How to Make Money Playing Video Games in [2024]

It sounds crazy that you could earn money playing video games, but it's true for thousands of people. While it's true that only the elite players make money streaming while playing, there are many other ways to make money playing games.

I want to reiterate that many of these methods won't make you rich, but they can be nice side gigs that put more money in your pocket. If you're like me and always looking for ways to diversify your income, video games could be a great avenue.

How to make money playing video games

It’s important to have a plan if you want to learn how to make money, whether as a full-time career or as a side hustle. Knowing what you want to do and the steps you need to take can help you accomplish your goals more efficiently.

Here are a few options to consider to make money playing video games.

Streaming

If you’re into video games or want to be, you’ve likely heard of streaming and streamers like Pewdiepie, Ninja, and Shroud. These streamers have millions of followers and make millions per year. This is not the norm, but these streamers make money broadcasting themselves playing video games to a live audience.

If you want to try to follow in their footsteps, you can start on multiple platforms, including:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• Twitch

No matter the platform, the more popular a streamer is, the more money making opportunities they have available, so choose the platform you have the most followers or think you can get the most.

There’s no specific video game or video game genre you must play to become a successful streamer. The most-watched streamers often play many different types of games, even if they tend to focus on a specific genre.

The ways to make money playing video games is vast, but here are a few of the top ways the best players do it:

• Ad revenue: If you’ve ever watched someone’s video game stream, you’ve likely seen an ad at some point. Allowing targeted ads in your stream helps you generate money because the advertiser pays you a small commission for hosting the ad. Don’t worry, the ad company benefits too, especially if they get more traffic or make sales off your stream.
• Subscriptions: Most popular streamers focus on a single platform, like Twitch or YouTube, where people can subscribe to them and get extra perks for a fee. The streamer and the platform often share revenue from subscriptions (subs), so it's not a ton of money, but every bit adds up.
• Sponsorships: Streamers are like social media influencers because their audience looks up to them. Companies try to leverage the popularity of streamers by paying them to talk about certain things, use specific products, or play certain games. If you see a streamer playing a game they wouldn’t normally play, it’s likely because they have a sponsor paying them for that playtime. Similarly, a streamer might have a sponsorship for a certain energy drink or a gaming headset.
• Tips: Most streaming platforms have built-in features that make it easy to tip streamers real money using a PayPal account or a credit or debit card. Even if only a few people donate, tips are a great way for streamers to make $100 a day or more.
• Creating content: Watching an intense firefight or an amazing play during a live stream is pretty cool, but not everyone sees it live. Streamers can put their best streaming content on channels like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to grow their audience and have more opportunities to make money, typically with sponsored content.

I want to mention that it’s not easy to become a popular streamer. But even if you aren’t popular, you can earn what I call “side income.” Also, pack your patience because it takes time to build an audience and find your stride as a streamer. I suggest starting streaming as a side hustle rather than jumping in full time.

Making “let’s play” and tutorial videos

If you want to focus on content creation without the pressure of a live audience, you might consider making “let’s play” or other types of tutorial or walkthrough videos for video games .If you want to focus on content creation without the pressure of a live audience, you might consider making “let’s play” or other types of tutorial or walkthrough videos for video games. The point of the video is to show yourself playing the game. You can script the video or wing it. You can keep the video basic or provide intense tips. What works for your audience may not be what works for someone else, so use a bit of trial and error.

Here are a few tips to make your content take off:

• Have fun, and make the video entertaining
• Show off your skills
• Get vulnerable with your audience
• Understand their pain points and address them
• Show tricks on hard-to-pass levels

Once you build an audience, you can leverage some of the same monetization techniques, including sponsored videos, ads, and subscription sales.

eSports

Are you good at a particular video game? Like, really good? If so, you could compete in video game tournaments for cash prizes. In eSports, professional gamers compete against each other to win, in some cases, unimaginable amounts of money. When some of these pro gamers walk away from Fortnite, League of Legends, and DOTA 2 tournaments with millions of dollars to their names, it’s hard not to take the video game industry seriously.

As I said earlier, you must be extremely skilled to get to this level of competitive gaming. And you might not like how you feel about a particular game after playing it competitively. After a certain point, it could feel like work playing a game every day for months at a time.

But if you’re good at games and still able to enjoy them, eSports could be a legitimate route to earn some money. Like any sport, expect to spend a lot of time practicing, qualifying, and learning tricks to win the tournaments and make money.

Downloading apps

Did you know there’s an option to make money playing video games that doesn’t involve streaming, creating content, or playing in huge tournaments? You also don’t need a gaming rig or expensive equipment to start. With an everyday smartphone or other device (iOS or Android), you can download money making game apps, and the games available to play are likely ones you already play.

One of my favorites is Solitaire Cash, which turns one of my favorite pastimes into a money-making gig. With this game, you can play different versions of the classic Solitaire game and win real money. But don't think you'll get rich playing it. Think of it as a way to earn money for your favorite Starbucks coffee.

Managing your professional gaming expenses

To get started gaming professionally, you might want to invest in a green screen, lights, and more. A business credit card could help you manage your expenses. Here's a card we recommend:

FAQs

Bottom line

If you told me even ten years ago that people would make money playing video games, I would have laughed. Today, there are numerous ways to turn a video-game passion into a side hustle or even a career.

I like to consider it one of the many ways to bring more money into your household along with the other best side hustles. The key is to diversify your efforts so you’re not relying on a single source of income.