There's a question the inevitably pops up in every gamer's life: how can I make money doing this? Well, even though your parents swore you would never get anywhere in life by playing games, the truth is there are a multitude of ways to make some greenbacks while fragging your friends. You can join a tournament, join an eSports team, make YouTube videos and for the less competitive folks you can stream. What does all that mean?
Well, for a tournament it depends on the game you play and where you want to play it. The biggest barrier to playing in a tournament is research, not skill. First, you can check out a site like Major League Gaming for games that have tournaments. Second, from those games you must find a game you enjoy playing. Third and relatively the least important, you must become good at that game. The third point is relative because it entirely depends on your competition and how far you want to go. Tournaments can range from a few small dollars to thousands of dollars. If you get good enough, we're talking about a rather hefty sum of money and people do make a living off the tournament circuit but it isn't easy.
You can also take your tournaments a step further and join an eSports league or a team itself. This is professional level gaming, however and is not for the feint of heart. The hours are long and grueling. You have to strengthen your resolve, your reflexes, your stamina and your awareness. Joining an eSports team is also a business deal. You will likely find a team like Razer or Liquid Gaming will let you on board their League but if you expect to be sitting across the table form Cloud 9 then you're going to be signing some paper work. Many eSports teams live together, train together, work out together. It is definitely a sport catered to the young and unattached. You will have to improve your stamina for sitting in a chair for hours without becoming uncomfortable and you must train your eyes to withstand fatigue. This teams bring in a lot of money however and in today's circuit, you can literally become a celebrity.
Making YouTube videos, on the other hand is relatively tame in comparison. It still requires a lot of discipline to stay regular and it is a creative drain that you have to deal with. You don't want to run out of content 4 episodes in. Let's Plays and How To's are very popular and the views generate quite a bit of income. If you attract the attention of a big channel, you could also score a bigger gig. In some cases, job opportunities arise within the company that makes the games you create videos for. It does require editing, writing, producing, research and uploading but if you can manage to nail these requirements down, you could have the next big gaming channel. PewDiePie is world famous for becoming a millionaire from his Let's Plays and licensing deals.
Maybe you just want to play games. You have no eye for art and not a single competitive bone in your body. No worries, you can start a stream. Between Twitch and Mixer, there's a platform out there where you can build your viewer base and earn money via subscriptions and advertising. The competition is tough though. You're going to need to have a schedule and stick to it. You're going to have to invest in a nice camera and a mic. It also helps to have a computer or console capable of playing the games you want to stream as well. Then you have to decide who you are. Are you a rage-a-holic, a chatty Cathy, a ridiculously loud screamer, a good player or a bad player? You have to find your niche; your voice. You have to embrace it and put yourself out there. You'll start at zero views and over awhile you may get to 1. Then maybe 2. You might spend months at 6. One day however, someone might host your channel and your followers shoot up. Then you can start making money from subs and ads but you have to put the effort in. Like all things, it's not free. There is always a catch and the catch with streaming is a whole lot of effort. But it's like they always say: If you build it, They will come.
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