The Many Ways Gamers Can Go from Players to Earners

A wise man once said, “make a living out of your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Whether this is true saying or not, most gamers at some point in their lives have dreamed about earning a living by playing video games. It’s not even a recent thing.

Throughout the history of the gaming industry, companies and gamers alike have always strived to find ways to go beyond simply playing for fun. From developing a career as a game maker to competing for big pot prizes, the path toward monetizing their favorite pastime has always been clear to gamers.

Today, there are a host of different ways they can go from simply being players to becoming earners.

From Players to Builders

There’s not a gamer in this world that has never stopped at some point and thought of making their own video games. Even if it’s not a full-blown development from the ground up, they at least bicker over how certain games could’ve been better. Well, those with the dedication and perseverance do eventually move on to becoming the builders of virtual worlds themselves.

Developing games today is typically a big job that requires a lot of moving parts. When someone says they’re a game dev, they can mean anything from being an artist to being a coder and anything in between.

Whether you’re working for a AAA company making the next big multi-million copy seller or a part of a small indie outfit,?there are several interconnected components to building a video game. Because of that, there are several roles one can take in a game dev team, each with its own earning potential:

●?????Programmer - average $74,000 per year

●?????Game Designer - average $67,000 per year

●?????Writer - average $60,000 per year

●?????Artist - average $55,000 per year

●?????UI Designer - average $48,000 per year

●?????Sound Designer - average $60,000 per year

●?????QA Tester - average $35,000 per year

●?????Producer - average $78,000 per year

●?????Voice Actor - average $60,000 per year

Naturally, the above positions are all the tip of the iceberg. Specializations do exist, each with its own pay scale depending on demand.

But, becoming a game dev requires a fair bit of work, study, and practice outside of the act of playing games. For those looking to earn purely through their gameplay acumen, there’s another career path.

From Players to Athletes

Esports are big business these days. In fact, it’s one of the fastest growing markets with a projected market value of over $2.89 billion by 2025. Some of the biggest events have paid out to competitors between $7.73 and $40.02 million in prize money. Without a doubt, being an e-athlete can pay big if you’ve got the skills.

Esports organizations are also commanding incredible amounts of cash and assets. One of Southeast Asia’s biggest companies, EVOS Esports, has raised over $16.4 million in multiple funding rounds, enabling them to expand in various areas. From managing over 160 influencers and 200 esports stars, their combined following is well over 450 million across multiple platforms. More importantly, this large amount of investment enables companies like EVOS to provide multiple professional pathways and structures for their talent.

Earning through competitive play isn’t even something that started recently. The first professional esports player, Dennis “Thresh” Fong, was at the height of his career in 1997, dominating Quake tournaments across the US. Though his $21,000 combined prize earnings are now seen as a pittance, they were a big deal for his time. Today’s biggest esports games, DOTA 2, League of Legends, PUBG, Counter-Strike, and Apex Legends are delivering over a hundred to a thousand times that amount and climbing.

Gamers aspiring to become esports players today have a fair few perks to look forward to, apart from big earning potential. For one, they can travel around the world to participate in big arena events that attract fans and sponsors alike. The top esports countries include the US, China, South Korea, and Russia, among others. There are also team player trades and contracts that are slowly becoming on par in caliber with professional sports. The highest earner of all time, N0Tail, is currently sitting at over $7.18 million in combined contract earnings from the start of his career.

While the average esports player is currently aged 26, it’s never actually too late to get started. This is proven by one of the best US Counter-Strike players, SirScoots, who’s currently aged 56. Even in games that require solid reflexes like Street Fighter, there are godlike players such as Daigo “The Beast” Umehara who at over 40 are still real considered real threats in tournaments.

But not all players are blessed with the skills to be at the top of the esports skill mountain. Even still, there is another way for gamers to make a career and that’s by adding a dose of creativity.

From Players to Creators

Ask any young person these days what they want to do when they grow up and most will likely say they want to be a YouTuber. That’s no accident. Content creators, livestreamers, and influencers are the hottest celebrities and everyone wants a slice of that pie, including gamers. While we’re a far cry past the days when simply playing a game on camera made big bucks, there’s still a lot that gaming creators can do.

Take one of the biggest Twitch streamers of all time, Ninja, as an example. Through the combination of his Fortnite skill and raw on-camera energy, he garnered a following of millions, which led to endorsements, guest appearances, and a lot of ad and merch revenue. And that’s just livestreaming which isn’t nearly as profitable as other content forms.

The biggest Let’s Play YouTuber of all time, PewDiePie, has a main channel with over 110 million subscribers. He’s estimated to be making over $12 million per year and that’s by screaming and cursing as he fumbles through games.

But being a gaming creator isn’t just about entertainment and personality. Gamers these days want to learn how to be better at their favorite titles. This means that it can pay handsomely to be a gaming educator. Through guides, walkthroughs, and livestreams, teaching your audience the real pro tips and tricks isn’t just a profitable endeavor but also a rewarding one.

A big perk of being a content creator in gaming is that you can net yourself a lot of freebies. Companies and studios are always looking for big personalities to endorse their next big title. They go as far as to fly out the biggest YouTubers and journalists to join events where they can get the first crack at games that have yet to see the light of day.

Without a doubt, games as an entertainment medium can make a pretty healthy living at the least. But is it all just about entertainment?

From Players to Scholars

Players who are looking to go beyond the boundaries of just earning can take a more academic career path through research.

The most obvious approach is to join a university and study a particular area of video games. There’s no end to the angles either. Games can be researched through the lens of many fields, including psychology, economics, biology, and sociology. These days, many are even writing their doctoral theses with video games at the heart of their subjects.

Beyond university halls, a lesser-known career lies in player research. User experience is currently a hot button topic within app development circles and the games industry is no different. In fact, for games it’s a base requirement to deliver a good experience. Player researchers devise experiments and playtest sessions where they observe and interview gamers to develop knowledge of a host of different data points. Some key areas player researchers are particularly interested in are why players quit games, how can tutorials be made better, and how can games be made more understandable to a broader audience.