How to make money with video games

by Gabriel Gonzalez
Last updated Friday 7 August 2020
Are you a video game enthusiast? Wondering how to make money from your love of games? Here are 7 options for working freelance or as a regular job.

Image source: iStock.com

The video game industry is flourishing. The market is projected to surpass $ 159.3 billion by 2020, creating a variety of ways for people who love video games to make an income – both as a secondary hustle and bustle, through freelancing, creating and licensing games. originals, or working as an employee in the gaming industry. Here are seven ways gaming enthusiasts can make money in the video game industry.

1. Gaming YouTuber

Gaming YouTubers record videos of themselves playing different types of video games, depending on the YouTuber’s preferences, and upload them to the platform for their viewers to watch and enjoy. You can make some money from advertising revenue, but it will mostly come from sponsorships. Making money as a gaming YouTuber can be quite a daunting task.

No matter what kind of qualifications you have, you earn very little when you start. This is because the primary way YouTube users earn from their videos is through ad revenue and the average CPM (cost per thousand, or in simpler terms, the cost per 1,000 views an ad gets) is around $ 0 .50 to $ 1.00 depending on a gaming YouTube channel.

Other ways to make money as a gaming YouTuber are by getting sponsorships and selling prerolls. A preroll is a short announcement at the beginning of the video where the YouTuber promotes whatever website / business they are working with.

YouTubers need a very large following to be able to make money this way. YouTube star MattCS explains in his video titled “How Much Money Do Gaming YouTubers Make?” that YouTubers typically charge around $ 5- $ 10 CPM for a preroll, but this price can increase depending on the relationship between the YouTuber and their sponsor.

Integrations are another great way for YouTube users to make money. The integrations are the same as the prerolls, except they last about 1 or 2 minutes instead of being a maximum of about 30 seconds like the prerolls. This allows YouTubers to charge double or even triple for an ad. Finally, gaming YouTubers can be sponsored in a way where they spend an entire video showing a game or service. The prices YouTuber charges for these videos vary depending on the service and how the YouTuber feels about promoting it to their audience.

2. Video game streamer

A video game streamer is someone who plays video games for several hours live for an audience watching at home. There are multiple platforms for streamers, but the most popular for gamers are Twitch and YouTube. Like game YouTubers, streamers earn based on their popularity. For example, if Twitch streamers apply for the Twitch Affiliate Program, they can earn from their viewers’ donations, which are similar to tips. Twitch also has a feature where viewers can subscribe to a streamer they like which costs $ 5 but in return they get access to special features on that streamer’s broadcasts like emotes.

To use this feature, streamers must be asked to join Twitch’s partner program. It’s no easy feat given that there are only around 27,000 Twitch partners out of 2.2 million streamers using the platform. Twitch Partners get 50% of that $ 5 while Twitch gets the remaining 50% unless they are a high-ranking Twitch Partner (around 10,000 viewers or more). If so, they get 70%. On average, seasoned streamers earn around $ 3,000- $ 5,000 per second month Contraction. Additionally, they can earn around $ 250 per 100 subscribers they have from ad revenue if they are Twitch affiliates.

Finally, like game YouTubers, streamers can get sponsorships where they show a service / game to their fans at a negotiated price. According to the best Twitch streamer, Toast in disguise, in his YouTube video titled “How Much Money Do Twitch Streamers REALLY Make? (Inside Look from a Top Streamer) “, the price of these sponsorships typically ranges from $ 0.01 to $ 1 per viewer per hour the game or service is presented.

3. Video game reviewer / journalist

Video game reviewers focus on writing different aspects of the games they play. They discuss possible improvements for the game and praise what they believe the game did well. Potential buyers of the game can then read the reviews and decide for themselves if they want to buy it. Game reviewers and journalists make an average of around $ 50,000- $ 60,000 a year if they decide to go full-time, while freelance player reviewers only manage to earn a little less at around $ 45,000 a year. Second Zip Recruiter, the national average is $ 49,459 per year.

4. Video game developer

It is the dream of many young gamers to spend their lives making video games. However, becoming an independent video game developer is difficult due to the many different skills and talents required to create a video and the cost of producing and marketing a video. The many different skills and it can be expensive to successfully build and market a video game. Therefore, video game developers tend to work as freelancers for larger companies or become employees of those larger companies.

The main task of game developers is to transform a game concept into the actual game through coding and programming. However, many game developers are also involved with writers and designers in developing the concepts and story of the game. According to Zip Recruiter, freelance game developers earn $ on average92894, while employee earnings are a bit higher at $101644 per year.

5. Video game animator

Do you have a passion for art and want to bring that passion to the video game industry? Game animators use their art and technology skills to create everything from the environments in which games take place to designing models that make them come alive as characters with their own movements and behaviors. They need to be able to communicate properly with a team of other animators and artists to develop visual effects as well. Freelance video animators charge for each hour, project or number of finished minutes of the animation. Zip Recruiter reports that freelance animators average $ 64,598, but there are some who make a lot more. As a paid employee, the average salary is $ 51,259.

6. Video game writer

Video game writers develop video game stories and write the dialogue between characters and build the world in which the game’s story unfolds. Being a video game writer requires a lot of research as you need to properly understand the concepts the game is about and the time frame in which it takes place. The entire team behind the game can contribute their ideas to the game’s story, but it’s up to the writer to put it all together into one storyline. So when the production of the game concludes, it’s up to the writer to test the game and make sure their work and ideas are well represented.

When it comes to being a video game writer, the main skill you need is creative writing. However, since only big AAA games, which are heavily story-based with a large enough budget, actually need full-time writers, it’s still incredibly useful for video game writers to have experience designing games. Having some experience designing games could help you find a job or work freelance on a smaller video game team.

As a freelancer, video game writers typically don’t make much money. Most projects advertised on Upwork look for writers who work at flat rates starting at $ 100 or less per project. But this is one way to gain experience. Video game writers who become full-time employees earn on average $ 69,486 per year according to Salary.com.

7. Video game tester

Are you interested in experimenting with the latest versions of video games years before they are released to the public? While it is true that you can play video games while they are still in development, the job of a video game tester is much more complex than that. Their job is to complete every imaginable action in every single level of the game to ensure that it works correctly and that there are no bugs or glitches. It’s extremely repetitive as testers need to be able to repeat the actions that led to a glitch if they encounter one to pinpoint to the development team what exactly needs to be fixed. Video game testers must also have well-developed writing and communication skills to concisely point out the flaws that are discovered and accurately describe them. Second Glass door, on average, video game testers earn around $ 53,030 per year. Becoming a video game tester is a phenomenal way to enter the video game industry. While working as a video game tester isn’t your ultimate goal, it gives you experience and allows you to make contacts in the industry, perhaps while you’re still in college.

Gabriel Gonzalez is a writer and editorial assistant for Business Know-How.

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