The gaming industry generates over $100 billion in annual revenue. But it is not just the developers and marketers who profit from this money. In 2022, gamers also have a chance to make money through gaming.
The highest earners play video games full-time and they can rake in upwards of $1M per year. If you’re not ready to quit your day job yet, you can also make money in the sector through gaming side hustles. Below are some of the best options for you:
Develop Online Games
Developing online games no longer requires a bachelor’s degree. If you have the time and will to learn, you can become a proficient video game developer in a couple of months.
The Internet is jam-packed with coding schools, some of which teach you how to make games free of charge. Where you have to pay for a course, the charges can be as low as $10.
In case you’re wondering, below is a list of the best sites to learn how to code:
- Code Academy
- Khan Academy
- Udemy
- YouTube
- Udacity
- Coursera
The beauty of online coding schools is that they accept applicants from all parts of the world. They don’t even ask for you school certificates. The only requirement is to pay their fees. The learning process often involves recorded tutorials to help you learn at your own pace.
Play Casino Games for Real Money
Casino games like slots, roulette and poker are exciting to play. And they can also help you make money. But there’s a catch. Many of them are based on pure luck. When you stake your money in a slot, whether you win or lose boils down to chance.
Some games—blackjack and poker—feature elements of skill and strategy. If you are experienced and skilled enough, you can win consistently. The amount of money you win, though, depends on your betting amount and the games you play.
For example, progressive slots have jackpots that payout up to $20M. An example is Mega Moolah. Most slots, however, payout 2x to 100x your stake. By comparison, roulette pays 35 to 1 for straight bets while blackjack pays 3:2 or 5:4.
With that in mind, choose a safe and reputable casino. The best Canadian gambling sites provide hundreds of high-paying games. They welcome new players with fair bonuses and payout money to winners consistently.
Join Play to Earn Apps
Another easy way to make money as a gamer is to utilize play to earn apps. Take Swagbucks as an example. This app pays you to complete a variety of activities, from completing surveys to watching ads. It also pays people to play trivia games.
Inbox Dollars is yet another play to earn app with a great reputation online. Available on both iOS and android devices, this app has more than 30 browser games you can play to win points. Then you can redeem your points for cash.
There are many other ‘play to earn’ apps out there. But they won’t make you rich quickly. Most of them pay a dollar or less for an activity. As a result, the average player earns $20 to $100 per month.
Stream Games on Twitch and YouTube
Dedicated video game fans rarely use apps like Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars to make money. They play complex video games like Elden Ring, CS: GO, League of Legends and Call of Duty.
If you’re great at one of the games mentioned above, consider launching a streaming channel. Twitch is the biggest streaming platform for gamers. YouTube comes second.
With a streaming channel, you get a chance to showcase your skills to the world. Twitch has more than a million daily visitors. Most of these people log into the site to enjoy streams from talented gamers.
In other words, you can grow your channel fast if you’re an entertainer. Excite people with your unique moves, speed and accuracy. Of course, they also want to see you winning games.
Once you attract more than 50 followers on your channel, you can monetize it through adverts, donations, subscriptions and affiliate links.
Become a Part-Time Pro-Gamer
Esports is now a billion-dollar industry. What’s more, it has more than 400 million fans around the world. These fans, together with corporate sponsors, help organize competitions for major titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, CS: GO and Hearthstone.
Everyone has a chance to participate in professional video game competitions. As a part-time player, consider finding tournaments in your city or online. You might not make millions of dollars. But you will have fun and win prizes.
If you’re really good at a specific eSports game, you could try your luck in a national or international competition. You could also apply for a position to be a pro-gamer.
Pro-gamers who play for well-known leagues win in excess of $100,000 per year. And that does not include sponsorship money and performance bonuses.
Become a Gaming Coach
Parents throughout the US and Canada have been spending thousands of dollars every month to help their kids become better gamers. Some parents hire coaches who coach their kids on a one-on-one basis.
Or they can pay for online coaching. Internet-based coaching works in several ways. As a coach, you can join a website that pairs amateur players with coaches like you.
Secondly, you can start a website where you sell your coaching services. This option allows you to run a business on your own. You can set your own rates and even expand your market reach by creating YouTube and Twitch channels designed to advertise your services.
Start a Blog Targeting Gamers
Blogging is one of the coolest side hustles in 2022. Scratch that. Blogging has been a pretty popular way to make money online since the Internet started. It’s cheap and affordable to start.
But make no mistake. Making money through a blog requires a lot of hard work, patience and skills. To expound more, you need an audience to earn money through a blog.
To attract an audience, you need to be a proficient writer. You need to persuade, inform or entertain people with your gaming content to make them become loyal to your site. After that, you can monetize your platform through adverts or affiliate links.
