Every now and again you read an article, or see something on the social media, bragging about making money playing video games.
By playing games, you can (randomly) earn credits that are also known as “Swagbucks”. Here, gaming just represent one of the options. Other money-making alternatives include shopping, taking surveys, referring friends, searching the web, and much more. Nintendo is known to produce some of the most super-fun games like Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong. You can now earn more money by playing Nintendo games. When you become a game tester, all you have to do is test development software, examine products for content guidelines, document quality assurance checks and look for programming issues. If you’re a fan of mobile gaming, Mistplay is another great way to earn cash by playing video games on your phone. Mistplay describes their platform as ‘the loyalty program for gamers,’ and the concept behind the app is pretty straightforward. Wondering how all of those gamers make money streaming video games on Twitch? Champions goal slot. Learn all the surprising Twitch monetization methods you can use today.
Sometimes you hear about it through word-of-mouth.
But is it really a thing? Can you really make money?
It is possible, but there are some caveats. First, banish any idea from your mind that you’re going to make a fortune doing it. Second, it may not be quite as fun and exciting as it sounds on the surface – making money rarely is. And third, you have to be able to separate the real opportunities from the many scams out there.
With those warnings in mind, let’s take a look at some ways you really can make money playing video games.
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Become a Beta Tester
Every video game needs to go through beta testing before it hits the general market. This can be an interesting and fun way to earn some extra money. But be aware you probably won’t be working with popular video games. Instead, it’ll be ones that haven’t hit the market yet. Companies are looking to test their games with real users before bringing them to market.
You may find some of the games you’re working with aren’t terribly exciting, or they may have serious glitches. But that’s why companies look for people to test them out first. Your job will be to identify flaws or ways to improve the product before it goes to market.
The upside of becoming a beta tester is that you can make a lot of money doing it. The difficult part is finding companies who will hire you. The best approach is to develop a strong social media presence, complete with a large following, that might get you noticed by video game companies. If you do, they’ll be coming to you.
Video Game Tournaments
Video games often develop communities, and they can be quite active – and competitive. The competitiveness leads to tournaments, and that leads to prizes. It’s not the same as getting a steady income, but if you have the fortitude to engage in ongoing tournaments, the prizes can be quite generous.
One example is Call of Duty. Thousands of people play this game, but for some, it rises to become very competitive. That’s where the potential payoff is. You get involved with teams and meet up online and either play together as a team or “every man for himself.”
Call of Duty has several different gameplay modes, including online multiplayer as well as zombies. Some of the new games allow for multiplayer campaigns. Whether you work with a team or by yourself, you can go into the playoffs and move on to the championships. If you get into the finals, video game tournaments work very similarly to the regular sporting events. Winning tournaments can result in cash payouts. Exactly how much you can make will depend on the interest in the tournament, and it varies from one to the next.
Take OpTic Gaming (on YouTube) as another example. It’s one of the top performing game teams available, and they are known for winning multiple awards and having some of the best players in the industry. There are a plethora of prizes including small prizes such as gift cards. But cash prizes can run as high as $10 million – if you can believe it.
Become a Video Game Reviewer
If you have an interest in many different video games, you can earn money by becoming a video game reviewer. This is similar to blogging – in fact, you could even create a blog for this purpose. But you can also do it through YouTube, or on popular selling sites like eBay and Amazon.com.
The basic idea is to become a respected review source of video games. As you build up a following, people will come to rely on your opinions. You can earn money by selling the video games you review on an affiliate basis (the manufacturer or distributor will pay you a percentage of each sale you make from your website or video).
There’s no guarantee how much money you’ll make. It depends on the popularity of your site or videos because most of your income will come as advertising. If you’re able to grow your audience into the thousands, you may get video game companies advertising directly. If it reaches that stage, you’ll have a steady stream of passive income.
“Farming” Gold
You won’t make a fortune with this strategy, but if you like playing video games, and you play a lot, it can be a way to earn at least some money while you’re having fun.
Not all video games allow this to happen, but there are a few that do. Two are RuneScape and Counter Strike.
The process works like this…
What Games Make You Money
You can create a character and “level” him or her (raise their skills). Some players will actually pay money for a high-level character that they don’t have to level themselves. In the case of RuneScape, the higher the levels, the more quests you can complete.
The easiest way to do this is to “farm the character.” This means you spend a lot of time leveling up the character, whether it be for a particular skill or for in-game money. You can actually make a lot of money doing this, as some characters can sell for over $1,000. Others sell for as little as $100. It really depends on how much skill you have at leveling, and how motivated you are to play the game.
Become a Twitch Streamer
Twitch is a streaming platform subsidiary of Amazon where you can earn money through the support of your subscribers. Most of the streams involve video games, whether it’s games like Fortnite or something that is played online like Chess, but you earn money through your subscribers.
If you get your subscriber count up and have a lot of views, you can get sponsorships and giveaway opportunities as well. Some of the top Twitch streamers do this full-time and the income opportunities are there. This is how much Twitch streamers make.
You can also post those Twitch videos to Youtube as an additional revenue source.
Work in Customer Service
If you’re a veteran gamer, with experience playing dozens of different video games, you may be able to use those skills to help others – and make some money while you do. Think of it as working on the helpdesk for companies that provide video games.
You can sometimes find these positions by contacting the manufacturers or distributors of video games themselves. They may even have work-at-home positions. You can also try various technology support companies, like Sutherland Global Services. Every now and again they have positions available on video game helpdesks.
Other Ways to Enter the Business
It can be difficult to find ways to make money playing video games.
You won’t find jobs advertised on the job boards. Heart bingo download.
But there are three general ways to get into making money playing video games:
- Contact video game manufacturers and distributors directly, and offer your services. You’ll have to be a well-experienced video game player to even attempt this.
- Become a very competitive video gamer, such that you can get involved in tournaments and other activities that will make you serious money.
- Become a video game entrepreneur. This is really the business side of video games. You start a website, become active on the social media, or develop a YouTube channel. You become recognized as an expert in the field, drawing many thousands of followers. You can then sell video games on an affiliate basis, or even receive sponsorships from the companies themselves.
YouTube is especially important. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that your YouTube channel is your resume in the video game universe.
So you can play video games for sure, but put your entrepreneur’s hat on, and be ready to turn it into a side business – or something much more.
gl!
Most people spend money to play video games. A small segment of the population actually does things the other way around: They make money by playing video games. If you’ve ever wondered how you could turn your gaming hobby into a paying gig, you’ve come to the right place. Here are four ways you can make money playing video games.
1. Streaming
Thanks to the advent of video streaming sites like Twitch and YouTube Gaming, some lucky (and smart and talented) people are raking in cash by broadcasting their video game play sessions on the internet. It’s a good job if you can get it.
How to do it: Turning streaming into a lucrative business is a bit more complicated than it might sound at first blush. After all, building up a sizable audience willing to watch — and, ideally, pay for — your content is no trivial task.
First you need the gear. While PlayStation 4 and Xbox One let you stream games over Twitch using their built-in apps, most pro streamers use a game capture box and a PC to do the heavy lifting. And once you have your gear, you’ll also need to be charismatic and entertaining if you want people to keep coming back to watch you. Once you have that down, you’ll want to start streaming on a regular schedule so viewers know when they can tune in to catch you. Oh, and having a background in business won’t hurt, either, since once you have an audience you’ll probably want to work on partnerships and promotions.
For a detailed look at all aspects of how to stream, check out this article from Tom’s Guide.
2. eSports
Source: Capcom Betking old app.
If you’re exceptionally skilled at certain games that are big in the competitive multiplayer scene, you can make money by competing in tournaments. Games like Dota 2, CounterStrike: Global Offensive, and Street Fighter V are all popular eSports games with tournaments that offer millions of dollars in prize money to the best players. You can find a list of eSports games, with information about their tournaments and prizes, here.
How to do it: This is one of the tougher ways to get paid to play video games because it’s all based on how skilled you are at the games in question. To get started, you’ll have to get good a game and start competing in tournaments. You can win money all by yourself in solo games, but for team-based games you’ll have to join up with a team. Many eSports players also earn money from sponsorships by companies like Red Bull and Adidas.
3. QA testing
Every major game developer has a team of quality assurance testers on staff to play games at various stages of development and comment on them. The thing is, QA testers don’t play games like normal customers do. They’re looking for bugs, so they have to spend lots of time in each section trying to “break” the game. Then they file reports based on their experiences.
How to do it: Look at job board postings at major development companies like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Nintendo, and any other company that makes games you like. The downsides of QA testing are that you’ll almost certainly have to live near the studio to be a QA tester, and it’s an entry level job that doesn’t pay much.
4. Writing
Hemingway definitely would’ve written about video games if he’d been born later. | Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
If you have a talent for the written word, you can get a job writing about video games. Of all the jobs on this list, writing about games involves the least amount of time spent actually playing games. You’re being paid to produce words rather than to put time into video games. People who write about games spend much more time doing research, interviews, reporting, email, and actual writing than they do playing games.
Still, playing games is an essential part of most video game writing gigs, so if you enjoy shaping words into sentences and paragraphs, it’s a great way to get paid for doing two things you love. Also, writing about games means you’ll get many games for free, usually before they’re released to the public.
How to do it: If you want to get started writing about video games, the best thing to do is to start writing, period. You’ll need writing skills before anyone will pay you money to write about video games (or anything else, for that matter). Start a blog or start contributing to blogs on big gaming sites. Once you’ve written a few articles that prove you can write and you know what you’re talking about, start pitching story ideas to editors at gaming sites, using your blog posts as clips. If they’re accepted, you’re on your way to a job writing about video games.
Video Games That Can Make You Money Fast
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