Playing video games for profit?
Video games may not be the most profitable business, but it is sure a fun one. There are many ways you can make money while playing video games. Twitch streamers play video games for a living, and many people aspire to do the same. They often make their money directly from what they love doing most: playing video games. Whether young or old, if you are good enough you can make a living by playing video games. But how? We'll show you with this article how you can go about getting your piece of this growing market. So, how do you make money playing video games?
1. By becoming a Quality assurance Tester for a game development company
If you are a programmer, designer, or artist, then this is your opportunity to provide your valuable skills to a game development company. A tester's job is to ensure that games are working correctly as they should before being released publicly. This isn't an easy job for sure. You will have to test every aspect of a game: from menus and graphics to the interactions sound and gameplay. You will be playing the game under various conditions and documenting all of the bugs you find in order for them to be fixed by developers. Software developers like NetEnt hire testers to look for bugs in their free bingo games. This can be very time consuming and difficult work, but it is also quite rewarding when you know that your efforts are making a good quality video game even better before it's released to the public (for gamers).
2. Become a Professional Gamer
Become 'the best' at what you do, and get sponsored by a gaming company. This is another way for you to make money off of what you love doing. If you are good enough to attract large sponsors, then you can influence the market by releasing reviews, tips and tricks etc for products that influence the gaming industry. You can also make money by playing in tournament or other league play where cash prizes are involved (and shared with your team). You can sell your merchandise and have an online store to sell gaming related products as well if you want to make it official. You could even run your own tournaments!
3. Become an Entertainer
If you are good at entertaining people, then this may be the job for you! The streaming market is booming as more and more people want to watch grown adults play video games 24/7. PewDiePie is set to make $15 million in 2020 alone solely from his gaming videos on YouTube. But how can you get all of that sweet cash? All you have to do is build your own audience, then build a website around yourself where viewers can donate directly to support your efforts (recurring donations may even be possible for a little extra cash). You'll be making money off your knowledge of the game, originality, and entertainment value.
4. Join Twitch
Twitch is a company that makes it easy for you to stream your videos directly to your audience. If you have viewers watching your work and donating (or even paying) to see more, then you are well on your way to making a career out of streaming. This site was created with the sole purpose of harvesting and sustaining audiences for its users. It's all free to join, but if you want some extra features or protection then you will have to pay a small fee per month. You can make money by charging for subscriptions, advertising your products/services in the middle of videos, or even selling merchandise (T-shirts etc.) directly on the site.
5. Contact Sponsors
Many sponsors want a piece of the online streaming pie that is growing every day. They want to get their products or services in front of as many people as possible in order to make money off of it. This is your chance! If you have an audience that you can prove they are willing to watch and support then you can find a sponsor willing to pay YOU for being put in front of your audience. This is a great way for them to reach your viewers and gain access to their purchasing power.
6. Start a YouTube Channel built around playing games
YouTube is another great way to get your message out there. Uploading game play videos, walk throughs, and tutorials can be a very rewarding experience. One man has made over $1 million from his gaming channel and he doesn't stream live on twitch. While you will be unlikely to make this much money, you still could make enough to sustain yourself for quite a while. This again, will take time and effort to build an audience, but once you succeed people may start donating if your work is good enough.
Above are just a few of the ways that you could make money playing video games. The best way is definitely to become a professional streamer on Twitch. As long as you have an audience willing to support your efforts, then you'll be sure to reap the benefits of being such a person.
7. Make your game
To begin with, there are two ways of making your own games:
- 1. Do everything yourself
- 2. Find people to help you complete your vision
If you are going to do everything yourself, then you have to learn what it takes to market your game from scratch. There are small tips and tricks that can help you make your own game as well (for example having a killer title is important because it'll be the first thing people see). There are dozens of ways of marketing your game without having to pay out of pocket which is what I would recommend doing if you want a chance of making money.
If you go the route of finding people to help you, then there are various sites that allow you to find other people who may be interested in working with you. Once you find someone, then you can discuss your vision with them and ask them to help you. Depending on how good of a networker you are, taking this route may be worth the huge payoff!