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9 Ways to Make Money from Gaming This Year

By Hasi

Playing video games is an excellent way to unwind, relax, and have fun. However, you can turn it into a viable revenue source. Gaming for money isn’t easy. It requires a lot of hard work. Research is vital as it helps you identify games that suit you and have the potential to earn a decent income.

To become a successful gamer, find a profitable game, choose a platform and a genre, find techniques to optimize your game, watch professional competitions and streamers, network with other gamers, and participate in gaming competitions, leagues, and tournaments to sharpen your skills. Discussed below are nine ways to make money from gaming this year.

  1. Create video game guides

Many new gamers like reading gaming guides to get a solid understanding of gaming before diving into it. Providing information that these people find helpful or are searching for is a great way to earn. You can take several game guide routes, including creating a site for written guides, publishing eBook guides, or uploading video guides on YouTube. The YouTube and website guides can be monetized with donations or ads, while the eBook earns revenue through sales. While anyone can write a guide, making money from it requires you to create guides for popular games. Nonetheless, the more popular a game is, the more competition you’ll face.

For your guides to stand out, you have to provide deeper insights than your competitors, meaning you have to invest a lot of time setting yourself up as an expert. You also require solid writing skills, and your guides should be comprehensive, easy to understand, and fun. Formatting skills are a must-have. Sites like this are an excellent example of a gaming guide website, so look at it to know how to create yours.

  1. Try streaming

You can stream your gameplay in real-time for the world to see. Aim at building a large audience you can monetize with ads or a loyal audience and monetize with subscriptions or donations. Creating a live stream audience takes time, and to earn a living through streaming, you have a substantial number of regular views. While the streaming landscape may seem oversaturated, you can set your brand apart from the crowd with your personality or humor, focusing on games your competitors aren’t playing or by becoming a world-class player.

Dedicated streaming servers can help make your game streaming a better experience for viewers by ensuring low latency for subscribers and followers to watch you play without delays. While you can set up your own server, using a third-party or dedicated hosting platform is advisable for an uninterrupted, secure game-watching experience. That way, you can grow your subscriber base and win more virtual gifts to monetize your game streaming.

  1. Become a video game coach

If you feel like you’re a pro in your favorite competitive video games, you may consider making money by offering coaching lessons. You earn some good money based on how good you’re and how in-demand your services are. Starting as a gaming coach could mean starting a YouTube channel to offer your services to your audience. You can begin by advertising your services on social media to gain an audience populace while providing free services, then later monetize your services.

ZipRecruiter reported that video game coaches in the United States earn about USD$43,411 yearly or USD$20.87 hourly, equivalent to USD$834 a week or USD$3,617 a month. These figures aren’t bad for a part-time job or gig. You can earn more depending on how many players you coach and the total time you can dedicate to this job. There are also some companies hiring video game coaches that you can also work with consistent clients for a more stable income.

  1. Become a gaming journalist

Gaming journalism can be intense and mentally draining, but an excellent way to earn revenue. If you have what it takes to craft content that users will love and yearn for, you can launch your website or join an existing one to write gaming news and interviews for a particular industry, genre, or game. If you write for an existing site, you can get paid as a freelancer. Consider monetizing your traffic with Patreon subscriptions, ads, and other things if you start a website.

If you choose news writing, you have to tap into every kind of source possible to access scoops before anyone else does. You can start by looking for opportunities at gaming sites. Ensure you have writing samples on hand. If you don’t have a portfolio to provide, volunteer to write for smaller sites in the beginning.

  1. Start a YouTube channel or host podcasts

Suppose you have excellent gaming knowledge you can share, including holding roundtable discussions, tricks and tips for specific games, interviews with top-notch players, and other exciting things. In that case, you can hold podcasts or start a YouTube channel. You can monetize with sponsorships, ads, and other YouTube monetization forms. Before you can start earning a considerable amount, you have to develop a sizable audience. You can find online resources to learn how to create a YouTube gaming channel or a podcast.

  1. Become a professional gamer

Top gamers compete globally to win lots of money at sponsored events. Major League Gaming, MLG circuit has built arenas to host professional gaming events live stream. They even have communities and scouts on the internet to find the best, untapped talent. To succeed at professional gaming, choose a game you’re already good at and become an expert in it. Build your reputation as a team and skilled player and once you’re ready, participate in professional video games.

  1. Become a game tester

Games go through different development stages before they’re released. Close to the completion time, developers require people to playtest their games. Being a play tester means you’ll go through everything the developer wants, including finding and documenting issues like bugs. For on-demand playtesting opportunities, look into beta testing, BetaFamily, or PlaytestCloud. Becoming an internal game tester can be quite rewarding, but landing the chance can be difficult.

Aside from checking audio and graphical glitches, game testers also analyze the game for copyright issues. Coursera explains that game testers concentrate on testing the game’s user experience. Play testers identify game stages that are vague or boring or vague. They also determine the number of victories players can experience to meet the game’s objective.

  1. Participate in gaming tournaments

Tournaments are ideal for PvP titles such as fighting games, and the more popular a game is, the bigger the prize pool. With the right skills, you can join Esport organizations where you can earn a substantial income via sponsorships and winnings. If you’re a competitive gamer, you can leverage live streams for extra income. To get started, look for popular PvP games with many tournaments and high interest from Esport organizations. Start small with popular games and local tournaments. Practice and network with professional gamers to get your name out there as you improve your skills.

  1. Get paid to play

Through gaming apps, you can monetize playing games on your phone. The app offers users a gaming environment for prizes. You can join in-app games to get gift cards to different retailers, including Google Play, Amazon, and virtual Visa gift cards by earning points. Using apps such as Mistplay, you can get compensation for every minute you play.

Endnote

Gaming is an excellent way to earn while having fun. Consider using one or more of these means to make money gaming this year. 

Hasi

Hasi is a seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for all things video games. With years of experience in the industry, Hasi specializes in delivering up-to-the-minute news, reviews, and features to readers. When he's not writing, Hasi enjoys playing games of all kinds, from first-person shooters to puzzle games.