How and how much you can earn on computer games

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In the nineties, developers and publishers got rich on computer games. Nowadays, any inexperienced player (or not a player at all) can make money on the gaming industry. It is clear that success is not guaranteed to anyone, but good fees await the most agile.

At the same time, it is necessary to understand that the game is a game of strife: a lot of money is spinning around the most popular signs, and less money is spinning around the less hot ones. And it should also be borne in mind that there will always be many hunters for a good jackpot, because no one has canceled the competition yet.

What games are most in demand among the audience? For the answer, you can look at the streaming service Twitch, lavishly priced and bought by Amazon for $ 1 billion not so long ago. They say that Google was also very interested in the site, seeing in it the killer of its YouTube. Do you feel the importance?

Twitch is a multi-platform service for streaming game video or eSports coverage.

Any site user can create an account and start demonstrating their gaming skills, and tournament organizers can provide large-scale coverage of the events being held. In truth, other content is shown on the service, but the advantage remains with the games.

So who is at the top of Twitch? These are League of Legends (LoL), Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Overwatch and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. All of the above are multiplayer games with various competitive modes inside.

Further, we will focus mainly on Dota 2 as the discipline that is closest and understandable to me, although the principles of earning can be applied to any other more or less massive game.

Progaming

Professional gamers are at the top of the gaming world. They have incredible skills, know the intricacies of the gameplay, and have a wealth of experience. Like any other professional activity, progaming can sell well. Although there are some nuances. For example, a progamer's income level can be influenced by his personal popularity with the audience (good manners, responsiveness to the community) and place of residence. I would like to focus on the latter, because the understanding, perception and appreciation of professional gaming by society varies greatly in different parts of the world. So, in Korea and China, progaming has become more popular than many classic sports: football, basketball and others. In the US and Europe, players are not carried in their arms, but they also feel good.

What does a progamer's earnings consist of? First of all, from the salary that is due to him under the concluded labor agreement. Yes, players have contracts with esports organizations, where responsibilities and remuneration are spelled out. According to Roman Dvoryankin, general manager of the Russian organization Virtus.pro, the average salary of a professional gamer in his project is $ 7,000 a month. At the same time, Dota 2 and CS: GO players earn the most.

The cyber athlete's salary ceiling depends on the success of his team in various championships. So, the highest paid player, a German under the pseudonym KuroKy, earned more than two million dollars for winning the Dota 2 tournament - The International 2017.

For comments on the state of affairs in professional gaming, I turned to Alexander Solomonov, the head of one of the oldest esports organizations in Eastern Europe. I was sincerely pleased with the openness and initiative, with which the head of the company answered several questions from Lifehacker. One feels that the person is in an amicable obsession with the esports movement.

• If you are a player who does not yet have experience playing for professional teams, the chances that you will be immediately accepted into Team Empire is extremely small. There are many such players, and it is very difficult and risky to choose the right ones from them. It is easier for players to start their journey with weaker teams and play in tournaments as much as possible, in those tournaments in which your team will be able to pass. You need to try to show and prove yourself.
• Simple games in "pubs" and online leagues have not been canceled either. Professional players are one of the most important sources of information. They can notice you and recommend you to their management.
• maintaining your own social networks;
• game streams;
• interviews, press conferences, participation in promotions from sponsors and partners;
• communication with fans and much more.

The second, and in some cases the main income of the progamer - prize money from tournaments - I would like to mention separately.

Everything is "simple": he won the competition, received his million dollars and divided the money between the team members.

A million dollars for toys? Aha! And this is far from the limit.

In 2011, such an award was one of the first to receive the Ukrainian team Natus Vincere (Na`Vi) in Dota 2 for winning The International, the largest annual cyber competition held under the auspices of the notorious Valve company. Na`Vi can be safely called one of the most successful esport organizations in Eastern Europe. “Born to Win” (from Latin Natus Vincere) has behind them victories and prizes in many international tournaments, including a couple more hits in The International prizes. The organization has rosters in other e-sports disciplines, but they are in the shadow of the successes of the main fighters.

But back to The International, so that you can fully experience the full scale of the event. The tournament is held in a single discipline - Dota 2. All players of the main event receive a monetary reward for participating in the tournament in proportion to their merits. The foundation of the prize fund is laid by Valve from its own pocket, it also takes over the organization of the qualifying competitions, the flight of the players, their meals and accommodation at the tournament venue, and so on. Three to four months before the main event, Valve invites Dota 2 fans to buy the Battle Pass for The International.

The Battle Pass is a set of in-game content dedicated to a specific tournament. Buying a pass gives you access to new game modes and unique bonuses.

The Battle Pass costs about $ 10 and part of the cost goes to the tournament fund. Thus, fans of the game from their own pockets thank the pro-gamers for the presentation. In 2017, The International's total prize pool totaled over $ 23 million. The winning team, Team Liquid, got 10 million of that amount.

But the progamer is not fed up with The International alone. There are many less profitable tournaments throughout the year, but they can also make very good money. It is gratifying that among the most stable, worldwide recognizable and interesting leagues are ours, for example, the Starladder and. Representatives of the latter do a lot for the development of esports, holding spectacular events in Moscow, Kiev, Minsk, Warsaw with the involvement of players from all over the world. I would like to thank the WGL team represented by Ivan Zhivitsa and Alexei Kornyshev for their work, however, as well as for answering Lifehacker's questions.

Alexey Kornyshev Project Manager for Esports at Wargaming

But being the best of the best or being in the right shape on a consistent basis is "slightly" hard. Therefore, many progamers try themselves in other areas, for example, in commenting.

Commenting and analytics

Game broadcasts are supported not only by retired professional players, but also by "rootless chasers" who have never smelled the powder of serious battles. It all depends on the suspension of the language, charisma, understanding of the logic of the game and the desire to be popular. As a rule, the best commentators and analysts (who analyze upcoming games and their results) are assigned to a league or esports organization, for which they are paid a salary. They often act as "minor" commentators at friendly tournaments. For example, Russian-speaking commentators accompany Chinese or American competitions, and vice versa.

Some commentators and analysts have good game skills and do not hesitate to show it during its live broadcast, that is, they are engaged in streaming.

Streaming

Forgotten about Twitch yet? It is there that ordinary users, professional gamers, commentators and in general anyone show their game. And here there are three ways to monetize your work.

The first is Twitch's percentage of the monthly paid users' subscription to your channel in return for some bonuses. Of course, the more such viewers, the greater the amount of the reward. But Twitch's royalties may seem ridiculous when compared to the "subsidiary" revenue stream - viewer donations. Yes, during the broadcast, many streamers communicate with their audience according to the “question-answer” scheme, get closer to it, give the opportunity to broadcast messages for general viewing, for which they receive monetary gratitude. So, one of the most popular English-speaking streamers constantly shows the board of honor to his viewers. Pay attention to the numbers below, they are impressive. Moreover, the summary did not include small donors, of which there may be hundreds and thousands.

The streamer Wagamama received a one-time donation of $ 4,000 in 2015.

Of course, this is an out of the ordinary example, but the fact remains: among the fans of computer games there are wealthy people who are ready to sponsor enthusiasts.

As for Russian-speaking streamers, then, of course, their income is much more modest. Although donations in the amount of more than $ 1,000 and so have slipped here too. For some streamers, game broadcasts are the main income, for others, it is a way to build authority with the ability to get under the wing of a professional organization, for others - an auxiliary income.

In wealthy Asia, streamers can earn $ 800,000 a year, working 90 hours a week. For example, such a salary is due to a former LoL player. But it is important to understand that there are different scales due to the Internet and television. You are not mistaken, in China and South Korea there are specialized TV channels that show exclusively computer games for millions of eyes day and night.

Thirdly, streamers place small banners with advertisements, for which they receive a contractual fee.

In-game content creation

Someone spends all their money on clothes in the real world, and someone in the virtual one. It helps to stand out from other players or just refresh the experience a little. There is always a demand, it remains to satisfy it. The main cream here is taken by the game developers themselves, but the same Valve gives its community some extra money.

Have 3D modeling skills? You can try your hand at the Steam Workshop.

If your work is recognized as of high quality, other players will be able to purchase it, for which a percentage of each purchase will be transferred to you.

So, in early 2015, Valve reported that $ 57 million had already flowed into the pockets of one and a half thousand third-party developers. It is easy to calculate that the average is $ 38,000 for each of them.

Selling characters and rare items

Where there is money, there is a shadow market. Often, beginners do not want to wallow among their own similar weak characters, but there is a desire to immediately rush into battle with a pumped up hero. In this case, you can easily find on the Internet pages selling high-level characters. And the more time it took to pump it, the more expensive it will cost. The price tag generally starts at $ 7 and can go over a hundred. Some streamers combine business with pleasure: they broadcast games, simultaneously pumping new characters for their subsequent sale. Double profit!

Now about swords, armor and horses. The Internet is full of trading platforms where players can exchange virtual things or sell them to each other. Their cost is almost always low, but there are exceptions.

For fun, tell me, how much are you willing to give for a unique item in a computer game?

Most likely, your figure was not lying around with the generosity of a Dota 2 fan, who laid out $ 38,000 for a virtual collectible value.

Moreover, the purchase does not give the owner any advantages over other players, this is just an extremely rare courier model, the uniqueness of which is not known to 99.9% of all gamers. The seller got the courier for a symbolic penny, however, multiplied by chance. Anything can happen.

Tote

It may seem strange to someone to equate esports with sports in the usual sense, but not to bookmakers whose online offices accept bets on a wide variety of virtual competitive events. As in the "adult" sweepstakes, there are a lot of losers and a thin layer of those who have a steady income. It is trite: he who does not play does not win!

By the way, the esports world has had its own noisy scandals related to fake results. Individual players or entire teams "leaked" matches for one reason or another. Cheating became public knowledge, and the participation of the guilty in the most worthy tournaments was prohibited.

Moviemaking

Do you have the skills of video editing? Then why not try your hand at creating videos on the topic of computer games? Such channels are popular on YouTube, which pays fees based on the number of views.

And you don't need any video cutting at all. It is enough just to press the keys and upload the passage of games to the Network in order to make good money. The clearest example of this is gamer PewDiePie, whose YouTube channel boasts 57 million subscribers. As of 2016, the Swede earned $ 15 million in 12 months. Of course, these are not only video hosting royalties, but also embedded advertising.

Conclusion

I have been watching esports for several years. The movement is growing. Maybe not at the same pace as in the West and East, but the trend is clear: the disorganized youthful enthusiasm has been replaced by an adult structure with good budgets. This can be seen with the naked eye even by such an outside observer as me. The people involved are of the same opinion.

I hope that among the readers of this article there are people who know the esports industry from the inside. We are waiting for their comments with their vision of the current state of affairs and the future of professional gaming.