Sections of this topic
Playing video games is not just a hobby for some people but also their main source of income. There are video game players out there winning tournaments with multi-million-dollar prize pools, while many of these top pros also receive huge sponsorship deals. It is fair to say that the money circulating the online gaming circuit amongst pro players reaches into the billions, and we are literally talking about the pro players’ prize money winnings and sponsorship deals, and not hardware, software, or games sales, which is a billion-dollar industry in itself.
To look deeper into this topic, you will find the section below to create a simple breakdown of various areas and different ways video gamers have a chance to make extra money playing or making a career out of online gaming.
eSports – Learning About the Players for Fantasy Sports
Starting with one of the lesser covered video gaming categories in the world of ‘big bucks’ online gaming. The best daily fantasy sports betting sites as fantasyfest.net are becoming notoriously popular amongst gamers that play sports games. FYI, you will also see fantasy sports referred to as DFS. Thanks to the accuracy of sports video games today, DFS players are able to get to know sports stars from various teams. They can use each player’s stats on the video game and apply those to their decision-making process when choosing players to add to their fantasy sports teams.
For Example, EA SPORTS is the creator of FIFA, FIFA Mobile, NBA, NFL, NCAA, UFC, and more sports-related video games. Each of these games has a knowledgeable research team specific to each sport and these teams are behind the metrics used to rate players in the game. As the game wants to mimic the real world of the sport it represents, the player ratings are pretty accurate. For a DFS fan, the stats from these EA Sports games offer valuable indicators that can help them build a strong and potentially winning fantasy sports team to go up against other DFS players in the many leagues and competitions found on the fantasy sports website.
What’s more, is that each of these games comes with a new release every year. With the new version of the game, comes new stats, and as the season goes on, EA Sports sends updates to these games, keeping the player stats up to date. As a result, DFS players also have an up-to-date information source.
eSports – Sports Games Professionals
Earning extra money playing video games and applying it to a fantasy football or basket team is one thing but becoming a pro sports game player is a whole new ball game (forgive the pun!). In fact, some of the pro-FIFA Soccer players rely on their skills to win prize money and gain sponsorship.
It may be difficult to fathom someone making money playing an online soccer game for example. However, these are online sports, so there are limitless pro competitions. In a way, it is a little like poker. If you know where to look, you can always find a pro tournament to play in online or in a land-based poker venue. Now apply that mindset to FIFA Sports games.
In fact, all you need to do is check out the latest eSports charts and you’ll see that the winners of the sports game competitions are competing for a share of the prize pool worth anything from US$250,000 to $500,000 and sometimes more. So, if you did not know that there are pro sports game players making a healthy living from their video gaming hobby, hopefully, you have now been pleasantly enlightened, but wait – this isn’t even where the big bucks are. Check out the next section!
eSports – Multi-Play Online Battle Arena (The BIG BUCKS in Video Gaming!)
The Multi-Play Online Battle Arena (MOBA) video gaming circuit has been around for more than a decade now. Now if you are a gamer, which if you are reading this, there is a good chance you are, then you have probably heard of DOTA2, League of Legends, Fortnight, Overwatch, and other famous MOBA games, many of which you can play for free online.
The likes of Red Bull sponsor video game stars because the eSport personality matches the brand image. Moreover, there are gaming hardware companies and tech firms also paying for sponsorship space – ASUS, AMD, INTEL, Blizzard, and the list continues. Sponsoring means big money for these firms because the eSports players influence the devices eSports players use, which for the more successful eSports players means million-dollar deals.
Now onto where the big money is for the top eSports teams. The tournaments. Currently, DOTA 2 outperforms most other eSports, and the highest-earning team so far has netted a staggering US$38.5 million, which is Team Liquid. However, notice the word ‘team’ so that prize money does need to be split. What about individual winners?
Some of eSports’ largest individual player wins:
- Johan Sundstein won US$6.9 million playing Dota 2
- Kyle Giersdorf won US$3 million playing Fortnite
- Peter Rasmussen won US$1.9 million playing Fortnite
- Lee Sang-hyeok won US$1.3 million playing League of Legends
- Ian ‘C6’ Porter won US$1.2 million playing Call of Duty
Cutting to the Chase – Making Extra Money Playing Video Games
Becoming one of the top pros in eSports of any kind is perhaps as bigger a challenge as becoming a pro-NBA, MLS, or NFL player. You need serious talent. That does not mean to say you can’t do it because anyone is capable. Today new eSports stars come through the ranks, and they are getting younger, more technical, and bolder in their gameplay. He who dares wins as the old saying goes. However, getting to such levels takes effort, and natural ability and very few make it.
But that does not mean your chances of becoming an eSports or online video game top earner are not possible. The future of video gaming arguably lies in blockchain tech. The creation of Metaverse worlds is in the process as we speak. This is thanks to blockchain scalability solutions constantly evolving. And what we are already seeing is that as these ecosystems scale, the number of video gamers making extra money playing video games within these digital realms are starting to earn notable sums of money via crypto and NFTs!
