More and more people are making money playing games and it can be a great way to make extra cash.
Let’s take a look at how to make money gaming, either by playing a casual game from your phone for a few pounds or by becoming a full-time gamer and earning a small fortune.
Make money gaming
I have looked at various ways to make money on the side , and gaming appeals the most.
As an avid gamer (I played my first video game in the 1980s), the idea of rewarded play from something I love to do seems like a no-brainer. A cash prize to play a game? Yes please!
How do you play games for real money?
If you’re looking for games that pay real money, there are plenty of opportunities – from a mobile game that pays a few pounds in cash rewards to entering a major gaming tournament that could pay millions.
Here are some of the best options for you to consider.
Swagbucks
This is a very simple way to make some money from gaming. Swagbucks is known as a Get Paid To (GPT) site. That means you earn money from completing various tasks, such as completing surveys, searching the web, joining bingo sites and playing games.
Usually, these games will need you to download an app to your phone or tablet and reach a certain level within a time limit.
For example, I downloaded Star Trek Fleet Command. After reaching level 12, I was awarded 500 Swagbuck (£5). At level 17, I was given another 1,500 Swagbucks (£15). Then, I was meant to earn another 5,000 Swagbucks (£50) at level 21. However, this actually credited at level 19. I earned £70 in 13 days – with 8 days spare to reach my target. I had the option of withdrawing my earnings as a gift card or real cash through PayPal.
Most of these games work in exactly the same way – you collect resources, build a base and win battles. Once you have completed one, you’ll find the rest quite easy. And there are always plenty of opportunities to try.
Qmee
I love Qmee as a survey site. But that’s not the only way you can make money. No, you can also make money from cashback and, of course, from playing games.
Making money from games with Qmee works in the same way as Swagbucks. You download the game, reach the required level and earn your cash.
The rewards you can earn are similar to Swagbucks and you can often see the same games listed on both sites. It’s worth checking both sites to see which offers the most generous reward.
AttaPoll
AttaPoll is primarily a survey app. However, you can earn cash by downloading apps and playing games. Payment isn’t usually as good compared to Qmee and Swagbucks, but the levels you need to reach are much lower. So this app is far better for those who want to just dip in and out when they please.
Freecash
This is another GPT site offering real money-earning games. Unsurprisingly, it works in the same way as the two sites above. Download the games listed on the Freecash website, reach the target level and earn coins. These coins can then be converted to cash.
But there’s more to Freecash than just making money playing games online. You can climb the daily bonus ladder and complete daily streaks for extra points. It also has a generous referral scheme and the more people you convince to join, the more money you can make.
Skedadle
This is quite a unique way to make money online from playing games. Skedadle has been created to encourage you to travel more sustainably. Every time you travel on public transport, open this game app, play one of the games listed and earn money. It’s as simple as that.
Now, this app won’t make you a fortune, but it’s quick to do and you’ll be rewarded with PayPal cash. Plus, you can refer friends to earn an extra bonus.
Solitaire Cash
If you’re a fan of spending your free time playing solitaire, then you may want to do it in return for real cash prizes.
This online game lets you compete against others in two types of games. One is free to enter and allows you to collect gems, which allows you to level up. When you have enough gems, they can be used to enter a free cash tournament. If you win, you’ll earn a share of a cash prize.
Be warned though, it can take some time to collect enough gems. You really need to be in for the long game if you choose this route.
Alternatively, you can take part in real money games by paying your own cash to enter. But, this is a form of gambling and you could end up losing money.
Solitaire Cash is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple Store.
YouTube Videos
One of the most popular ways to make money from gaming is YouTube. There are tens of thousands of channels out there, with everybody competing with each other to gain followers.
One of the most famous YouTubers is PewDiePie, which is estimated to be worth over $14 million. He plays games such as Minecraft and The Last of Us and has over 100 million subscribers. Even if you had 1% of his following, you could still make a decent living.
How do you get paid on YouTube?
It’s all very well having videos and followers, but how do you actually make money?
Connect your channel to AdSense
AdSense is an advertising programme that will give you a small commission when people watch or click on videos shown on your channel. Although it’s not a huge amount per video, it can soon add up.
Product placement/sponsorship
Companies will want to work with you if your channel is doing well. This might require you to mention a product whilst playing, sharing images or even showing yourself using it.
But think carefully before you take on any endorsements. They may pay well, but are they trustworthy? If you start to promote dodgy products, you could lose followers and face worse consequences.
Sell products
If you really are popular, why not start to sell some of your own branded products? T-shirts, mugs, photos and hoodies. You name it, there are people out there who will want to buy it.
Meet and greet
Not my cup of tea, but you could hire out your services by attending events such as parties or openings. You get paid just for turning up, staying a short while and then going home. How much you can charge does depend on how popular you are.
Also worth reading
Facebook Live
Facebook Live is a fairly new service and is quite heavily promoted by the platform. Most users stream their game while chatting to followers and answering questions.
Viewers need to send you stars, a form of currency to earn money. One star is equal to $0.01.
There are rumours that Facebook plans to allow streamers to charge users a fee to access their content. However, I’m unsure how well that will go down with so much free content around.
Twitch
Twitch is actually owned by Amazon and is the leading live-streaming service for video games. The most popular games streamed are Fortnite, League of Legends, Dota 2, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Hearthstone, Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
How to get paid through Twitch
To make the most money via Twitch, you must sign up for their affiliate programme. This opens up three main ways to earn.
Subscriptions
Viewers will subscribe to see your ‘premium content’ and pay a monthly price ranging from $4.99 to $24.99. You will then split the amount you make with Twitch 50/50.
Bits
Like Facebook, Twitch has its own currency known as Bits. Each Twitch Bit is worth $0.01 and can be donated to streamers through ‘cheers’. However, you must be signed up for Twitch’s affiliate programme if you want to cash in your Bits.
People will generally award cheers to either their favourite streamers or when they see some skilful gameplay.
Game Sales
Another way to earn is to sell games and in-game items through your page. Every time somebody makes a purchase, you receive a 5% commission.
Although affiliates make the most money, earning without joining the programme is possible. Many streamers leave their PayPal address on show and allow users to send donations directly.
Tournaments
With gaming being so popular, there are tournaments to discover the best of the best. These are also known as eSports; the people participating are called eSport athletes. Now, that’s the kind of athletics I can take part in.
eSports are a big business and are often streamed online and can even be found on some television channels. They attract big sponsors, which means big money and big prizes. In 2019, a 16-year-old won the Fortnite World Cup, taking home a cool $3 million.
Of course, you may not win the big prize from a tournament, but there are plenty of other cash sums to be won too. Who said that gaming was wasting your life?
Also worth reading
Join an eSports team
This is a continuation of the tournaments section, but any serious gamer should consider joining an eSports team. Here, you join up with like-minded individuals and compete against other teams.
Most eSports team members will earn a salary. But how much you make will depend on how good you and your team are. But then eSports aren’t restricted to just ‘athletes’. There are other roles you can fill. These include:
- Host
- Coach
- Content Creator
- Marketing Executive
- Admin or referee
- Social media manager
- Production crew
- Agent
Below you can see some of the top-earning eSports teams. As you can see, Team Liquid is top of the leaderboard with over $36 million, although they have played far more tournaments compared to their competitors. Lower down, Wings Gaming has earned almost $10 million from just 27 tournaments.
Joining an eSports team may seem like the perfect option, but remember, it’s a competitive world. The chances are you replaced somebody, and one day, a better player will replace you.
Resource farming
This is the least glamorous and probably the poorest paid when making money online from games. However, it’s a steady income and you don’t need to be particularly talented.
If you’ve ever played games like World of Warcraft, you’re probably aware that you need specific materials or gold to progress. The problem is it can take you hours (if not days) to do monotonous tasks to reach the required amount.
Because of the monotony involved, plenty of gamers out there would prefer to buy the materials rather than grind them out themselves. This is where farmers come in. They collect these items and then sell them for a tidy profit.
The problem with this way of making money is that the market is generally quite saturated. Some companies will pay gamers in Asia next to nothing for collecting materials. That means the companies can sell their goods cheaply, making it difficult for you to earn a decent living.
You could work for £2 per hour, which means it’s not a real money spinner for most people.
Not only this, but many video game companies don’t like the farming aspect as they don’t like the idea of 3rd parties making money out of their game. If they find out you are doing it, you could be banned.
Game Tester
Computer games are complicated to design and produce, so plenty can go wrong. And if you’re a regular gamer, you’ve probably noticed and been incredibly frustrated by bugs in a game. This could be anything from issues with graphics to areas of a map that players shouldn’t be able to access.
As a game tester, you’re there to test the game to its limits and find as many problems as possible. The fewer bugs there are when the game is released to the public, the better. It’s far harder for developers to correct a game once it has been released to the public.
One of the biggest games released in 2020, Cyberpunk 2077, was riddled with errors. So much so a lot of platforms offered refunds to customers.
Once you find a bug, you’ll need to figure out how to reproduce it and write a report, which is then submitted to the developers.
You don’t need specific qualifications to become a game tester, as most companies consider it an entry-level position. Major companies like Nintendo and Microsoft employ hundreds of testers directly or through temp agencies. Look through job sites or major developer websites to see if anything is available.
But be careful. Becoming a game tester is quite desirable, which means there are plenty of scams trying to catch people out. If a company asks for money from you, that should ring alarm bells.
Other careers related to gaming
Perhaps you’re not the world’s best gamer or don’t fancy testing, but would you still like to work in the industry? Well, plenty of jobs behind the scenes might take your fancy and they can pay very well.
Many of them will require professional qualifications though, such as a programming language like Python, C++ and SQL.
Gaming salaries in the UK
According to Robert Walters, you can expect to earn the following wage when working in the gaming industry:
| Average salary (£) | Average day rate (£) | |
| Software engineer/ developer | 60k | 450 |
| Artist | 45k | 260 |
| QA Tester/Analyst | 50k | 275 |
| Game Designer | 55k | 375 |
| Game developer/ programmer | 55k | 350 |
| Animator | 42k | 255 |
| Audio/Visual designer | 45k | 325 |
| UI/UX Designer/ Developer | 82k | 575 |
| CTO | 70k | 375 |
| Project Manager/ PMO | 80k | 600 |
| AI Engineer | 75k | 600 |
Where are the majority of jobs?
Obviously, you’ll find various jobs dotted all around the UK, but there are eight main cities and towns where most jobs are based.
- London
- Edinburgh
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Leamington Spa
- Crawley and Horsham
- Manchester
- Guildford
- Slough
If you’re looking for gaming jobs as a future career for your children, why not take a look at my review of Code Kingdoms, a site dedicated to teaching youngsters how to code?
FAQs
Can you make a living playing video games?
This is very difficult to do because of the amount of competition out there. However, if you’re very good and manage to join a decent eSports team, it’s certainly possible to make a decent income.
Is Video Game Testing a Stable Job?
Generally, no. Most testers aren’t considered employees, which means they only work when needed. That means you can’t always rely on the income.
What games can you make money playing?
The most popular games are Fortnite, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Just Chatting, League of Legends, Minecraft, Call of Duty: Warfare, Apex Legends, VALORANT, World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto V.