Esports and EMoney — The best combo ever?
Stories always fascinated us as human beings. More so, the storytelling on the big screen has its own magic. For example, when I first saw the chariot race in Ben-Hur, I was awestruck. The same happened with the scale of the scenes in Lawrence of Arabia. The impact of that movie was so great on certain minds that a Speilberg was created out of it. Later came many masterpieces which we movie lovers cherish.
It was the same with gaming too. The storytelling aspect has become a gamer’s reality. He gets to live the character and experience the protagonist’s journey. While I was growing up, gaming was meant for fun. Fast forward to another decade all of a sudden it has become a mainstream career vehicle.
There were times when I dreamt of a fancy handheld device where I can carry along my games and movies and play them to my will. It became a reality earlier than I expected and how. There are many firsts in our lives we get to experience in our journey. With technological advancements, nothing seems impossible today
The point I am driving here is how gaming has evolved into a mere mode of entertainment to a mode of earning in the same league of celebrities and real-world professional legends. Just take a look at this mind-numbing numbers of top esports players earnings.
The rapid growth of the eSports industry is already bigger than we realize. Take Call of Duty, Fortnite, League of Legends, PUBG and it is hard to believe that there are millions of players logging in each month to play.
Microsoft has announced on 21st September 2020 that Xbox Game Pass subscribers have jumped 50 per cent to 50 million subscribers in less than 6 months time. With thousands of channels streaming on Twitch and YouTube, there are millions more who watch the game too bring the viewership of casual viewers to 307 million by 2021 globally.
How is Esports doing this?
Where does the money come from in esports?
- Tournaments: If you ever played COD or PUBG you are well aware of this already. For example, there is a new company called 7Sea Esports which provides a platform, empower raw talents from around the world and help them showcase their skills on global platforms and compete in tournaments. Many gaming enthusiasts and fans alike love to attend live events. It is their chance to compete with like-minded people with similar tastes and talents and prove their worth, forge new connections, join new teams virtually. That has given a huge opening for many tournament operators. They make money from ticket sales.
- Sponsorships: What better opportunity to showcase and promote than such arenas where there are people from various demographics for companies. All video game companies try to make their presence felt by sponsoring leading esports teams and solo players for these tournaments.
- Advertising: Nothing is complete without advertising. All events and competitions including live streaming make money from advertising. Advertising costs at such events are at par if not more than any traditional advertising campaigns and growing.
- Merchandise: If you ever attended a comic con you know the scale of merchandise they offer. Right from newbies to most established esports teams sell merchandise to their fans ranging from USB drivers, t-shirts, mugs, caps etc.
- Broadcasting: With podcasts and numerous channels there is a growing number of broadcasters that are willing to pay huge amounts to event organizers for the rights to show the tournaments in their channels.
How can you make a pie out of it?
Be the Expert Gamer
Like any other professional career, it is not easy at all. The competition is intense and the approach gruelling. The pro players spend quality time and resources each day just like an athlete to know and master a game. It is more than a passion and very challenging to turn it into a profession.
However, if you are exceptionally dedicated and have the resources to train 8 to 10 hours per day on coaching, mental and physical fitness, strategies you might stand a chance. You can start a team and compete in various lower-level leagues before climbing leader boards and get noticed. Or you can go alone all in and hope to be recognized and offered a place in an established team.
If you are signed up to a professional team, you can expect to earn anywhere between the US $25,000 — $50, 000 per year apart from sponsorship deals and cash prizes for winning.
Be a Streamer
Unlike YouTube channels, you can create an account on Twitch and stream your gameplay on your channel. Once you gain some subscribers and build your own community of supporters, you can easily make money just by streaming what you play.
The key catch here is to find your niche style. There are already numerous streamers on Twitch. So, it all matters on how you are presenting your games. Be it the funny and engaging commentary throughout the play or the insights you provide makes all the difference. Once people start liking what you offer, you can receive tips from fans, a cut out of Twitch’s advertising revenue and sponsorship deals based on the popularity of your channel.
Betting
Although this sounds alarming it is allowed in some countries where it is legal. If you have spent enough time on a particular game and are confident about the nuances of it, the tactics and strategies of the world’s leading players like Counter-Strike: GO or Call of Duty: Warzone like no one else then you can bet on esports to make money.
There are many online betting sites who now include options to bet on esports like any other sports. Even though it is relatively small, it is a potential way of earning money from this ever-growing industry.
Support Industries
Don’t worry if you are not a pro gamer and unable to make it in gaming. If you are still interested and want to get associated with the fast-growing industry there are many support industries offering tons of regular salaried jobs as well as independent operator opportunities. Few of them are as below:
- Content creation on the events
- Commentating
- Refereeing
- An agent for a team or a player
- Working for video game companies that run competitions.
- Working in the live events management the same you would in an event management side
- Sales, marketing and sponsorship side of video game companies or esports professionals
How to manage such huge money?
As we looked at the possibility of humongous earning for successful players, it’s time to look at how such huge money can be managed.
Irrespective of the industry you are, managing your income is a key factor. Especially so when you are into a global industry like esports. As discussed esports tournaments keep happening across the world all the time. You are bound to pay entry fees to participate. This week you could have paid for a tournament in the states and next week you are required to pay for another in Canada or Australia. These kind of cross border payments are going to cost you a lot in terms of transaction fees or forex. Therefore, it is essential to have an easy, efficient and cost-effective way to manage the money you pay across borders.
It is best to go with new-age banks to experience the ease and comfort of digital banking which is most suitable to global industries like these. There are many banks like PayGlobal, FVBank, Wirex, Xace which allow you to send and receive payments at best possible forex rates in the fastest possible time. PayGlobal is known for its fast remittance too along with being crypto-friendly account with added benefits. You can pay your team members, make in-game payments, order merchandise and much more with such type of accounts without worrying about all the hidden charges and unknown amounts that would shock you later in your monthly statements. These are instant and dynamic and participating in tournaments and depositing your winning money is a breeze.
With that being said, I wish the gamer in you best of luck and now is the best time to explore that side with the world opening up in so many fronts to make your passion into the profession you love.
