video games if he’d been born later. | Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
If you have a talent for the written word, you can get a job writing about video games. Of all the jobs on this list, writing about games involves the least amount of time spent actually playing games. You’re being paid to produce words rather than to put time into video games. People who write about games spend much more time doing research, interviews, reporting, email, and actual writing than they do playing games.
Still, playing games is an essential part of most video game writing gigs, so if you enjoy shaping words into sentences and paragraphs, it’s a great way to get paid for doing two things you love. Also, writing about games means you’ll get many games for free, usually before they’re released to the public.
How to do it: If you want to get started writing about video games, the best thing to do is to start writing, period. You’ll need writing skills before anyone will pay you money to write about video games (or anything else, for that matter). Start a blog or start contributing to blogs on big gaming sites. Once you’ve written a few articles that prove you can write and you know what you’re talking about, start pitching story ideas to editors at gaming sites, using your blog posts as clips. If they’re accepted, you’re on your way to a job writing about video games.
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Do you want to earn big bucks playing games?
Sounds like a dream, right?
But it isn’t – nowadays, there are even sites that pay you to play online games.
But that’s not the only way. There are so many ways gamers can earn cash.
Compensation for playing varies too. It can range from near minimum wage to six figures annually. eSports athletes, for example, can earn hundreds of thousands while game testers are paid the minimum daily wage.
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Quick Fact:According to the ESA (The Entertainment Software Association), the gaming industry pulled in a whopping $20.77 billion in 2012 from video games, hardware, and accessories. Yeah, gaming is that big!
Sounds interesting?
Read on to learn how you can make money with those video games.
1. Get paid to test games
Big video games firms hire video game testers. The job is to basically test the games being developed and report whatever bug you encounter.
An alternative name for game-testing is “ play-testing”. This term has been romanticized in the past as people often think that game testing is an easy task. But it can be quite the opposite.
For starters, the pay is low. Video game testers are often paid a minimum salary.
Job security is another issue. Plus, not all games are enjoyable. Some testers need to play video games that are for kids. The job too can be monotonous and repetitive.
But, if you like video games, I don’t think any of that would matter.
If you’re interested, check out our post on video games testing jobs.
2. Farm gold & other items
Farming gold has been around for quite a number of years.
Have you played the multiplayer online RPG such as the World of Warcraft?
If yes, then you have seen those spammers’ advertisement of their gold prices within the game.
Selling items within games is nothing new. Try recalling Diablo 2. It had a certain system of black market selling style with players being allowed to sell their items to fellow players for cold cash.
Item selling in games even became more mainstream with Diablo 3 and its real money auction house. This was a turning point, as the virtual items and currency trading became embedded in the game.
Blizzard makes $1 from each sale or 15% for currency and commodities, and additional 15% when you use PayPal. So you see, virtual selling was more than allowed, it was promoted.
3. Participate in eSport tournaments (and win)
Competition brings big bucks. This is how very skilled players make so much money. Playing professional level video game competitions are often called as “eSports”.
We’ are not talking about coins here, we’re talking of large cash winnings…
The team that won at Valve’s 2011 DOTA 2 tournament went home with one million dollars, $100,000 was given to the winner of the 2011 North American Star League Starcraft 2 tournament while the winner of last US Monopoly National Championship took home $20,580.
Of course, only a number of players receive big cash payouts at competitions. Just like in any tournaments, those professional video gamers who win are those have the talent and the dedication.
Finding corporations to sponsor you as a professional gamer is another way of earning cash in tournaments. Nike and Nascar, for example, are heavily into corporate branding and have sponsored some professional gamers.
In the past, even the likes of Intel, Western Digital, and SteelSeries, a developer of gaming peripherals have also ventured into corporate sponsorship of gamers.
4. Record Let’s Play videos
Now, this is where YouTube becomes useful for gamers who want to earn for playing.
Are you the type to play plenty of games?
If so, you can earn money streaming video games. It’s known as “Let’s Play” on YouTube and tons of gamers are making good money doing it.
Of course, you have to talk throughout the game, explain what and why you’re doing something, basically, narrate your gameplay.
Not surprisingly, there is a lot of competition out there, so you have to stand out.
You also need to be realistic about the earning potential. You see, the way you make money here is by enabling ads. These in-video ads earn you money for every click and impression. And that means the more people watch your videos, the more you’ll make. So in the beginning, you won’t make much (if anything at all). You have to slowly build your viewership. But once you do, it’ll be worth it.
The best part about this whole experience is that it becomes a form of passive income. Once you put the video up, you’re done. The video will stay up, earning you money, for as long as the video is up.
What Games Make You Money
5. Share your expertise
If you’re an expert, you could get paid to teach.
Believe it or not, there are people who are willing to give some cash for what you know about games.
You can, for example, turn your knowledge of a certain video game to an eBook and self-publish it on Kindle. You could create an eBook where you share cheats, how to beat certain levels, how to get the best of a game, etc.
Games That Pay Real Money
Need some inspirations? Check out this Amazon best sellers list, all related to video games.
6. Write about games
Have you seen those video game websites full of advertisements?
There are tons of game related websites out there that consistently have to pump out new content. They employ hundreds of thousands of full-time, part-time, and freelance writer.
If you have a flair for words and a decent amount of knowledge on gaming, then you may want to try to get hired as a writer for these sites.
Here are a few sites that pay game writers:
Final thoughts
If you like playing games, these are some awesome opportunities for you to not only do something you enjoy but also get paid for doing it.
That said, you have to be realistic about it. A lot of these opportunities should be looked at as ways to make money on the side. They won’t replace your day job. Sure, there are people who make their living writing about games, but for the majority of us, it’s just a great way to make a little extra cash in our free time.