The world of gaming is not something I’m familiar with, at all. So when Jamal reached out I was super interested in his experience with how he’s made a bit of money gaming and thought you might be too. :) Anna

Insider Scoop: How to Make Money Playing Video Games

Generally, the gaming universe is in direct contrast with the working world. Gaming in the past has been associated with the introverted teenager or negligent adult who is wasteful with free time.

However, breaking all stereotypes, the two worlds are beginning to merge, with gaming now a viable career to the skilled joystick holder and places of work integrating gaming as an alternative to the hourly lunch break.

As much as our inner children jump for joy at the idea of being a professional gamer, the ratio of your average to pro gamer are insurmountable. So much so, that it cannot even be considered, unless your boss is willing to allow gaming leave, for the foreseeable future. After that stinging blow, the dreams of nerdy office dwellers can be heard shattering throughout cubicles, but, now, its time to pour salt in the wound.

Many of these pro gamers that you are so envious of are self-made millionaires — from playing video games.

To the readers who are not sobbing into their keyboards, this feels like the perfect segue to inform you that while you likely won’t be able to make millions you too can actually make some money from playing video games.  While you won’t be able to leave your day job you can very easily pick up some spare change, just from playing a couple hours every evening. Not bad, right?

I’ve listed the methods that have worked for me (note that these are not surefire formulas, and they are also not the only techniques out there). Be sure to do your own research to maximize your extra income.

1. Account Selling and Trading
With almost all online games, one has an account. Within that account there are certain accolades to acquire, in game currencies, items, and so forth, with a differentiation in each game. The more hours you have put into a game, the more prosperous your account is likely to be, in turn raising its value. Many lazy gamers are not willing to put in the hours of work to create a successful account and would much rather buy the account. This has created a niche of account-selling sites, like the leagueoftrading – which specializes in league of legends accounts. If you cannot find a site specific to your game, throw an ad on Ebay—you’ll be surprised how quickly it sells.

2. Coaching and Boosting
This method isn’t as universal as others featured. Although they all require some level of gaming ability, this method requires expertise. As with any field, people pay top dollar for good coaching. Let me reiterate: good coaching! Not anyone can do this. You have to be able to compete with the top players in the world at your game. If this is you, scour Google for coaching in your game and get yourself advertised. Boosting, however, can be done by anyone. For those who are not aware, boosting is assisting other players in multi-player games, so they can reach achievements and rank higher on leaderboards. The act of boosting has become taboo in most games, meaning that players are willing to pay more for those that are willing to assist them.

3. YouTube
This method is the most time-consuming and requires a vast amount of dedication; also, it has the highest percentage of failure in comparison to other methods. The YouTube technique entails creating a YouTube account, recording gameplay of your chosen game, editing said gameplay and adding narration so that it is entertaining and informative, uploading the video to YouTube and waiting for the views to roll in. See—time consuming. The industry is also heavily saturated, meaning you would have to create something astonishing to stand out. Nonetheless, if you make it here, the rewards are insane. The most subscribed YouTuber in the world only plays video games and is now a multi-millionaire. You could be next.

4. Testing
A fairly self-explanatory procedure, game developers sometimes need outside testers to come and try their games. If the bragging rights that you’ve played a game yet to be released aren’t enough, you are also paid to test it!

Are you a gamer? Have you found specific ways to earn money gaming that aren’t mentioned in this post? 

P.S. Looking to make more money? CLICK HERE for over 195+ side gig ideas