Parents have always said that you can’t make a living just by playing games, but what if you could? With the rise of the internet and technology, many young people are choosing to “stream” themselves, by recording themselves in real time of them playing video games for other’s entertainment, as a career choice. You probably have heard of platforms such as Twitch and YouTube, where people stream themselves for hours at a time and wonder how they make a living from getting a few dollar donations once in a while? You might be a bit surprised that one of the world’s biggest streamers “Ninja” makes more than $500,000 a month from simply playing video games.
Ok, but how can you make more than a doctor, lawyer, surgeon etc by simply playing games? To understand this topic, you have to divulge into the economics of the gaming industry. The gaming industry is growing rapidly. In 2017, the gaming industry was worth US$18.4 billion dollars and is expected to hit US$230 billion by 2022. Globally in 2018, the industry was worth over $130 billion. It is clear that the gaming industry is growing rapidly, and gaming will represent a big chunk of the entertainment industry. This couple with the rapid rise of technological devices in the last few years such as phones, computers and TV’s has really put gaming out there as a major part in the industry.
However, how do individuals make money from this then? Especially when “streaming” as a career takes up the majority of your day? Well, a lot of people end up failing and starving in this profession, despite all the stories you hear of Twitch streamers earning thousands a day. They only represent a very small number of what a streamer truly is. Whilst people may see a humorous, talented person on the screen, it is often different when the camera is off. Many streamers stream long hours, up to 12 hours a day, get little to no exercise as well and have little social lives or free time. Depression, anxiety and sleep deprivation and rampant, which stem from fears of fans no longer watching. New streamers often have to find a new job to supplement what little they make streaming, and thing such as, “overtime, vacation and sick leave” don’t exactly exist. Whilst playing video games sound like a fun thing to do, it often loses its appeal very quickly, when you have to do it for up to 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.
With the gaming industry and streamers set to expand even more now, especially with the new threat of COVID-19, forcing many to stay home in quarantine, many new people are set to try and turn this hobby into a career.
Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_(video_game_player)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/237749/value-of-the-global-entertainment-and-media-market/
Year 11 MHS Economics 2020 