Want to make money playing your favorite video games? Well, it is possible. Whether you’re trying to jumpstart your career as a professional gamer or you’re trying to achieve your dream job, here are 10 essential tips that you should know about.
Start Streaming on Twitch
Twitch is arguably the biggest platform for gamers when it comes to streaming. Apart from becoming a twitch affiliate and streamer, you can create your own merchandise, donation links and subscriptions on their platform. If you’re willing to set up your own type of fun commentary on a particularly popular video game like Minecraft, Dark Souls, or Pokemon, twitch might be the right platform for you.
However, as most entertainers and streamers would say, you have to aim for a large live stream audience first before you can confidently say, you’re earning a decent amount of money from twitch.
Make a YouTube Channel
Although twitch has a lot more to bring to the table in terms of daily viewers and stream audience, YouTube has a wider audience for you to gain views from. If you’re already a streamer on twitch, you can post your gameplay on YouTube and have your own passive income.
Apart from your usual gameplay, you can post other kinds of gaming content as well. For instance, if you’re highly interested in watching gaming news or reviews, you can start a weekly series about your favorite genre of video games.
Create Tutorials and Guides
Apart from posting gameplays on YouTube, you can also make money by creating tutorials and game guides. Many people are always looking for guides for their favorite video games online. Since some gamers prefer to read game tutorials and guides on the internet, you can also run your own website and profit out of ads. Directing traffic between your YouTube channel and website will help you bring more viewership and therefore, earn money from gaming.
Write about Games
If streaming and making videos about gaming isn’t exactly your thing, another idea that you might want to try out is writing about video games. There are many websites out there that are in search for gaming journalists, and they usually pay on a per-article or per-word basis.
This would be the perfect job for you if you already have some form of experience in writing blogs, reviews, or website posts. Although it can be a daunting project to think about, you can also build your own blog about gaming.
Sell Online Accounts and Digital Items
Some people often trade real money for in-game items and accounts, especially in competitive online games like Fornite, Dota 2, and Overwatch. If you’ve already tried to spend hours grinding on certain games, you’ll realize that there is a market for flipping online accounts and digital items in video games. If you’re up to the task, you can also offer to boost someone’s MMR or rank in a game.
Be a Professional Gamer
While it’s not the most consistent way of earning money through video games, being a professional gamer is slowly becoming a normal and common thing in the world of gaming. Popular online video games like Dota 2, Fortnite and League of Legends are packed with competitions that have attractive prize pools. It is important to remember however that professional gaming isn’t for everyone since you’ll need to have some incredible talent or skills to win competitions.
Land Sponsorship Deals
After you earn a decent number of followers on social media or in one of your platforms, you can gain more income in your gaming career by landing sponsorships. This would most likely be an easy task for you to do if you’re good at building your own community and promoting products.
Be a Game Tester
Game developers are usually in need of game testers to further improve or progress their video game projects. Although the pay is usually close to minimum wage, you’ll be able to test out games before they’re even set for release. Landing a high-paying gig or job as a game tester might be difficult though since most high-paying positions would only be available in large game development companies.
Sell and market game inspired products
If you only have a few followers on YouTube or you’re just not comfortable in partnering with brands, you can also sell and market the products you’d love to share to your viewers. You can make Amazon affiliate links out of gaming chairs, keyboards, and other game-inspired products. And if you’re interested in criticizing certain products, you can also create your own product review videos.
