10 Ways to Make Money in the Gaming Industry

If you’ve ever considered a career in the gaming industry, there’s a good chance you’ve been told it’s nothing more than a pipe dream and that you should be more realistic.

However, there are actually plenty of ways to make money from gaming. Whether you’re directly involved as a gamer or working in an ancillary industry, gaming can pay out if you’re dedicated (and a little lucky).

Here are 10 ways to make money in the gaming industry.

1. Betting

Betting might not sound like the best possible way to make money from gaming, but if you’re smart with your money, it is possible (albeit dependent on luck) to make a little scratch.

If you’re partial to casino gaming, for instance, you could check out some online slot games at GG.bet; you’ll have fun, and who knows? You might even develop a strategy that helps you win more often than you lose!

Just be aware that you should be betting primarily for fun, and as soon as it’s not fun anymore, it’s important to walk away before things get too intense.

2. Journalism

Journalism certainly isn’t an easy or fast path for making money in the gaming industry, but there are still paid opportunities in the world of gaming journalism if you know where to look.

Plenty of websites need high-quality content, and with AI sprawling across the industry and making it harder than ever to source useful information, journalists are needed now more than they ever were.

You may have to look for a while before you find a journalism opportunity that pays, but if you keep searching, you’ll eventually come across something.

3. Content creation

Have you ever found yourself playing a game and identifying connections between its lore, its gameplay, and its development process? Are you the kind of person who overthinks every game they play?

If so, then you might want to consider content creation as a career in gaming. Making videos about the games you love can be a great way to earn cash, especially if you build up a following.

Of course, it isn’t easy to become a content creator, but if you keep making videos about your passions (and, again, you’re lucky), then you’ll attract an audience that wants to hear what you have to say.

4. Streaming

While content creation and streaming are connected, they’re not necessarily the same job, so we’re including them as two separate items on this list.

Streaming doesn’t require much in the way of editing, but you will need to commit to a fairly gruelling schedule if you’re planning to stream; doing so professionally often requires hours upon hours of being on camera.

If you’ve got a strong personality, a social nature, and a love for games, then streaming could well be the perfect way to make money from the gaming industry. Just be aware that you won’t start earning overnight.

5. Development

Breaking into the gaming industry as a developer isn’t easy, but studios are often looking for new blood to help them create up-and-coming projects.

You’ll need skill in coding, and you’ll also likely need knowledge of popular game creation software suites like GameMaker, as well as ancillary tools like Blender.

If you’re looking to become a developer, it’s a good idea to dabble in your own projects for a while in order to get to grips with the software before you decide to search for professional opportunities.

6. QA testing

You may have heard that things aren’t particularly great for QA testers across certain aspects of the industry right now, so this might be a career choice on which you may wish to hold off.

However, if you’re passionate about helping developers fine-tune and hone their games to perfection and you love looking for glitches, errors, and exploits, QA testing could be for you.

Just be aware that this side of the industry is not particularly glamorous, so you may not earn widespread recognition or prestige for doing it (however much QA testers deserve to!).

7. Game writing

Writing for video games is a very different skill to journalism. Where one relies on factual reporting and staying as unbiased as possible, the other is all about creating narratives and characters to stand the test of time.

Writers often don’t enjoy the same level of creative control on games as they might over a novel or even a screenplay; development is a highly collaborative process, so you may find your ideas being altered or augmented.

If you think you can stomach that as a writer, then writing for video games could well be for you.

8. Influencer work

Influencers have a lot of crossover with Twitch streamers and YouTubers; those who work within the latter categories often find themselves within the former as well.

However, there are differences. Influencers are often more geared towards social media than content creation, telling their followers what’s worth buying and what they should pass over in favour of other products.

Instagram, TikTok, and other social media sites are usually the influencer’s home, and their work is often highly product-focused, so you may find yourself in brand partnerships with peripheral or PC manufacturers, for instance.

9. Esports

Are you especially skilled at a single game or a small set of games? If so, then esports might be a good way for you to earn some cash.

Generally speaking, esports players tend to be fairly young, but there are mature esports players as well, so don’t think age has to be a barrier to becoming a professional gamer.

Even if you don’t play esports yourself, you could become a manager, a commentator, or a coach. There are plenty of great ways to make money from esports!

10. Merchandise

You’ll need to be careful if you’re planning to create gaming-adjacent merchandise, as the legal situation surrounding using other people’s IP for profit can be somewhat sketchy.

However, if you’re able to exercise your creative muscles to make genuinely original merchandise that uses existing video games as a jumping-off point, you could stand to make some serious cash.

You can check out sites like Redbubble if you want to get a good idea of what being a gaming merchandise creator looks like.