Gaming As A Career? Is It Possible?

Entrepreneur

For years, people condemned the average gamer who plays video and computer games all day. Those that play often get described as lazy and stubborn, refusing to get up and work for a living. However, none of those stereotypes apply today. Gaming became a popular activity that can net a lot of money. Given enough knowledge and hard work, a gamer can reap the benefits of spending hours playing online. However, there remains uncertainty when it comes to making a career out of it.

Then again, you can say that for all types of professions. With the increasing advancement in technology today, video games and eSports evolved into more than just entertainment devices. The population of gamers increased to a total of 2.8 billion, more than a quarter of the entire world. You still have a shot at turning gaming into a career despite knowing that only a fraction is earning a living out of it. However, is it a realistic option?

A Personal Hobby

Two billion, eight hundred million people play video games. It is an eye-opening number that not everyone can fully grasp. With such attention given to the activity, it should be no surprise why it is developing into a career for some people. Professional eSports athletes and gaming streamers are rising in numbers, but they don’t start that way.

The gaming career is not yet an established opportunity that undergoes a traditional academic path. People usually have to earn a degree before branding themselves as professionals. Doctors go to med school, lawyers take on law school, and video gaming has none of those.

So how do professional gamers gain their knowledge and experience? It starts with turning to online games as a personal hobby. Nearly every person knows about computers because it serves multiple purposes. Video game consoles are also adapting features to rival PCs. Those electronic devices are easily accessible, making it easy for people to adopt gaming as a hobby. The passion for the activity could lead to upgrading gaming PC builds and improving computer technology and Internet knowledge. Moving toward that path could lead to a desire for a pro career.

Monetization of Streaming Platforms

Playing online games is a form of entertainment. However, there is no denying its capabilities to provide people with an opportunity to succeed. It can be a long and arduous path to becoming a professional player, and somewhere in the middle of the road is streaming. While it might not lead to a professional career, it could provide the average gamer with a way to make a living.

Earning income out of gaming puts away criticism and comments that you are not doing anything with your life. Reaching that point is a combination of hard work, charisma, and luck. Hard work because your skills and experience should be good enough to warrant viewers’ attention. Charisma and luck because there are many gamers with the same vision as you. Streaming platforms are paying content creators, which includes a chunk of video games or online players.

Gaming, even not at a professional level, can help people earn a living. When approached with the same marketing tactics, content creators on streaming platforms can enjoy a successful career.

The Rise of eSports

When defining careers, you can relate gaming more to the world of sports. Professional video game players are more relatable to athletes, that they have to work on their skills and experience in the field they desire. Such is the case in eSports. Games are part of pop culture, with so many fans wanting to see the best of the best competing against one another. As a result, online and LAN tournaments have become popular in games like DoTa, Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and Call of Duty.

Those competitive events led to millions in profits, solidifying its reliability for a person’s career. eSports are not showing signs of stopping, getting sponsorships from betting companies and other businesses taking a shot in online media. Gaming is now more than entertainment in today’s world, especially with the technological advancements and creativity invested in the process.

Why the Path Is More Difficult Than You Think

Yes, gaming as a career is possible. Thousands of hours invested in playing your favorite game could lead to a profitable life should you decide to go pro. However, it is not an easy path. Same with playing physical sports, you must go through training in boot camps with teammates and sponsors. Some of the established eSports companies are TSM, Cloud9, Team Liquid, and FaZe Clan, and they are willing to pay and train skilled eSports athletes in multiple fields. Want to make a career out of gaming? Sit in front of your computer desk and train hard.

Meta title: Is It Possible to Start a Career in Online Games?
meta desc: Video and online games are always thought of as distractions or entertainment, but they can also become a career for a dedicated gamer. Here is what you need to know if you want to venture down that road.

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