Every gamer’s dream is to be able to make a living off of his hobby. This is, of course, not easy; every 14-year-old boy would be set for life if it were. But it’s also not totally impossible. If you’re really dedicated, savvy, and willing to put a lot of time into it, you can actually earn money off of different aspects of gaming.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways that this can happen.
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Pay-to-earn (P2E) games
The last couple of years have seen a sharp rise in pay-to-earn games. This means that you can actually get paid for playing, just like you can in other sorts of gambling. Most P2E games are based on blockchain and allow you to create characters using non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These NFTs can increase in value according to how well you’re doing in the game. If you’re very good, then, you could potentially make a lot of money.
Buidlbee is a site that regularly reports on the latest in P2E gaming, what games are hot, things to look out for, etc. Check it out for tips on good games to try.
Become a game developer
There are, of course, people who make money actually developing games. This requires very sophisticated skills, though. Game theory might seem as easy as mastering a game itself, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
In order to become a game developer, you will need a solid foundation in mathematics and statistics. You will also need to study computational science. If you are gifted in these areas, then perhaps you could think about pursuing a relevant degree program. The process will be long and difficult, though.
Earn money by streaming
Making money simply by sitting and playing while streaming your own commentary probably sounds like an impossible dream. But believe it or not, some die-hard gamers actually manage to do it.
In order to pull this off, you’ll need to have a really unique approach. Think about the countless number of people who sit in front of their computers all day long and how much popular appeal most of them probably have. However, if you can provide commentary that is really unique and informative (funny, unusual, etc), or you just happen to be an amazingly good player, you might stand a chance at building up a substantial audience.
The other thing to remember is that no matter how good you are, getting to the point where you make money off of streaming will take a very long time. Possibly even years. So if you’re going to pursue this option, you should be prepared to put a great deal of time and effort into it, and you should track your potential audience carefully along the way.
Write about gaming
If you’re not particularly math-minded (or even if you are, but have diverse talents!) you might consider the possibility of writing about gaming. You could do this in several different ways.
There is always the option of blogging, of course. But this isn’t necessarily profitable unless you include advertising on your blog or find a way to provide paid advice or services to players. You could consider writing articles for an established gaming site. To be successful at this, you would have to be a very talented writer and extremely knowledgeable about the craft, as well. But it’s not impossible either, if you are good enough and know where to look.
If you consider yourself particularly knowledgeable about a specific game, it’s possible that you could turn a profit writing tips about the game. Or a how-to guide. In order to do this successfully, you’ll have to do a great deal of research on what is already out there to make sure you’re not simply duplicating other people’s efforts. If your ideas are already available, no one will pay you to help them. If you feel like you’ve got really unique advice to give, though, you may just stand a shot at getting money out of it. A related idea is becoming a critic. Although this too is very competitive and requires a great deal of talent and hard work.
Express your passion for gaming in other ways
There are, of course, more unorthodox ways that you can share your love of gaming with fellow enthusiasts and potentially make money off of it. Like in other spheres, people find ways to celebrate their passions based upon their skills sets. You could become an event organizer, start a podcast, get involved with sales…there are any number of possibilities.
Think about your favorite games and what you might realistically be able to accomplish
Some people are cut out to make gaming a career. Like many other dreams, such as becoming a professional musician or sports player, the odds are small but not impossible. It could be that you are one of the few that can really make it in the gaming industry. You just need to think very carefully about what avenue you can realistically hope to pursue and how much you’re willing to put into it.
If you do manage to succeed, you could potentially have a big impact on the industry and influence a lot of young players!