The Viability of Gaming as a Career

With the growing popularity of the gaming industry, we see more and more aspirations, of typically younger generations, wanting to dedicate their careers to playing. While esports and professional tournaments have been around for a while now, garnering a decent amount of attention, and naturally serving as an ok opportunity for those good enough to compete, there are a plethora of unique challenges to consider.

This article will go over said challenges, ideally, presenting a fair, and balanced outlook on just how likely it is for one to build a successful career in the gaming industry, and how ripe will the fruits of the labor be, if they manage to get there.

Esports and Professional Gaming

As mentioned, the world of competitive gaming, or esports, has seen tremendous growth, with global revenues expected to surpass $1.8 billion by 2025. This surge has created opportunities for skilled players to compete at the highest levels, potentially earning substantial prize money and lucrative sponsorship deals. However, the path to becoming a successful esports player is fraught with challenges and uncertainties.

For one, you have to put in 10 to 12-hour days as practice, consistently to even hope to get past the potential millions trying to outperform you. The objective reality is, that this much time dedicated to gaming is not physically healthy, and can lead to potential issues in the future.

Combine this with not only the volatility of games, meaning that based on potential declining popularity, your game of choice may also be taken off the tournaments, rendering the skills you attained, potentially useless now, as well as the fact that most esports careers, unlike regular sports where you can make up for the decline in athleticism through skill and experience, last very short, due to the reaction time and reflexes slowing down as quickly as early to mid-20s. 

Still, even if you defy the odds and become a pro, here are some additional things to consider.

Pros of Gaming As a Career:

1. Potential for high earnings: Top players in major tournaments can win millions of dollars.
2. Fame and recognition within the gaming community.
3. Opportunities for sponsorships and brand deals.

Cons:

1. Intense pressure to perform consistently.
2. Unstable income: Prize pools and salaries can vary widely.
3.  Limited long-term career prospects.
4. Potential health issues from prolonged gaming sessions.

It's worth noting that while some tournaments offer massive prize pools (e.g., Dota 2's The International with its $40 million prize pool in 2021), many smaller tournaments and league contracts offer more modest compensation. 

Casino Gaming in the Gaming Market

While not something one might typically imagine, when discussing gaming, casino gaming represents a significant portion of the overall market, with online gambling revenues expected to reach $92.9 billion by 2023. This sector offers a different set of opportunities and difficulties compared to competitive gaming.

Whatever challenges we mentioned for esports players, many are amplified in the poker world. Still, those who do choose to go pro tend to do it in a game where they have a significant level of control, and where the outcome is not entirely dependent on luck.

Poker is undoubtedly the best option for those seeking a strategic card game. Firstly, a player chooses a reputable online poker establishment, such as Ignition Poker, and then begins the learning process. The pro-poker scene is very competitive though, and the said road will naturally be long and difficult. However, with the convenience of such platforms, it’s possible to play in ‘Practice Mode’, advance your poker skills, and eventually get to the point where you compete for significant jackpot amounts – which can amount to up to 1,500x the player’s buy-in, particularly, through high-stakes live tournaments. 

For the average person, poker should probably represent a means of entertainment. Only a handful will be talented enough to pursue it as a career. No matter how far-fetched it may sound, poker at the highest level is quite difficult, mostly due to the competition being so fierce. However, if someone is truly passionate, has the skills and the necessary discipline, as well as a clear understanding of the pros and cons of the career, success in professional poker is not out of reach.

Content Creation and Streaming

Content creation offers an alternative career path for those passionate about gaming but not necessarily aiming for esports stardom, for one reason or another. Platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok have enabled gamers to build audiences and monetize their content through various means.

While the barrier to entry is astronomically lower here, when compared to esports and pro gaming, the challenges are still very much present. Firstly, the market is oversaturated. Content creation is a very attractive path for millions of people around the world actively uploading videos. You will have to stand out of the crowd of said millions, and nowadays, simple playthroughs or Let’s Plays are not going to be enough without an already established audience that was there for a while. 

You will need something extra to even start having a chance, whether that is a skill in a game, editing, unique and interesting commentary, or perhaps some information about the game that you can share as a guide. If you manage to establish some form of a core audience of a decent size, you can start considering streaming, which is going to give you an outlet to be less creative, and simply interact with your community while playing.

However, even if you do everything ‘correctly’, it is important to know that success is never a guarantee in this industry. After all the YouTube algorithm is what dictates what goes into the recommended pages. All you can do is maximize your chances through various approaches, and hope for the best.

In addition, content creation is simply not for everyone, as no matter how nice of a person you are, and how uncontroversial you present yourself, there will be people leaving annoying, and sometimes quite disturbing messages in your comment sections. If you are not ready to simply ignore these, and brush them aside, the online world may not be for you.