How Much Money Can A Pro Gamer Make?

by Klaus on February 7, 2020

in Gaming

If you’ve been playing video games for a while, then the thought has definitely crossed your mind. “Maybe I could be a pro one day”.

There are a lot of pro gamers out there doing this for a living. Why couldn’t you be one of them? Those pros came from the same background as you. They weren’t born with natural talent.

They found something that they enjoyed doing and spent enough time to get really good at it. Then they took the next step and went pro.

Before you decide to see if you can make it, too let’s take a look at how gamers make money and how much they make. Whether you are a girl gamer, or guy, there is some money to be made so read on!

Sponsored teams

There are game companies that have teams for a particular game and then pay the team. According to Unranked Smurfs, Riot pays their League of Legends team $12,500 per player to start. Those players don’t see all of that money, however.

And clearly it is not enough to quit your job. If you are a teenager, that can help toward college tuition at some point, however.

The way it works is that each team collects the money from the game company, but is also able to make money for their team in other ways. The figure above is the minimum keep in mind. As a team gets better that amount obviously increases.

Once a team starts winning championships, then other sponsors start getting on board, also. A brand like Corsair who make gaming chairs are eager to support teams that have proven that they have a following of fans.

How much can a player make as a pro on a team? A good player on a very good team can make up to $30,000 more or less. It is highly dependant on the game they play as well. Riot, who makes League of Legends, can pay up to that number for their top tier players.

Prize money

So, your team is getting good and starting to put up some wins. You’re making a decent income from the team payroll and sponsors. Once you get to that level then there are plenty of high level tournaments that you will likely be playing in.

Those tournaments have respectable prizes in cash to be won which add to your earnings.

A world championship for a big video game like League of Legends is in the millions. The team winning the pot takes it all. You can easily see players making well over six figures each for a championship win. Even the coaches and support take home quite a bit.

Even the second place team can take home over a million to split which also equates to low six figures so not at all shabby to come in second.

Ad revenue

You don’t have to be good enough to play on a team and win championships to make money. You do have to be good enough for people to want to watch, however.

Popular streamers on Twitch are making great money from ads. With thousands of views on a live stream, or even later as a video, they get a few dollars per thousand views. It may not seem like a lot, but when you get big those numbers rise with your popularity.

Some streamers are making up to or even over $100,000 per year by streaming on Twitch.

Let’s do the math. If you have a stream that hits 15,000 views, then you can make as much as $300. Do that every day and you are making close to $10,000 per month which ends up at $100,000 to $120,000.


Yet another way to add money as a gamer is to ask for donations. It is not very consistent and it likely won’t be enough to go full time, but it can pad those other income streams nicely.

People will give their favorite streamers donations through sites like Patreon because they like the content and want to see more. They feel that by supporting the gamer, he/she will be motivated to continue.

There are also incentives like extras that only patrons get to see. It can be a private viewing party or the chance to play in a game with the streamer. It all depends on what the gamer is comfortable offering.

Affiliate sales

There are plenty of products that gaming fans would love to know about. As a pro, you can promote these products that you think your fans will appreciate. When they use your link or code, then if they make a purchase within a certain amount of time, you get a commission.

This is probably the toughest of the ways to make money as a gamer, though as many people watching those games are not in buying mode.


There are a lot of print on demand apparel companies that you can partner up with and sell your own line of merch. Just design some yourself or hire a designer and make some t-shirts for example.

You then promote them on your stream and your fans can buy them through your link to the product. Then they get printed by the company and sent off. You don’t have to preorder any and don’t deal with the shipping. All you do is upload the design and promote.

They can be about anything, too. You don’t have to make it about you. Make some witty puns that you think a gamer will get a laugh out of and want to wear themselves and you will surely have some sales.


There are so many ways to make money doing what you love these days and gaming is definitely one of them. It does take some dedication and lots of hours in front of the monitor, but you can make it. For a while you will not see any signs of hope, but if you keep going then you may end up living your dream.


{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Amrinder February 7, 2020 at 16:16

Thanks for nice article and writing down alot off information about gamers how much they make money of playing games.

Harry Smith February 11, 2020 at 10:34

hey Klaus,
Great post as usual. I really enjoyed reading it. Since my childhood I was really interested in gaming and later I wanted to be a professional gamer and I am trying my best to join any organization which will pay for me. By the way, Thanks for sharing it. Keep up the good work.


Previous post:

Next post: