Chances are, at one point or another, someone has said to you, “Do what you love, and you’ll never have to work for a day in your life.” What if what you love happens to be playing video games? You’re probably thinking, “Ha! There’s no way I can make money for a hobby like that.” Right?
Well, you’d be mistaken, my friend. You can, in fact, get paid to play video games. In real money, too, which you can use for whatever your heart desires – be it student loan debt, rent, or even a new gaming system.
We’ll show you several different ways you can get paid to play video games. What’s even better? Some of them don’t require large followings, either, so you can start earning straight away.
YouTube and YouTube Gaming
YouTube has become a great way to make money for a wide variety of online personalities and celebrities. From beauty vloggers to album reviews to you guessed it, gamers…almost anyone can make money on YouTube (if they put the time and effort in to build a following, that is).
Want to learn more about how to get paid to play video games on YouTube and via YouTube Gaming? Check out our recommended tactics below:
Earn with Ads
If you’ve built up a large enough following, you can monetize your game-playing by advertising on your YouTube channel. Popular influencers from all genres use this method. If you don’t have a following, though, it’s not going to be effective.
Twitch
For avid gamers looking to monetize the time they invest into playing, Twitch is a great platform. To get started, you’ll need to sign up and create an account. From there, if you have video capture equipment, all you need to do is set it up and start streaming your games.
To make money on Twitch, you have a few different options:
Get Donations
Donations are the easiest way to earn money while you play on Twitch. Why? You don’t need to have a certain number of viewers or subscribers in order to receive them. And all you need to do is enable a donation button on your Twitch stream.
Sure, donations start at as little as $1.00, but you can always earn more, too.
It just depends on how much your viewers like you. The key, here, is to be entertaining, funny, and, if we’re being honest, a little weird. Keep things interesting, and you’ll draw more viewers.
More viewers = more of a chance for donations.
Find Subscribers
The real key to making money on any online platform is by gaining followers or subscribers. Twitch is no different. In fact, if you get to 500, you can join the Twitch Partner Program. Wondering what’s in it for you?
By becoming a Twitch Partner and gaining subscribers, you can earn even more money. Twitch will pay you! All you need to do is keep providing awesome content and continue to keep your fan base engaged.
Earn Even More with Ads
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial pool of subscribers and viewers, you can even take things a step further and increase your income through advertising on your channel.
Get Paid to Play Video Games by Testing Them
“I can get paid to test video games?!” You ask. Believe it or not, you can! Yes, some of your dreams really can be a reality.
It’s pretty simple to do, actually. No video game is going to be flawless from the outset. At each stage in the development process, they’ll need to be tested for issues, bugs, and overall usability.
Someone’s gotta do the testing, right? That’s where you come in.
You can help make video games more user-friendly and bug-free by working with developers and providing them with feedback from one stage to the next. They’ll be grateful for your helpful and honest feedback, and you’ll get paid.
Who can argue with a gig like that?!
Give Some Guidance
Another way to earn money by playing video games is by writing guides for them. Almost everyone wants to learn how to become a better player, right? You can use this to your advantage and monetize your knowledge (if you’re good at playing, that is).
Self-publishing your guides in e-book form is one of the easiest ways to go about this. As long as you can market them, you’ll make sales and thus, earn money.
Review, Review, Review
Perhaps you enjoy writing, but don’t feel confident enough to publish your own guides. If you want a different way to combine your passions, why not consider writing reviews of video games? Chances are, if you play video games and enjoy writing, you probably read reviews of them, too.
Pick a magazine or website you read often and have a handle on the voice and tone of, and contact them about becoming a writer. You’ll want to have samples or a portfolio to provide, though. If the editor likes what they read, you’re in!
You can also create your own website, like the Digimon Links Wiki page. The type of content you choose to create is completely up to you. Be advised, though, it may take a considerable amount of time and effort before your webpage starts to turn a profit.
Turn Your Passion into Profit with Video Games
Video games are pretty great, right? But, learning how to get paid to play video games and actually making money playing them is even better! Just like any other new venture, the best thing to do in the beginning is to take it slow and allow yourself to learn as you go along.
You’re not going to gain millions of subs overnight. In fact, you may never be so lucky. If you don’t try, though, you’ll never know. You’ll just lose sleep wondering what could have been, and that’s never any fun.
Want more tips on how to make money in interesting and obscure ways? Don’t sleep on checking out the rest of our blog!