If you could get paid to play video games, would you? It's definitely possible, thousands of people do it every year, but your options are pretty limited and it might not be as much fun as you think. Still interested? Read on.
Before we begin, let's make a distinction between indirect and direct Sources of income from video games. Indirect revenue does not come from a particular game, but from external activities that can be applied to any game, such as streaming or testing video games. Direct income comes directly from a particular game.
This article is about direct income.. Here are a few games that have real money transaction elements built into the core design of the game, allowing you to walk away from a gaming session with a few more dollars in your pocket.
Team Fortress 2 (TF2) was the franchise chosen by Valve to lead its “cosmetic item market” approach to revenue, which later took it to new levels in Dota 2 and Counter-Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO). You could say that Valve's execution of the cosmetic item market idea really fueled the success of these games.
In short:cosmetic items (called “battery”) make you look different in the game. Some items look better than others, and some are so cool that players are willing to pay money to acquire them. By participating in item trading (also known as "skin trading"), you can trade the items you have (earned by playing the game itself) with another player for real dollars. All of this is allowed, even encouraged by Valve.
This is done through the Steam Community Market , which is an official marketplace run by Valve where you can put up cosmetic items for sale and earn Steam Wallet funds.
CS:GO, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2 are the most popular Valve games, but the Market supports dozens of other games:PUBG, Rust, Black Squad, Unturned, and more.
Note: Steam Wallet funds cannot be withdrawn, so any money you earn can only be spent on Steam games or other items for sale on the Steam Community Market.
If you want to exchange skins for real-life cash, you can use a third-party site like BitSkins (PayPal withdrawal, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bank Wires) or StoneFire (PayPal withdrawal and Bank Wires). These sites have a cut percentage of each transaction. Third party sites can be risky, so be careful when trading!
Skin markets like these are one of the easiest ways to make money playing games.
Second Life is a unique social MMORPG that was released in the year 2003. Is anyone already talking about it? Didn't it fall off the radar? To my surprise, not only is Second Life still going strong, but it also has a strong player-centric economy that you can earn real money from.
It all revolves around the in-game currency, Linden Dollars (L$) . Players can earn L$ by participating in various activities in the game. Some activities are passive, like sitting on camping chairs, while others are active and require certain skills, like creating virtual content and trading virtual real estate.
Some players prefer to save time and spend cash for L$, so you can sell your surplus L$ to other players on the LindeX Currency Exchange for real money. The exchange rate changes based on supply and demand, but tends to hover around L$250 for every $1 USD. With time and perseverance, it is possible to make a profit on the trade.
There is another MMORPG in the same vein as Second Life that is based on a real cash economy:Entropia Universe, formerly known as Project Entropia. Also released in 2003, this game is not a pure social world like Second Life; there are actual gameplay elements (eg hunting, quests, crafting, etc), so it feels more like a traditional MMORPG than Second Life.
The in-game currency is called Project Entropia Dollars (PED) and it exists at a fixed exchange rate of 10 PED for $1 USD. What is unique about the Entropia Universe is that the PED can be withdrawn directly to a bank account, no intermediary services are needed.
In a very real way, Entropia Universe is the closest thing to a game whose economy is intrinsically connected to the real-world value of money. But if the game is fun enough to justify the effort? Only you can decide.
It must be said:Regardless of which of these games you decide to play, there is no guarantee that you will actually make a profit on your time, and an even slimmer chance of earning more than minimum wage.
Do you want to earn money playing games? You will have to put in a lot of hours, which can easily turn the fun game into hard work. You may hear the occasional story of a player making thousands of dollars a month, but they are the exception.
Are there other games out there that allow players to earn money from the game? Please note that there are other ways to earn money by playing games. 6 ways to earn money playing video games. 6 ways to make money playing video games. Do you want to make a living playing video games? It's not easy, but there are several ways to do what you love and still make money. Read more, including streaming, Let's Plays, podcasts, esports, and more.
