Playing video games has become so lucrative that many players have added playing video games to their small business activities or income streams. The rise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has even expanded the industry to include NFT games, which have created further monetization opportunities for gamers. With NFT games, you can tokenize your in-game assets to be swapped, bought, or sold at a profit on an NFT marketplace.
However, NFTs are still in their infancy stage and have yet to go mainstream. Aside from NFTs, there are the usual ways to earn money through video games. You can get paid while you play live, create video game tutorials, farm out characters you’ve leveled up, test games, and so on. However, the most typical and, we can bet, the most fun way to earn money by actually playing games and joining video game tournaments. Whatever way you choose, you can rake in a lot of cash if you’re “seriously playful” enough. Here are a few ways that gaming platforms can help you earn.
Earn while having fun
Dream11 is the biggest fantasy sports game in India. Created in 2008 by football enthusiasts Harsh Jain and Bhavith Seth, the game has more than 100 million users today and a valuation of $2 billion. Users first create their teams with real-life players. You can choose from several games on the platform: cricket, kabaddi, football, and basketball. The users win cash prizes based on how the teams they have created perform in the selected game. One major cash winner is Sumit Kumar, who has played his way to the top of the game and has won around a million rupees.
Minecraft is among the most popular video games today, having around 140 million users today. It is a popular construction game that was created by Mojang, a Swedish game developer. The game is an “anything goes” kind of game. Players can do whatever they want in the game. If you have some design knowledge, you can also join the Minecraft Partner Program. This program allows you to create add-ons, skins, realms, and other Minecraft assets and sell these in the in-game marketplace.
Rummy King is a legitimate site that allows you to play what else but Rummy. It is a free online Card and Slots game where you can compete against other live users all over the world or with your nearby buddies. The goal of the game is to be the first player to meld assembled groups of three or more cards of the same rank or consecutive sequence in the same suit. You can earn by playing this game with real money. Just download the app and join their daily free tournaments to win millions of cash prizes.
Pool enthusiasts aren’t left out of the fun. With 8 Ball Pool, you can compete with some of the best players in the world in this turn-based online game. If you need to boost your confidence level, you can first play in the practice arena to hone your skills before joining the pros. When you’re ready, you can join the players at the Pool Table where you can play singles or doubles games. You can join these games for free. However, if you’re in for the dough, you’ll need to submit an entry fee to participate in the cash games. As you get better at playing, you can compete in real money games with higher values.
This popular gaming platform is targeted towards both sports and card games fans. Players of the game can select from among fantasy cricket, rummy, football, call break, horse racing, etc. to win daily cash prizes. Similar to other gaming platforms, Paytm First Games gives users a chance to practice and level up their skills in their selected practice teams. Once a user is confident enough, they can invest in a paid contest, choose their category, select their fantasy teams, and compete away. The gaming app offers cash prizes and rewards to its users every month. Winners can also use points won to purchase discount vouchers of brands available on the platform.
Poker gaming platforms allow players to play online poker on their mobile devices. Just like full-blown online poker games, there are also real money cash games and tournaments. You can start playing by downloading the app, and then make the required deposit fee on the app to join the cash games. Because most Poker apps have full banking functionality, it is easy to get money on and off the app. And there is good money to be had from this gaming platform. Medium stakes games like NL100 and NL200 can get a skilled player from $1,000 to $4,000 a month.
Technically, this isn’t a gaming platform, but we’ve included it because it also offers potential monetary rewards. Xcel Online Surveys app is India’s first online panel. Today, it remains to be its largest survey platform, being trusted by close to 5 lakh people in India. There are several ways you can earn through this platform. One, you can participate in the online surveys and get paid to do so. The payout will depend on the topic of the survey and the complexity of the questionnaires. Another way to earn is by inviting your friends and family to take part in the surveys. For each successful referral who joins through your link, you can earn 10 INR.
Gamers who have struck gold
The video gaming industry isn’t just huge—it is ginormous. With a current value estimated at $162 billion, this is even expected to grow to $295 billion within five years. And gaming platforms are just the vehicle by which the video industry continues to expand. It is no wonder that such gaming platforms have catapulted many to stardom. One such example is Ajey Nagar, more popularly known as Carry Minati. The famous Indian YouTuber has a channel called CarryisLive that is dedicated to gaming and live streams. He also live-streams himself playing video games and has even hosted live streams on his channel to raise funds for the benefit of calamity victims. At only 22 (he was born on June 12, 1999), he has been recognized as among the 10 “Next Generation Leaders” in 2019 by Time Magazine and was listed in Forbes’s “30 under 30” in April 2020, in Asia.
The gaming platforms have also made multimillionaires out of several gamers. Here are the top 10 rankers with the highest overall earnings: Johan Sundstein ($7.17 million), Jesse Vainika ($6.47 million for), Anathan Pham ($6 million), Sebastian Debs ($5.77 million), and Topias Taavitsainen ($5.69 million), Kuro Takhasomi ($5.21 million), Amer Al-Barkawi ($4.82 million), Ivan Ivanov ($4.6 million), Lasse Urpalainen ($4.51 million), and Maroun Merhej ($4.21 million).
Final Thoughts
Of course, to reach what they have accomplished, you first need to have a decent understanding of these games and gain some impressive skills to outthink, outwit, and outplay the competition. And then again, if you’re just out to earn some money to augment your regular income, you can just chill and have fun with any of these gaming platforms. The choice is yours.
Author: Bash Sarmiento