It may be hard to believe, but a career in the world of esports can be pretty profitable. Although many people of a certain age do not view it as a feasible career option, recent developments in business demonstrate that this is not the case. Every day, there are a growing number of new people entering the industry, which makes the rivalry quite fierce.
In the United States, the top rewards in a tournament can reach up to $200,000 for a single victory. In several other types of international competitions, the total amount of money up for grabs for the winner of the competition frequently exceeds one million dollars. After then, this enormous sum will be distributed among the members of the victorious team, which is often comprised of five to six players. As an illustration, the total amount of money up for grabs at the Dota 2 International event in 2017 was more than $24 million. After everything was said and done, the winner of first place took home a stunning $10 million in prize money.
Even if not all professional gaming teams receive a paycheck every month, the number of organisations that pay their employees every month has increased in recent years. According to the most recent findings of a survey conducted by Esportsearnings.com, the monthly income of professional gamers ranges from $1,000 to $5,000. Aside from the money they acquire from their other hobbies, such as sponsors and prize money, the highest-paid professional gamers earn up to fifteen thousand dollars every year.
We have compiled a list of gamers who, according to their wages, are making even more money than the people who work the traditional 9 to 5 schedule.
PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg)
After yet another trying year, Felix Kjellberg, the most popular individual YouTuber, revealed that he will be stepping away from the platform for an extended period. In September of last year, he made a payment of $50,000 to the Anti-Defamation League to “move past” the controversy surrounding his anti-Semitic comments. However, he abruptly withdrew the donation after receiving backlash from his fan base. However, Kjellberg’s popularity is as strong as ever, as seen by the incredible 4.5 billion views his videos received in 2019.
Ninja (Tyler Blevins)
In 2019, the most successful gamer was featured on everything from Red Bull cans in supermarkets to bedding in Walmart to prominent parts in ads for the National Football League. Although his viewership was down, his impact was not, as evidenced by the fact that Adidas, Red Bull, and underwear designer PSD all endorsed him. The world of live streaming is being significantly reshaped as a result of his exclusive arrangement with Microsoft. And it looks like the good times are going to continue. Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, has just this month introduced a Ninja character for players to take control of inside the game.
Shroud (Michael Grzesiek)
Michael Grzesiek is a favourite among large game companies such as Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Activision Blizzard because he is not tied down to a single title. Additionally, the ex-professional gamer has an extensive clothing line with the gaming brand Jinx.
VanossGaming – Evan Fong
Fong’s comical playthroughs on VanossGaming have garnered 24.9 million followers and had 1.6 billion views on YouTube in 2019. Since he played the lead role of a monster hunter in the premium 2016 animated series Paranormal Action Squad, which was shown on the same platform, he has enjoyed a certain amount of notoriety.
Nickmercs (Nick Kolcheff)
Nick Kolcheff rose to prominence as a Fortnite player by mastering the use of a gamepad, an approach that is regarded as more difficult than playing the game with a keyboard and mouse. According to StreamElements and Arsenal. gg, it was one of the factors that contributed to him becoming the tenth most-watched streamer in 2019. Twitch took note, and as a result, they offered him an exclusive deal worth an estimated $2 million over two years.