How Many People Actually Make a Living Gaming?

Gaming has grown from a niche hobby to a full-fledged career for thousands around the world. But exactly how many people are earning a living by playing video games today? And how much are top gamers actually making?

Let‘s dig into the numbers and find out.

By The Numbers: Professional Gamers and Their Earnings

According to esportsearnings.com, here‘s a snapshot of how many gamers are earning serious money in competitive gaming:

• 5 players have earned over $1 million in prize money, achieving "gaming millionaire" status
• 176 gamers have lifetime earnings between $100,000 and $1 million
• 324 players make between $38,000 to $99,000 in annual earnings

The estimated average annual income for a professional gamer is $60,000.

So while becoming an elite gaming millionaire is extremely difficult, thousands are still earning a comfortable living wage through competitive gaming.

Gaming platform Twitch has also created a new way for gamers to make money through live streaming. The very top Twitch stars can easily make over $1 million per year through subscriptions, donations, sponsorships and ad revenue.

But you don‘t need millions of followers to start earning. Even "small" streamers with just a few thousand fans can make $50 to $1500 per month through their channels.

Pathways To Earning Money Gaming

How exactly are all these gamers making a living playing video games? Here are the main ways competitive gamers are earning money today:

Winning Esports Tournaments and Leagues

Esports tournaments offer millions in cash prizes for top competitors. For example, the 2019 Fortnite World Cup awarded $30 million in total, with 16-year-old champion Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf winning $3 million by himself.

Other major tournaments like Dota 2‘s The International, the League of Legends World Championship, and Evo fighting game championships offer top prizes between $1 to $3 million.

Even lesser known competitive leagues can award up to $100,000 in cash prizes, providing a nice income boost for skilled players.

Winning major tournaments takes immense talent. But grinding smaller tournaments can become a stable source of revenue.

Salaries and Sponsorships

Being signed by an esports organization provides stability versus playing tournaments alone. Top esports teams pay players salaries averaging $60k per year, plus performance bonuses, housing, training, health benefits and more.

Esports pros also earn additional income from sponsorships. Energy drink and peripheral brands will sponsor a player to use and promote their gear. Top streamers can also earn over $1 million from a single sponsorship deal.

Landing a team and sponsor deal removes financial uncertainty. But you need the skills and fanbase to get signed in the first place.

Live Streaming Income

The rise of sites like Twitch and YouTube Gaming has created entirely new income sources for gamers. Here are a few ways streamers can monetize:

• Subscriptions – Fans pay a monthly fee for perks like custom emotes. Popular streamers have thousands of subscribers.
• Donations – Viewers can donate money through services like StreamLabs to support their favorite streamer. Top donations can hit $10k or more.
• Ad Revenue – Streamers also earn a portion of ad dollars displayed on their streams and videos. At 500 average viewers, ad revenue can exceed $2000 per month.
• Sponsorships and Brand Deals – Big brands will sponsor popular personalities to promote products on stream or social media. Deals can be worth hundreds of thousands.
• Merchandise – Streamers make money designing and selling branded apparel and merchandise.

The top 1% of Twitch streamers are earning 7 figures or more per year. But you can start earning income once you hit just 100 regular viewers.

Streaming opens gaming careers to more personalities who excel at engaging an audience versus raw skill alone.

Game Testing and Quality Assurance

Think playing games for a living is only for elite gamers? Think again.

Average gamers can earn solid part-time income or full-time salaries working in game quality assurance and testing:

• Game Testers – Testers play early game builds to find bugs and issues prior to launch. Entry level testers can earn $25k per year with potential income of $85k per year as a senior tester.

• Playtesters – Provide feedback on pre-release games to help developers make improvements during the design process. Playtesters are often paid by the hour, earning $10 to $20 per hour.

• QA and Compliance Testing – More advanced testing of game features and systems to ensure functionality and adherence to regulations. Senior testers can earn over $70k per year.

Working your way up from game tester to advanced QA requires experience, but provides a viable career for non-pro gamers.

Gaming Content Creation and Coaching

Traditional entertainment industries like TV and film have long offered careers in production, editing, writing and more. The same is now true for the world of gaming.

As a few examples:

• YouTubers and Streamers – Creating entertaining gaming content like walkthroughs, speedruns, commentary and more can generate ad and sponsorship revenue. Top gaming personalities on YouTube earn well into the 6 figures or more.

• Bloggers/Journalists – Writing gaming guides, news articles, reviews and analysis is an option for skilled writers to earn income through ads and affiliate marketing.

• Gambling/Betting Tipsters – With the rise of esports betting, skilled gamblers can profit by offering betting advice, spreadsheets and data analysis.

• Coaching/Lessons – Helping other gamers improve their skills through coaching and training sessions has also emerged as a way to profit. Coaching rates range from $10 to over $100 per hour.

Content creation and coaching allows those with gaming knowledge, but not elite skills, to leverage their expertise into an income source.

Keys To Making It As A Professional Gamer

Based on the above, it‘s clear there are multiple ways to spin gaming skills into a career. However, there are some key factors that separate those who make it versus those who come up short:

Develop Elite Skills and Game Knowledge

Whether competing in tournaments, streaming personality-driven content, or working in game production, top-tier gaming skills and knowledge are required to succeed.

Putting in the daily hours of practice over years – not just weeks or months – is what will set you apart from the pack.

Stand Out and Build a Personal Brand

Even among top players and streamers, the very best know how to build a personal connection and stand out with a unique personality, style and brand.

Promoting yourself through social media and cultivating a loyal fanbase gives you leverage to monetize your talents.

Adapt to Shifting Trends

The world of gaming evolves at light speed. Hot new games quickly rise to the top while former kings fade away.

Staying on top of gaming and streaming trends allows you to capitalize on hot new titles and genres before others do.

Develop a Specialty

Rather than just being a strong all-around player, identify a specific skill or role you can uniquely master.

For example, focus on tank classes, sniping skills, battle royale mastery, or a specific game like Fortnite or League of Legends.

Finding a niche provides more opportunities to get recognized and hired.

Prepare for Up and Downs

A gaming career provides no guarantees. Even pro players and popular streamers have had hot streaks fizzle out when game or fan interests shift.

Saving during peak earning times and having backup plans and skills are essential. The gaming landscape can change overnight.

Have a Plan B (Or C or D!)

Speaking of backup plans…don‘t quit your day job until gaming success is proven and sustainable.

Keep leveling up your skills and fanbase…but keep your rent-paying, bill-funding day job in the meantime.

Patience, determination and perseverance are prerequisites to make it professionally. Keep grinding!

Tales from the Trenches: Pro Gamer Success Stories

To further illustrate that gaming fame and fortune is achievable, here are some inspiring examples of players who managed to turn skills and passion into careers:

Bugha – Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf won the inaugural Fortnite World Cup in 2019 at age 16, taking home $3 million instantly and jumpstarting his pro career. He‘s now earned over $4.5 million total from playing Fortnite.

Ninja – Tyler "Ninja" Blevins transitioned from competitive Halo player to one of Twitch‘s first superstar streamers. He‘s built a massive brand with over 16 million Twitch followers and earned over $10 million in 2018 alone.

Shroud – Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek gained fame as a top CS:GO player before transitioning to streaming in 2017. He now has over 10 million Twitch followers and earns an estimated $12.5 million per year as one of the most popular FPS streamers.

DanTDM – Daniel Middleton built a YouTube empire of over 25 million subscribers through family-friendly Minecraft videos and entertainment. He earned $18.5 million in 2017 at the peak of his popularity.

Misscliks – Praised as one of the top female streamers and a role model for gamers, Emma has earned over half a million dollars from streaming after leaving her day job to stream full time.

S1mple – Ukrainian CSGO phenom Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev has career esports earnings over $1.4 million and currently has a 5 year, $2 million deal with Team Liquid.

As you can see, big money and fame are attainable in gaming – but generally only for the most talented and entrepreneurial individuals. While luck always plays a role, success ultimately boils down to skill + work ethic + personality + business savvy.

The Final Word on Gaming as a Career

Can you make money by playing video games? Absolutely.

Can you realistically turn gaming into a full-time, financially sustainable career? It depends.

For superstar players, gaming fortunes and fame can come quick. But for most, it requires mastering your craft over years of dedication.

Streaming and content creation provide additional avenues to leverage gaming knowledge into dollars. But standing out in a crowded market is challenging.

While gaming money sounds alluring, take a measured approach. Keep sharpening your skills and building an audience…but don‘t quit your day job too quickly!

At the end of the day, a gaming career combines skill, knowledge, passion, business smarts and often luck. For the select few able to master that mix, gaming riches await.

Now get out there, start grinding, and go make gaming history! The game is on.