win.gg
Win.gg News How to make money by playing video games

How to make money by playing video games

Jared Wynne
Jared Wynne Published 04/06/2020

We all know that there’s money to be made in gaming, and not just through game development. In recent years, gaming has opened up a whole host of new avenues for potential income. Gaming has evolved far beyond what most ever thought it would be.

Competitive gaming

Taking part in esports is one clear way to earn some money while playing the game you love. Most competitive online games have some kind of ranked system or professional league that gamers can compete in to earn money. Not all of them do offer monetary rewards, so it’s important to keep that in mind as some titles offer in-game currencies and items instead.

If you’re determined to earn some money while gaming, it’s a good idea to look for games with a large competitive scene. Those are the ones with more money and prizes are available. Most such games also involve playing with a team, such as in League of Legends or Dota 2.

Being a competitive gamer takes a lot of hard work and training. At this point, you are no longer playing just for fun. To earn money, you need to spend a lot of time not playing the game, watching how better players react to situations, and studying the evolving meta. The highest ranked players are the competition here, and beating them will never be easy.

Selling items

This isn’t possible in every game, but many online games allow for trading and the potential to earn money through the practice. Digital items and currency like PoE orbs are gaining more of a real monetary value now. So it’s no surprise that gaming items and currency are included in this.

Websites such as Eldorado allow gamers to buy, trade, and sell items or currencies they don’t need or want to keep in exchange for real money. Items can be sold in the game for digital currency of course, but that doesn’t always mean much. There are cases where rare items aren’t valued highly in the game, but selling them on a platform such as Eldorado provides real money in exchange. Plus, selling items provides more of a reward for the often difficult efforts that go into grinding rare items.

After spending the day killing bosses or completing raids, players don’t have to just sell items to the in-game stores for virtual currency. They can look for opportunities to get something real in return rather than throwing away unwanted items and loot.

Having this option can provide a small amount of extra money each month, unless one really dedicates themselves to it. When games allow for trading, there’s cash to be made from them.

Content creation

YouTubers and Twitch streamers are now digital celebrities, and some of them are even becoming household names due to the size of their fan bases. Becoming so popular is hard, but there’s still money to be made here.

It’s all about defining a niche and sticking with it. It will pull viewers in, but one still needs to be good at streaming to keep that attention.

Video game tester

While gaming may be fun for most, testing is a rigorous practice. Testers need to write a lot of reports about the games they’re reviewing. They’re the first line of defence for dealing with bugs and problems that slip through the cracks during development.

Keep in mind that more game developers are now running open alphas and betas through which regular players participate in what is essentially a live testing environment. There are less developers looking for video game testers, and more people are trying to become one as a way to open other doors in the gaming industry.

Jared Wynne Jared Wynne
About Jared Wynne

Jared Wynne is the Editor-in-Chief at WIN.gg, overseeing its content. He has been working in digital media for over two decades, most often in and around the gaming industry. His all-time favorite games include Baldur’s Gate, Doom, and Counter-Strike, but he’ll play just about anything that seems interesting. His previous credits include The Daily Dot, The Esports Observer, GameLand, and more.

View full profile
Read Also
2026 World Cup promos at GG.Bet — expect free bets, bonuses and tournaments News
2026 World Cup promos at GG.Bet — expect free bets, bonuses and tournaments Ian John The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway and one of the top sports betting and casino sites in the world today has gone big when it comes to its promotions for the tournament. GG.Bet, perhaps best known initially for its market-leading esports betting, has operated a sportsbook and casino for some time now and customers of the site can access a fabulous range of offers throughout the tournament this summer. ...
This is how to play the Fury of Anubis slot and land the 10,000x max win Slots
This is how to play the Fury of Anubis slot and land the 10,000x max win Ian John Ancient Egypt has proved to be a fertile breeding ground for exciting and innovative slot games. This is a slot theme that has literally hundreds of releases attached to it, but Pragmatic Play's latest effort could genuinely be one of the finest in recent years. Fury of Anubis is set to release on 25 June, 2026, and it combines a unique take on the genre with a mesmerising max win ...
After a perfect split, C9 might lose LCS playoffs for the 8th time in a row Esports Betting
After a perfect split, C9 might lose LCS playoffs for the 8th time in a row Ben Boland After going 7-0 in the regular season, Cloud9 lost to LYON in the LCS Spring Split playoffs. Despite dominating through the entire split, they now sit in the loser’s bracket after a 3-0 loss. This wouldn’t be alarming for any other team. However, this is already the story of Cloud9’s last seven splits. C9 completed the regular season of the LCS Spring Split 2026 without dropping a single match. In ...
Here is what to expect from the thrilling upcoming Fury of Anubis slot release Slots
Here is what to expect from the thrilling upcoming Fury of Anubis slot release Hannan Mundia Pragmatic Play is preparing to launch the brand-new Fury of Anubis slot. It is set to be one of the most ambitious slot releases of 2026, and here’s everything slot enthusiasts can expect when it comes out. While a handful of themes really shine in the online slot world, the Egyptian theme is a standout. Some slots have gone on to become fan-favorites by incorporating this theme, and Pragmatic Play ...
Rainbet becomes Kick’s first official slot category sponsor Kick
Rainbet becomes Kick’s first official slot category sponsor Khizar Mundia In what has been a hugely busy few months for the Kick streaming platform — which included starting to test adverts — Rainbet has now been confirmed as a sponsor of the slot vertical. Following an initial backlash over ads, Kick co-founder Eddie Craven called adverts “inevitable” after roughly four years of the platform keeping the user experience clean. The livestreaming platform then saw one of its first ads on ...
We played BC.Game’s Crash and this is what we found News
We played BC.Game’s Crash and this is what we found Conn Mc Gillion Crash has fast become one of the most popular casino games around, with crypto casinos all over offering their version of it. The concept focuses on simplicity, and this is just part of its appeal. BC.Game's Crash is part of their Originals line-up and we recently spent some time playing it to understand exactly why the format works. To go with our BC.Game Crash review, we tried both gaming modes (classic ...
Trainwreckstv breaks record with $50 million win on Coins and Cauldrons Big Wins
Trainwreckstv breaks record with $50 million win on Coins and Cauldrons Hannan Mundia Trainwreckstv has been streaming online slots for years now, but nothing has been more impressive than his record-breaking $50 million Coins and Cauldrons win. Train proved once again why he’s one of the largest figures by making history. His recent win on Coins and Cauldrons had the streamer break his personal record, as well as a record in the online gambling scene, and it helped that the win was live ...