8 Best Ideas to Make Money by Playing Games
If you do what you love, you won't be working for the rest of your life. But what if you love to play? We're talking about computer games.Is the idea of making money by playing games on a computer or game console really works? If you want to know how can you make money by playing computer games, read the article to the end ⬎
📋 Quick Sections
- Isn't it good to make money just by playing games?
- Sale of virtual goods and gold
- Win e-Sports tournaments
- Being a game tester
- Share your gaming knowledge
- Record “game-plays” videos
- Write about games
- Earn money by selling your game account
- Earning Money by Streaming Live Playing Game
- Playing live on Twitch
- Summary
Isn't it good to make money just by playing games?
Making money playing games is the dream of many young gamers. Although it seems like an impossible dream, there are many people who make money this way. Even if you have no such desire, making money playing video games is quite attractive. eSport players earn six-figure earnings each year by winning tournaments in front of crowds. This article is not a get-rich-quick guide. If making money playing games was easy, every player would do it. We don't recommend resigning from your job or dropping out of school to dive headfirst into the video game market.
1- Sale of virtual goods and gold
Gold farming has been around for a long time. If you're a gamer who plays multiplayer online RPGs (role-playing games) like World of Warcraft, you've no doubt seen the gold prices advertised in-game. Selling things in-game is also a system that has been around for a long time. Diablo-II also has a black market system where players sell things to other players for cash.
Selling virtual goods became very common in Diablo 3 and became an auction house where real money returns. The sale of virtual items and gold in the game was not considered appropriate and the accounts of those who integrated it into the game were banned. However, then Blizzard, who did not want to lose the player, allowed the sale of items and gold. Blizzard started taking $1 from every sale, as well as 15% when you cash out via PayPal. This system has been very profitable for Blizzard as well.
2- Win e-Sports tournaments
Tournaments allow skilled and qualified players to earn money using their skills. Playing video games at the professional and tournament level is often referred to as SportsYou may be surprised to see the size of the rewards. The team that won Valve's 2011 DOTA 2 tournament earned a million dollars. The winners of the 2011 North American Star League Starcraft 2 tournament were awarded $100,000.
However, there is also the fact that the number of players making money from these tournaments is not much. Professional players must be determined and skilled.
Professional players also make money through corporate sponsorships. For example, Nike sponsors professional athletes and Nascar race cars are adorned with corporate branding. Intel, Western Digital, and SteelSeries have sponsored gamers in the past to advertise electronic gaming gear.
3- Being a game tester
Major video game companies work with game testers. Their job is to report the problems they find and test the game.
Games take their final form by going through various development processes. Before the game is released, the developer company wants the game to be played with fresh eyes and to report any bugs in the game. By testing the game, you should convey your opinions about the game and the problems in the game to the developer company/person.
As a matter of fact, testing video games is not as good a job as it sounds. Game testers don't always test games they love, and sometimes they even have to review kids' games they hate. You have to do repetitive and tedious tasks and report a lot of program bugs. According to a game tester, he saw a lot of people who stopped playing after experiencing a tester experience. Like everyone else in the video game industry, game testers have to work hard, and there were even times when they worked 92 hours a week, one tester noted.
To learn more about what game testing is, check out IGN's The Tough Life of a Games Tester. This is rare information because game testers sign confidentiality agreements.
You can browse these sites to find a job in game testing.
4- Share your gaming knowledge
Are you an expert in video games like World of Warcraft? There are many people who will pay for your knowledge. Sites like Killer Guides let you write ebooks to help you monetize your knowledge. You can try to sell your e-books through online sites or your own website.
5- Record “game-plays” videos
By recording game-plays video and uploading on YouTube really get you make money a lot. You just need to record when you intend to play games. People watch the game-plays of different games like Call of Duty on YouTube to find the how the mission is passed. You can monetize your game-play videos on YouTube.
6- Write about games
The internet is full of video game sites with advertisements, and many of them pay their authors. If you have knowledge about games and are a good writer, you can try writing for one of these websites. Websites need reviews, news, and everything people want to read about video games.
You can review the games by going to an existing website or opening your own blog, you can conduct interviews and game promotions about the games. If you enter an existing site as a writer, you will be charged per article you write. Even if you set up your own blog, you can earn money through platforms such as Google AdSense or Patreon.
It can take a long time to reach a solid readership by establishing your own website and blog. So you have to work for a few years just to make a living by writing about games.
7- Earn money by selling your game account
Especially the growth in the online game industry has led to the birth of a new industry. Online game accounts can be valued and sold depending on their features and how much (3 years, 5 months, etc.) they are. In fact, if you know enough about the game, it is possible to buy an account cheap and sell it for a higher price.
8- Earning Money by Streaming Live Playing Game
Broadcast your screenshot live while playing games on a computer or game console, and let people watch your game, especially on Twitch or Youtube. If you gain a large following, you can earn money from ads, donations and subscriptions.
With this method, it is difficult to get a large audience to follow you live. Only 10 people can follow you for months, it may take a year to reach 100 people. Unfortunately, many players/publishers cannot even reach these figures. In order to earn money with this method, you need to be watched by thousands of people at the same time.
The game publishing space is very crowded. Why would people follow you when there are more popular accounts? Here is the point where the calf's tail breaks off, so to speak. You have to put yourself in a different position from other players/broadcasters and differentiate yourself from them with your style. Similarly, you can highlight your own brand by being a great gamer or playing games that few people play.
However, getting started with this method is quite easy. A good computer that can handle the games you are going to play, live broadcasting software (for example, OBS Studio, which is suitable for all operating systems and free), a webcam so that you can be seen at the bottom of the screen while playing games, and a microphone for your voice to sound quality are sufficient for this job.
Playing live on Twitch
Twitch is a social media platform where people can watch you play live. You can become a publisher by opening an account here, which is visited by more than 100 million people monthly, and you can earn money just by playing games.
💡 Quick Summary:
- selling your virtual products or gold.
- winning e-sports tournaments
- being a game testers
- sharing your gaming knowledge
- recording game-play videos
- writing about games
- streaming live playing games on twitch