Playing video games has been one of the most exciting ways to relax, blow off some steam or kill time. What if playing video games was your full time job? If that sounds too good to be true, it’s not. In this article we’ll reveal How To Make Money Playing Video Games Online.
How Much Can I Make Playing Video Games?
Depending on your talent, the game platform and other factors, an average professional gamer on the internet makes anywhere between $10,000-$100,000 annually.
But the most successful gamers can make millions in ad revenue, sponsorship deals and winning tournaments.
You can even make a full time income writing about gaming. If you’re interested in that then check out My Best Work At Home Recommendation.
6 Ways To Make Money Playing Video Games
If you own a video game console or even a gaming computer, you can earn a living doing one or more of the following:
Becoming a Video Game Tester
This is perhaps the dream job for any gamer. Video game companies pay experienced and professional gamers to test new games before releasing the market-ready versions.
As exciting as this job may sound, it’s not all that you think it is. Video Game Testers say 90% of the time your job will be finding bugs, writing reports, answering Q&As and so on.
So although you are getting paid to play games, the reporting part drains the fun out of it for many gamers.
Start a YouTube Channel
Vlogging is no new way of making money on the internet. So setting up a YouTube channel around video games makes “cents”, literally. There are tons of angles you can take to convert your video game skills into money on YouTube.
You can review games, record tutorials, go live and so on. Once you have a large enough audience, YouTube allows you to monetize your channel videos with ads. However, starting a YouTube channel around gaming doesn’t come cheap.
According to successful gaming YouTubers, launching a gaming channel from scratch can cost you upwards of $1,000 as the equipment don’t come cheap. But your return on investment can be quite worth it if you’re really good at what you do. Your biggest hurdle may be to convince your education-oriented folks to fund your new-found career playing video games!
You can start by letting them know that there are gamers making seven figures annually on YouTube. But as you know, how much you make on the Tube depends on viewership, ad revenue and bagging sponsorship deals.
Streaming on Twitch
Video game streaming service Twitch allows users to watch gamers play video games. As a broadcaster you have two ways to earn; either as a Twitch partner earning from video views or receiving donations.
Twitch’s CPM varies from $2-$10 per 1000 views. You can also earn from sponsorships and subscriptions just like YouTubers. On average, most Twitch partners earn anywhere between $5,000-$50,000 annually. But the top 10 Twitch broadcasters earn a combined $20 million per year. That’s a pretty fat paycheck pressing buttons given your overhead is rent and the electric bill at the end of the month!
However to monetize your Twitch account you’ll need to have at least 500 minutes of broadcast time in the last 30 days, 7 of which have to be unique broadcasts, an average of 3 repeat viewers over 30 days and at least 50 followers.
Farming Items for Gold
You can also make money by earning virtual currency and items on games and then selling it to other games. A typical way to farm items for gold involves playing a game like World of Warcraft or Counter Strike, earning coins, gold or whatever currency the game rewards you with and then selling your earnings at a store like Stream.
But earning rewards that convert to a decent sum takes time, effort and skill. You definitely won’t retire early farming items for gold, but it’s another popular way to make a little money on the side playing games.
Writing Game Guides and Walkthroughs
This is basically involves creating a text-based version of video tutorials. You’ll need to know the game inside-out though as inaccurate information can lead to pretty brutal feedback. Reputable game guide developers sell eBooks, tutorials and walkthroughs on their social pages, blogs and even YouTube.
But remember, to make real money doing this you’ll need to be an authority figure, and learn how to market the content. You can create a blog around this on your way to making six figures annually. You can go here and learn how to create and market an authority website from scratch using the Wealthy Affiliate and Authority Hacker Site System.
Join eSports Tournaments
If you’re looking to put your gaming skills to the test, you can join an eSports tournament in the hope of winning the prize money. Giant gaming developers like EA Sports, Konami, NBA 2K and Riot Games have over the years been creating digital versions of real sports like soccer, Football, Baseball and so on, giving way to creation of tournament around these games, both online and offline. League of Legends is one of the most popular eSports tournaments
The most lucrative eSports tournament is the FIFA eWorldcup soccer tournament that’s basically the digital version of the FIFA World Cup. The winner takes home well over $3 million and several more millions in sponsorship deals. Besides that you will definitely find a gaming tournament studio in your area.
You can also game online or offline for money. So if you know a game inside-out, you can walk into a tournament studio or competitive gaming website and either gun for the prize money or gamble with like-minded gamers.
Top 7 Companies that pay you to play video games online
Previously we discussed how to make money with game consoles. But there are many websites willing to pay you to play games online. All you need is a computer and stable internet. These include:
Swagbucks – Besides playing games, you can also make money doing other things such as visiting websites, reading emails, watching videos and more at SwagBucks. Joining is totally free and it’s available internationally. You even get a $5 sign up bonus immediately you join. You can read my full SwagBucks Review here.
Inboxdollars – Similar to SwagBucks, InboxDollars also allows you to play games and make money while at it. You can additionally earn more money doing simple tasks like watching videos, answering surveys, reading emails and more. Joining is free and you get a $5 sign up bonus as well and it’s available internationally. You can find out more about the company here in my full InboxDollars Review here.
Pointclub– Pointclub is well known for surveys, but you can also make money playing video games, watching videos and more. But you’ll need to be at least 13 years of age and live in the US to join. You also get $5 upon signing up. You can read my full Pointclub Review here.
Bingo Mania – Bingo Mania is a long-standing website that pays you to play Bingo. You start by earning $1 and the money keep on increasing until the final winner is declared. The site offers bingo games exclusively. You can go here to sign up if you live in the US or UK and are over 18 years of age. You can go here to sign up. Keep in mind you need to place a wager to make real money playing Bingo games. The highest jackpot winner pocketed $8,000 recently.
Pogo – Pogo also allows you to make money playing a variety of online games. However, you’ll first need to view ads for the first five days as a new member. You can then start collecting tokens that you’ll use to play games and earn money while at it. There’s a daily draw of $10,000 and you can earn as much based on your ability to collect tokens viewing ads. You can go here to sign up.
Paid Game Player – There are over 600 games at Paid Game Player, all free to download and play. These games include slots, arcade games, online casinos, puzzles and more. It’s available worldwide but you’ll need to be at least 18 to play. You can sign up here.
GSN Cash Games – You’ll be given an initial 12,500 tokens upon signing up at GSN to use to play casino games and other video games. If you win a game you’ll earn “Oodles” that you can later convert to cash. Joining is free and you can do so from anywhere in the world. Best part is, you’re given the chance to try a game before entering a competition. They’ll also recommend games that match your skills, giving you a better chance of winning. You can go here to join.
Can you really make money playing video games?
Not only can you make real money playing video games. Depending on how you do it, you may even land sponsorship deals and become a celebrity gamer earning a living doing what you love.
There has never been a better time to get into the professional gaming industry. The earlier you get in the game, the better, since the industry is ever-changing.
If you’re interested in creating a blog or website around gaming, you can get started with My Best Work At Home Recommendation and learn how.
Well I hope you found this article useful. Have you ever made money playing games? Does this article help you? Feel free to chime in within the comments section below!
Until next time,
Eddy with a Y