Playing Games Online for Big Payouts
Who would have thought that when companies began releasing video game consoles and games as an entertainment device, that some people would be able to make millions of dollars playing games online. It’s a pretty crazy thing to think about, but really shouldn’t be all that surprising. In fact, almost all sports, gambling competitions, and more began as entertainment activities. Someone was smart, and commercialized them for others enjoyment. Let’s take a look.
Card games have been around for over a hundred years, and while poker and blackjack might have been common around the saloon table, the stakes were always relatively low, and there was no such things as the World Series of Poker. Fast forward to today, and not only is Poker something you can make money at, it’s something hundreds of people from all over the world do as a full time job, sometimes in land based casinos and sometimes in an online one, which are available to players from all over the world, via sites like Casino Billions.
Think about this for a second – there are people out there who play Poker full time. That is all they do, day-in and day-out. A few decades ago that would be pretty shocking, but in 2019, we have evidence of people taking regular everyday activities and turning them into lucrative money making opportunities. Sat this point, nothings shocks us. Want to know why? Ninja, and those like him.
In a 2018 article, Forbes Magazine sat down with the infamous Ninja, who has built his whole career on the battle royale game, Fortnite, published by Epic Games. During that interview, Ninja said,
“So monthly revenue is always something I try not to discuss simply because I do not do it for the “good money.” I have been streaming for almost 7 years, and I only recently just took off like this. If it was solely about the money I would have stopped a while ago. That being said, multiply the sub count by 3.5 and you get the monthly income from subs [Editor’s note: That math would be around $560,000 a month, based on his current subscriber numbers]. As for donation/bit/ad revenue that always is fluctuating and varies, same with YouTube in terms of ad revenue. I actually don’t think I can give specific numbers for contract reasons. Also, I currently have no personal sponsors as well, so there’s nothing there.”
Although posted in 2018, it’s worth noting now that Ninja has multiple personal sponsors, a new deal with Mixer, and much more – he’s easily the richest video game streamer in the world right now, and it was all because he took something he was passionate about, and made it work for him.
Ninja isn’t the trailblazer for this type of jump, but he is the best example of what can happen if you get popular. And Ninja is just one of many who are making a living playing games online. people who are being successful at Halo, Call of Duty, and EA Sports titles (to name just a few) are pulling in fat checks week after week. And it’s all because of…you?!
Without the viewers, there isn’t money to be made in online gaming – however, we have so successfully commercialized these experiences that people are now forgoing playing games, so instead of watching someone else play them. This might sound stupid, but I realized quickly that I’m the exact same way. I suck at Poker, but I can watch people play Poker on TV for hours upon hours. Am I any different?
The success of gambling online and making money at it has pushed people in other industries into new and exciting opportunities. While streaming like Ninja is a great way to earn money, there are also eSports leagues that almost anyone can get into. While some require a team, others are simply “you against the world.” Anyone can live the dream of playing games online for cash. It’s a very real reality today.