Make Money

How to Become a Professional Gamer and Get Paid (26 Best Tips)

Brian Aird

April 13, 2023

If you want to know how to become a professional gamer and get paid, this is the right article to read.

It reveals a lot to help you really make money as a professional gamer.

Importance

One of the first computer games ever invented was back in 1972.

The manufacturer of the game was Atari, and the name of the game was Pong.

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The system hooked up to your television set and was like a table tennis game in which a spherical item would cross across the computer screen from left to right and right to left with the action of this movement being controlled when the ball hit a bar or the paddles.

The paddles were controlled by two individuals, or you could play against the computer.

Eventually, the speed of the back-and-forth action wouldn’t intensify and go faster.

Additionally, the ball would sometimes hit off of the various sides of the screen and angle off in a different direction.

There were no graphics to speak of.

Video gaming has come a long way.

When video games first became popular, most likely, many parents cautioned their children about spending too much time playing video games.

However today given the popularity of the game and the fact that it is big is less and money can be earned, I wonder if that same advice would still be given.

With all of that in mind, let us power up our video game console or log onto a gaming website and take a look at professional gaming opportunities and how to become a professional gamer and not only get paid but get paid well.

26 Best Ways & Tips to Help You Become a Professional Gamer and Get Paid

1. Practice

As with anything else in order to excel you need to practice.

This is the same process and initial step in wanting to become a pro gamer and there are no shortcuts.

The first step is to master the mechanics of the game and learn the game-specific skills that are associated with the gaming software.

Your practice should bring you to the point that your gaming is second nature and natural that your gaming flow without much thought.

Your gaming becomes instinctive.

Pro players practice their mechanics over and over again.

They endeavor to stay sharp and make a variety of adjustments with improvements in mind.

2. Stream

An important question to ask is whether you wish to be a pro gamer or a streamer.

Pro streamers compete by utilizing platforms that present live gaming.

Those platforms can include YouTube or Twitch and are utilized by pro streamers to grow their own particular channel and build up their following.

Streamers earn money through contributions by their follower, sponsors, affiliate advertising, etc.

A professional gamer is more involved with earning income by competing with a team and earning income from sponsors.

Professional gamers earn money through sponsorships and winning tournaments.

The opportunity to earn more revenue as a professional gamer is greater than a streamer.

3. Choose Your Game

A critical choice to make as it relates to being a pro gamer is to choose your game.

The best strategy is to select one game and become extremely proficient at that one game

Finally, what you want to concentrate on.

Some of the more popular sports games include:

Depot 22
League of Legends
Fortnite
StarCraft II

Below are more articles on particular games you can get paid to play:

4. Select a Genre

Another important decision that these be made is your choice of genre.

There is a multitude of genres available for the gamer with some of those genres being:

Sandbox
Real-time strategy
Shooters
Simulation in sports
And so forth

Of course, you can choose a particular area, but the better strategy is to select one specific area and concentrate on being proficient in that area

for example, your skill set May match a particular category of games that are available.

For example, if you have a good understanding of sports strategy then the potential of utilizing the sports game genre may be your best choice or, if you are good at control there are a variety of street fighting games that you could be involved with which could include Ultra Street Fighter for Roman number four and Ultimate Marvel versus Capcom 3.

5. Platform

The next decision that needs to be made is your choice of platform.

Platforms of choice could include
Nintendo Switch
PC
PS4
Smartphones
Xbox One
And others

6. Gaming Community

Once you reach a level a high level of proficiency at playing games the next important step is to get noticed.

This can be accomplished by joining a community of fellow gamers that can be accomplished by being online or meeting fellow gamers in person.

In addition to the advantage of joining a community is also the opportunity to be around like-minded individuals who can support and help you and hone your techniques for your goal of becoming a professional gamer.

Also, within this community, you can practice together and pick up different skills in playing various video games.

7. Build Your Online Profile

It is important that you continue to build on this strategy of making a name for yourself.

What this means is that the more known you are to players and the fans of the game the more likely your name will be mentioned and recognized in a variety of gaming conversations.

Therefore, it is important to build your online profile.

You can accomplish this by regularly being involved with Twitter and talking about your gaming and games that you are playing, networking with other players and fans via other social media platforms and being involved in conversations and opportunities for photos to be taken.

Also, when you attend various events, it is important to network or be involved with “meet and greet” sessions and get to know others as well.

8. Attendance

One of the preliminary and basic steps before competing at a pro-level is to attend various local gaming events.

Often, when you join a community of fellow gamers, these events will be on your radar, and you can be involved with them in a number of ways.

Some of those ways are just to attend and observe or to participate as a player.

This is the basic beginning of your journey to be a pro gamer and will help you to get acclimated to the process and enjoy the exciting environment as it relates to gaming events.

9. Find a Team

As you progress in becoming an established player and subsequently building your reputation the next step in the process would be to find a team.

The team members that you focus on and select should also have top-notch skills and be able to hold their own in the gaming industry.

Another important factor in joining a team is the bringing together of people who are like-minded and have a team concept rather than trying to be gamers on their own.

Also, the possibility of you being asked to join a team based on your play and your growing reputation.

One site where you can search for team opportunities is Seek.com.

10. Compete in Tournaments

The next natural step in the progression of becoming a professional gamer is to start competing in leagues and tournaments.

This comes following your being involved and your interaction with gaming events that are held locally.

These professional tournaments that you are going to start being involved with will provide the opportunity to observe the process, saturate yourself with the environment, and watch other gamers as they compete in these tournaments.

After you have observed a while and perhaps at the next tournament, you can enter and begin your journey as a pro gamer by entering the competition.

There is nothing like experience and the same goes for the gaming industry and immersing yourself in the event.

In addition to gaining experience, it is important to keep your focus and eye on your goal of being a gamer and competing for various prizes and cash.

11. Variety of Games

Building on your skill as a gamer and working towards being a pro, unless you have already determined which game you are going to focus on, it is important to check as many games out as possible.

This will give you a better idea of what game resonates with you and the skills needed and match your ability and capability.

12. Old vs. New

When starting out on becoming a pro it is best to stick with the game that is already established in the community.

This is a safer method of beginning your pro journey and as part of your strategy.

By concentrating on established games, you can build on your existing skills and experience which will help you to start moving to that Pro level.

However, sticking with traditional games or known games will of course draw greater competition and the greater competition will become more intense.

This may make it difficult for a new player on the scene to begin the journey of ranking up.

Although a riskier venture in picking a new game may boost your career in a shorter time span because the field is not as intense as the number of players involved.

This should be a calculated risk and strategy.

13. Level Up

Part of turning pro as a gamer is to not only study the competition but to see what techniques and strategies they employ to get to their level of play.

To evaluate the play of others and their competition there are several videos that are presented online that can act as training sessions for you that you can incorporate and use some of the techniques that may “up” your game.

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Also, there are professional tournaments that are held online.

It would be a good idea to take these tournaments in and watch how all of the players and competitors play and the strategies that they utilize.

Also, you can watch players as they stream their play on the various streaming platforms.

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14. Pressure Test

In addition, to playing the game a strategy to incorporate to be successful is the management of stress.

This is an emotional and mental element of the game, especially in tournament play and competition.

It is important that you manage the stress and not let it manage you.

Any opportunity that you can get to be involved in a competition that is stressfully related you should take that opportunity so that you can pressure test your techniques, strategy, and skills.

In addition, another strategy or option is to be involved in LAN tournaments.

A LAN tournament is a gathering of individuals with computers and compatible game consoles that utilize a local area network (LAN) for the purpose of multi-player gaming.

15. Study Videos

Another action step that you can continually utilize as you turn pro is to watch and study videos of various professional games.

Significant learning can occur from watching the play of others on how they handle the game and the various tactics and strategies that they utilized in professional tournaments.

Also, it is best to find the most recent play as you can so that you can be familiar with those who are high in rankings from around the world and watch how they play.

16. Talk to Other Players

It is also important in building your network that you talk to other players.

If you are impressed with a certain player, it is a good idea to try to reach out to them and understand how they became involved, the process that they utilized, and the various strategies that they incorporate when playing in a tournament.

Often, these players will be thrilled that you have taken notice of them and would be willing to share.

This can be accomplished by in-game chat options and also by connecting with quality players through social media sites and messaging boards.

Also, invite and welcome a critical eye from these individuals on how you play the game and take their suggestions on ways that you can improve without being offended.

17. Join a League

There are a number of leagues that you can join in order to increase your competitive edge and your practice of the game.

Some of those popular leagues include:

KeSPA
ESL
ESEA
MLG

These leagues give the opportunity for teams to compete in seasonal competitions that eventually lead up to tournaments involving championships.

You can find these leagues online and you can register for the seasons.

18. Stream Your Playing Sessions

It is important to keep active in a competitive environment to maintain your edge.

If there are no available tournaments for a while, a good idea to maintain your level of competitiveness is to stream your playing sessions.

This can be accomplished in your playing sessions with a second personal computer.

Playing on a second computer will manage your potential limited system resources on your main computer.

19. You Get What You Pay For

The gaming industry can be quite an investment of not only your time but your financial resources as well.

The bottom line is you get what you pay for and therefore you need the right gear in order to level the playing field in your journey to becoming a pro.

The items that you should consider upgrading would include :

Gaming PC or laptop
Headset mechanical keyboard
LED monitor
Gaming mouse
comfortable gaming chair
quality surround sound speakers
And more

20. Network

As you continue building a name for yourself and working towards being a pro you will eventually come across other players that have a higher ranking.

Rather than trying to avoid them and compete against them endeavor to connect with them to discuss your love for gaming, pick their brain as it relates to their training methods, discuss game strategy, and what are some of the methods that they utilize in preparing themselves for a tournament.

This can be part of a mentoring process.

21. Sponsor

Eventually, an important aspect of turning pro and being supported monetarily is by securing a sponsor.

A sponsor will help alleviate some of the financial pressure that may be experienced and will help you to devote more of your time and attention to enhancing your game rather than trying to earn money.

A sponsor will typically consider sponsoring you based on your level of play and if secured you will need to wear their product if it is clothing and when competing mention that product as part of their marketing ambassador.

Also, you would need to mention their website in any of your video descriptions and when you attend events.

As an added bonus if you win a tournament a sponsor may be inclined to give you a bonus.

22. Be Professional

When becoming a professional gamer, it is important that your actions also match up with your character and your lifestyle.

When making your way in the gaming industry it is important that you realize that your actions will be on display and therefore, you need to act accordingly so that your integrity is in place and does not jeopardize any of your sponsorships.

23. Find Your Motivation

An important aspect of turning pro with your gaming also has to do with your mindset or your motivation for going through this process.

Certainly, there is money to be made and fame to be realized as you excel in the gaming industry.

However, being motivated by these goals can possibly become unsatisfying and therefore can lead to an individual being a fading star or not being motivated to follow through on their goal of turning pro.

You need to find something that motivates you other than these fleeting items.

Certainly, loving the gaming industry and playing for fun still has its place and can be the motivation that you need to excel.

24. Progression

In becoming a pro it is critical that within every phase of the competition, at different levels, you compete to win or have a good showing.

This means that when you top the scoreboard in the various groups and climb the ladder you will become a name that distinguishes itself in the standings.

It is important that you are familiar with the various levels of the competition and how each of the different systems brings new players into the mix.

Typically, the process involves a player going from public games to matchmaking and then progressing on to the higher levels of leagues and involvement in tournaments.

This system of progression is known as climbing the ladder and is a surefire way of allowing young players to become a name that is recognizable.

25. Get Noticed

It is important to remember that becoming a pro is a twofold process.

The one process is getting good at the game.

The second aspect of the process is making connections or working to help you with that progression or ladder climbing.

This can be accomplished through the creation of strong relationships with players that are ranked higher than you and being invited to private Discord channels where you will have the opportunity to compete and be involved in special scrims and engage in competing with elite players.

This is the environment in which players will stand out and be recognized by pro organizations

26. Balance

By being a pro you need to act like a pro which means that you get the proper care for your body and mind, rest, eat properly, and destress.

As with all things that we endeavor to pursue there must be a balance that is maintained.

Personal Story

Aboard a Navy ship for weeks at a time, there is not much to do during your off-hours when there are no drills taking place or no duties to perform.

There was the odd time with a good movie would be shown on the hanger deck but for the most part, after writing a letter back home it was pretty uneventful.

However, the one exception was the popularity of the dental department aboard the helicopter carrier.

One would not think of dentistry being popular, but the reality was that one of the dental technicians, fondly known as a tooth fairy, had in his possession a handheld Game Boy in which the game of football could be played.

This was back in the late 1970s, but the game was such a hit, despite its primitive nature compared to videogame technology today, it was a most welcome diversion in those uneventful evenings of board the ship.

Getting Paid as a Professional Gamer FAQs

What is the Salary for a Professional Gamer?

The salary range for a professional gamer can range from $19,910 to $187,200.

The average or median salary is $44,680.

How Many Professional Gamers Are There in the World?

According to https://financesonline.com/number-of-gamers-worldwide/ there are 2.95 billion video game players.

There are 8,000 gamers in America that would be classified as professional.

You Can Do It

Playing video games is not your parent’s gaming anymore.

Today video games are taken to a higher level of play and played on game consoles or online.

It is a world of competition played against others and in some cases, serious money can be earned.

You are focused, you have a goal in sight, and you want to be a pro gamer.

You have your game face on.

Conclusion

Videogames have come a long way.

They are more sophisticated, more involved, have additional engaging graphics, challenging, etc.

In addition, the individual playing the game has evolved as well to the point of being sophisticated, aggressive, and engaged.

This combination has now catapulted video gaming into a high-stakes level in which the intensity and increase in the gaming level are matched by the opportunity to earn significant dollars.

Again, this company has paid $25+ million to members: