Did you know that people can now make money playing games online? You don’t have to be a professional e-sport athlete to make a living off your gaming habit. All you need is a working computer, a can-do attitude, and the right skills to get in on the action.
Statistics show that the average salary of a gamer ranges between $1,000 to $5,000 per month. If you’re lucky, you can make a hefty $50,000 to $65,000 per year — which isn’t a bad starting salary if you’re asking us.
Today, we look into the top five ways to make money while playing games online. Stick around for some helpful tips and resources.
[1] Work As a Video Game Content Creator. One of the most basic (and popular) ways of gaming monetization is video game content creation. This content often comes in the form of a blog, a video, or even an e-book. There are plenty of things you can do as a video game content creator. You can make video game tutorials and walkthroughs. You can also write game reviews so other players know what to expect before they buy a certain game.
Two of the most successful video game content creators are PewDiePie and Jacksepticeye. Both are normal people from normal backgrounds. Which makes their stories much more motivating for people. That said, it’s difficult to replicate their rise to popularity without hitting a few bumps on the road.
The barrier to entry for video game content creators has become more impenetrable. To achieve any type of success in the industry, you need to dedicate a significant amount of time and effort. Even then, there’s no guarantee that you will make it.
[2] Invest in Axie Infinity. The growing popularity of crypto is making blockchain-based games like Axie Infinity more mainstream. This game provides players with a fun and creative way to make money online. There are several ways you can go about it e.g., breeding, battling, or trading NFTs called “Axies.”
Each Axie exists on the blockchain, making them 100% secure and 100% yours. Nobody can steal or duplicate them. You can collect as many of them as you want. On the flip side, you can also sell them without worrying about any third-party snooping on your transactions.
Even so, playing Axie Infinity does have its downsides. For instance, the costs of playing can be expensive, ranging between $1000 to $2000. That’s if you want a team of highly-skilled players with unique Axies to compose your team.
It’s possible to start playing with as little as $100. The problem is that with that amount, you have very little chance of competing globally. Participating in global tournaments can help strengthen your Axies and gain you XP.
[3] Start Video Game Coaching. If there are e-sport athletes, it only makes sense to have e-sport coaches too. Some people consider themselves “veteran” gamers. In other words, they’ve been around in the gaming world long enough to pick up unique and helpful tactics to teach aspiring professional e-gamers.
Video game coaches can make an average of $30 to $60 per hour. Those who play their cards right get around $62,000 to $80,000 per year. And you don’t even have to meet these athletes to start training them.
Many video game coaches conduct their sessions online. This not only saves you time but also makes it possible for you to handle more than one athlete at a time. A great way to double your earnings in half the time.
That said, finding athletes to train isn’t as easy as you might think. Most e-sport athletes prefer working alone or learning strategies for free on platforms like YouTube or Twitch. To become a video game coach, you have to be both influential and skilled.
[4] Become a Speedrunner. The goal of speedrunning is to complete a game as fast as possible. This can either be for entertainment or competitive purposes. There are two ways you can make money through speedrunning.
You can stream your runs and earn through donations from your viewers. Or you can enter tournaments and win cash prizes of up to $25,000 — depending on the game you’re playing.
[5] Run Quality Assurance Tests. Video games undergo several levels of tests and alterations before their release. Developers and producers hire gamers to perform QA testing, to ensure a game is fit for release. Your job as a QA tester is to create reports about what works and what doesn’t work in a game.
Typically, this includes glitches, bugs, and character builds. However, QA testers can also write about how they feel while playing the game. Did it make them feel excited, anxious, or terrified? Were there parts of the story design that needed changing or improving?
A QA tester can make anywhere between $40 to $60 an hour. This depends on the company that you work for and the type of game that you test.
Final Thoughts
Nowadays, there are plenty of ways a person can make money while playing games online. Creating video game-related content is just one of the popular methods you can make a lucrative career out of gaming. However, there are other ways, such as competing, coaching, speedrunning, and QA testing that can work just as well. The trick is finding the method that best suits your goals and preferences.
Not sure what strategy works best for you? Don’t settle too early into the process — consider trying more than one of the methods that we mentioned above. Surely one or more of those will fit your tastes.
