When video games were first introduced to the world, they were nothing more than a form of entertainment. When children spent hours upon hours playing video games day after day, parents told them that there was no money to be made in video games and they were wasting their time.
Fast forward a few decades and gaming has become one of the larger entertainment industries. Gamers can find careers as game developers, testers, streamers, or even as a professional player. If you’re wondering how you can pursue your passion for gaming and turn it into a career, keep reading to learn more.
Game Developer
Behind every great video game is a team of qualified developers who do great work. Game developers are responsible for the programming aspect of video games, which means they have to learn how to code, troubleshoot code and more.
Being a game developer isn’t easy; you have to spend a lot of time learning the ropes and be comfortable with some fairly difficult math. However, if you want to find jobs in the gaming industry in 2018, your best chance is to learn how to develop games and find a team to join.
Testers
It might sound crazy, but there are people who get paid to simply play video games while trying to discover bugs and other usability issues. However, game testers aren’t simply people sitting at home trying out the newest titles; if you want to be a game tester, you’ll have to get a degree and educate yourself on how game testing works.
The benefits of being a game tester include getting paid for doing something you love, getting to try some of the newest titles before they’re actually released, and working with game developers and other staff to ensure a quality game.
Streaming
Thanks to websites like Twitch, you can start a career as a streamer without having to invest a ton of money. 2018 was the year of the streamer thanks to massive battle royale titles like Fortnite, and streaming doesn’t look to be slowing down as a career anytime soon.
You can start your streaming career as long as you have a microphone, a console or PC to play games on, and software like OBS to broadcast your stream to Twitch. In terms of gaming careers, being a streamer is about as good as it gets. You get to make your own schedule and work from the comfort of your home while doing what you love.
Professional Play
As crazy as it might sound, there are thousands of gamers out there who are considered professionals because of their talent. As long as you’re in the top tier of players for a given game, you have a shot at going pro. Becoming a professional gamer means finding your way into private lobbies with other top-tier players and putting in hours of work every day to get better at the game you’re playing.
Finding a job in the gaming industry isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, but it’s very rewarding. And with all the options you have in 2018, a career in gaming is more realistic than ever before.
