6 ways to make money playing games

Gaming has changed a lot over the past several decades – and now there are more opportunities to make money playing games than ever before. Let’s take a look at six ways you can make it happen.

Start streaming

One of the most incredible recent gaming trends is people actually wanting to watch other people playing video games! It’s one of the reasons Twitch has risen to prominence. The platform is currently home to 2 million viewers at any given time of day, and many of them are watching live streamers play video games.

If you gain a sizable audience, you can become a Twitch partner, or affiliate, which can lead to life-changing money. Of course, there are other video game streaming platforms, but Twitch remains the most popular. Other platforms include DLive, YouNow, Facebook Gaming, and Youtube Gaming.

Become a QA tester

How do video game companies know that they have an incredible game on their hands? Many of them hire QA testers to test the games before they are released to the public. QA testers are expected to check for bugs, crashes, or glitches.

The national average salary for a QA tester is over $58,000, according to Glassdoor. Around 66% of QA testers have a Bachelor’s Degree of some kind, often in Computer Science or a similar field.

Make tutorials or guides

There are billions of gamers out there, and some of them are on different levels in terms of experience. One way to make money playing games is to create “guides” or “tutorials” for the game as you go. 

You never know – that information could end up being useful enough for other gamers to pay you for your knowledge.You can then create Youtube tutorials that can make you money as long as the game remains popular, or you can even sell video game guides as Ebooks.

Jump into “play-to-earn” gaming

There are now platforms where you can earn cryptocurrency by playing games. Many of these games even boast their own cryptocurrency, which can eventually be converted to fiat. If you end up becoming extremely good at one P2E game, it could be a side hustle that pays off. 

Axie Infinity is one of the most popular blockchain-based P2E games in the world. While it might not be life-changing money, some Axie Infinity players are earning as much as $500 a month. More play-to-earn gaming companies are popping up these days, which means there are more ways for gamers to profit.

Play games competitively

If you find you are exceptionally good at video games, there’s one potential path for you: you could become an Esports gamer. The Esports sector might be relatively new, but analysts expect Esports to generate around $2 billion in global revenue for 2022.

There are young gamers that are able to become millionaires because of Esports. If you are already a world-class player, why not win awards as you make money playing games?

Consider journalism

The video game industry is always growing, and there are more people than ever needed to report on the latest games and offer their takes. If you’re already interested in both writing and gaming, why not combine both passions into a dream career?

According to ZipRecruiter, video game journalism salaries can be as high as $126,500. While it might take some time for you to get to this level, writing and reporting about video games can be a lucrative career.

It’s easier now to make money playing games

With play-to-earn gaming on the rise, gamers are interested in figuring out how to make money playing games. Gaming is no longer passive – many gamers want to create their own content where they can incorporate their perspective and personality.

Some gamers are more interested in earning crypto while playing games, while others might be more focused on obtaining NFTs. The metaverse is still a new concept, but it also offers new play-to-earn opportunities. Either way, there are more ways to profit through gaming than ever before.