Many gamers want to make money from competitively playing games, and they know that esports is often the way to go. 

But how does that work? How does one make money from esports? Let’s take a look.

Esports Tournaments

The main way players in esports make money is by either creating an esports team or joining one. Then they participate in tournaments where they have the chance to win a part of the overall prize pool. 

The esports industry is very mature today. It reached revenues of $957 million in 2019 and crossed the billion-dollar mark in 2021 when it surpassed revenues of $1.08 billion. What’s more, it’s expected to reach $1.61 billion by 2024. 

It’s a massive industry, meaning that the tournament rewards are getting to larger levels with every passing year. Major tournaments in the most popular games like League of Legends, CSGO, and Dota 2 typically have prize pools that reach or exceed $1 million, and the better the team ranks in it, the more money it will earn. 

Furthermore, additional esports tournaments appear each year due to the rise in popularity. But that’s not all, many teams are under contract and are paid for their participation, and in some cases, teams even get a portion of the revenues the games make. Many video game publishers see the benefits of paying esports teams to promote their games. 

Pay-to-Earn eSport Tournaments

Another earning option is pay-to-earn (P2E) esports tournaments that are noticeably different from the traditional esports tournament model. Here, players join forces and create their own tournaments where they get to earn from participation fees, sponsorships, NFTs, and more. 

The pioneer in this sphere is Ignite Tournaments. This company has made it possible for players to either organize their own tournaments with entry fees or participate in ones where they get to farm crypto and compete for NFTs. 

They are the first pay-to-earn esports tournament organization and streaming app, using a model that can appeal to many players looking to earn while they game. Entry fees can become part of a prize pool, but you can also gain rewards in crypto and NFTs that can later be exchanged and sold in the Ignite app.  

Revenue Streams of esports Teams

Many esports teams, especially the more notable ones, don’t rely on tournaments to make money. They have other revenue streams, for example, game publishers that sometimes fund them. Sponsorships are the key revenue channel for the whole industry, not just the teams themselves. Teams and even individual pro gamers are paid to promote games in tournaments or outside of them.

Naturally, reaching these levels takes time. You need to invest hours into becoming a true professional gamer. You need to spend hours every day for months, just as you would for anything else in life. But thankfully, it pays out eventually, especially if you participate in P2E and major esports tournaments. 

Additional Earning Prospects in esports

If that weren’t enough, even more, money-generating opportunities exist in esports. Pro gamers can become streamers on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, where they’ll get to play games as they usually do while streaming their adventures and earning money from their audience. Average earnings on these platforms range from $3,000 on YouTube to $5,000 on Twitch. Gamers and other people can also create their own fantasy teams, make bets on esports teams, or even invest in specific companies in the industry. 

Naturally, this is risky, so it’s better to stick to streaming or possibly even join the esports industry in some other capacity. Many people work in it as it’s a massive industry, and most of them are not even gamers. You can write about esports as a blogger or by working for someone else, or maybe try to become a shoutcaster in smaller tournaments or an analyst. Other than that, major tournament organizers like ECS, Dreamhack, and ESL have countless positions within their organizations, which are much easier to get. 

Bottom Line

All in all, esports is a significant industry today, and as you can see, this clearly means that it offers plenty of opportunities for both gamers and non-gamers. 

Esports tournaments and revenue streams connected to them are the main money-making machines, and pro gamers and their esports teams can certainly make a living from them by showcasing their gaming skills and competing. However, with everything else we’ve discussed, even regular people and casual gamers can find a job in the industry.  With the constant expansion of the industry and novel options like P2E tournaments, we expect only more opportunities to arise over time.