Top 10 Profitable Gaming Business Ideas

The gaming industry is one of the biggest in the US, amassing over 95.4 billion dollars according to the IBS World.

What testifies the popularity of gaming is also the fact that the industry has grown three times since 2012.

The industry of gaming is experiencing rapid increases in market value looking back to 2012 when the sector was worth around 31 billion dollars.

With such potential and growth, a portion of the industry is reserved for gamers who would like to start a profitable gaming business.

The dream of many gamers is to start a gaming business that could generate hefty profit and live their passion.

If you are looking to start a business in the gaming industry and require some ideas, we’ve got you covered.

Here are some of the top profitable gaming business ideas that could help you kickstart your business.

1. Start a Gaming Blog

Starting a blog is rather simple and you can kickstart your gaming blog in a day or two.

Creating and running a gaming blog is one of the best ways to start earning from gaming.

At the same time, blogging won’t take much effort as long as you are able to create valuable and interesting content.

But how do you make money from a gaming blog?

You can monetize your efforts through ads and unique visits, while you can also earn from sponsorships once your blog grows and draws more attention.

You can always start a free blog, but we recommend paying for a domain and choosing a name related to the gaming industry.

You can write reviews on the games you play, as well as create news articles for new and upcoming games.

You can also create guides and write about interesting gaming finds.

How Much Can You Earn with a Gaming Blog?

On average, gaming bloggers can earn anywhere from $200 to $2,500 per month during their first year.

Once you establish your blog with quality content, sponsorships, ads, and endorsements, you could potentially earn from $3,000 to $15,000 per month. 

2. Create a Gaming Channel on You Tube

Gaming channels are among the most popular on YouTube, and you can make substantial income if you manage to attract followers, subscribers, and viewers.

The best way to engage your audience and establish your online presence is to create quality and interesting content.

You also need to know how to promote your YouTube channel via social media.

Your channel can revolve around gameplays, reviewing games, finding easter eggs, or trying out different games.

Starting a YouTube channel is free and it will only take minutes of your time.

Any camera that you have can work perfectly well for your YouTube gaming channel.

You only need your computer with a working camera and a couple of games to start with, and you are in the business.

Have in mind that there are hundreds, if not thousands of YouTubers who are into the gaming industry, so you’ll need to have a unique angle and engaging content to start making money.

How Much Can You Earn with a Gaming YouTube Channel?

According to Marketing Hub, you can make around $18 on every 1,000 views on ads.

After you reach 1,000 subscribers, you can earn anywhere from $10 to $300 on average from AdSense.

When you reach 10,000, you will be able to get up to $200 per video on YouTube. With 100,000, your revenue can even touch $2,000 per video.

YouTubers with 1 million subscribers typically make at least $60,000 a year. This number can vary from topic to topic, while gaming holds a spot among the top popular categories on YouTube.

3. Start a Gaming Café

This business venture may take a lot of planning, more serious financing, and a clear business plan. Starting a gaming café can be a rather lucrative business, however, unlike the previous ideas, this business requires a bigger startup investment.

To start a gaming café, you will need to invest in renting space, furniture, consoles, and computers, as well as video games.

You will also need to have a strong internet connection and make sure that your café is strategically positioned.

Location-wise, it is best to open your gaming café in a residential area. You will be making money on an hourly basis, based on the time the gamers spend on your computers and consoles.

To start a gaming café, carefully plan your business and create an infallible financing plan that will help you properly allocate your investment.

How Much Can You Earn with a Gaming Café?

The money you make with a gaming café greatly depends on your marketing strategy and location.

If your equipment is well-maintained and your prices are fair, gaming cafes can make a profitable business.

On average, gaming cafes can generate up to $800 every 4 hours on a single customer.

4. Start a Console Rental Business

Depending on the regulations and rules on a local and state level, you may need a license to start renting consoles.

Another thing you need to start a console rental business is an initial investment. You need to buy consoles, games, and gaming accessories. One of the most important things here is to make sure that your inventory is stacked.

You can promote your business on social media, and you may not need to rent a place.

You can deliver consoles door to door and establish a security system that will prevent theft of your consoles and gaming accessories.

Make sure to keep your business legal to avoid any possible problems. 

How Much Can You Earn with a Console Rental Business?

With a console rental business, you set your own price terms.

You can decide whether you want to charge an hour or per day. You can also combine the two options and come up with different pricing plans.

Some consoles, like PS5 in 2022, are quite expensive, so you should also come up with a security system, like a rental deposit or something similar.

With a well-worked security system, you can mitigate losses and prevent theft, as well as cover for possible damages to your consoles.

5. Become a Professional Gamer

While this is probably a dream come true for many gamers out there, becoming a professional gamer is not an easy venture.

It also doesn’t happen overnight.

To become a professional gamer, you need to focus on one genre and practice to become the best.

Only the best of the best become professional gamers and are paid by sponsors to play games and compete against other gamers.

This is how you can make substantial profits, however, there are many steps to take before you can get the opportunity to become a professional gamer.

Here’s where to start if you wish to pursue this profitable career:

  • Pick a platform, game, and genre that suits you the best
  • Practice and rely on learning from your mistakes
  • Watch tutorials and similar content to help you become better
  • Invest in proper gaming gear and accessories
  • Find your gaming team
  • Compete in games
  • Become a part of gaming communities
  • Attend tournaments and competitions
  • Get sponsored

Once you get sponsored, you will start earning as a professional gamer.

However, you can also get hefty prizes from winning tournaments and gaming competitions.

How Much Can You Earn as a Professional Gamer?

Professional gamers can compete in different tournaments and competitions and win hefty cash prizes with their teams.

Professional gamers are also paid in salary by game development companies.

You can earn anywhere from $19,900 to $187,200 per year as a professional gamer.

6. Play Blockchain Games

Blockchain games are the new “it” thing at the intersection of blockchain technology and the industry of gaming.

Numerous blockchain games could help you earn valuable in-game items and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens).

You can sell these valuable assets on special marketplaces.

Other blockchain-based games will let you earn cryptocurrency that you can hold or sell on cryptocurrency exchanges.

There are hundreds of blockchain games that are a part of the Play and Earn sector.

Here are some of the top Play and Earn blockchain games:

  • Hash Rush
  • Alien Worlds
  • Axie Infinity
  • The Sandbox
  • Decentraland
  • Gods Unchained
  • Star Atlas

How Much Can You Earn with Blockchain Games?

With blockchain gaming, it all depends on the market value of in-game items, tokens, coins, and NFTs that you acquire.

The Play-and-Earn sector always involves incentives, hence the name, but the profits may greatly vary based on the market value of crypto and blockchain-based assets.

7. Start Selling Games

Buying and selling games across different sales channels can be a lucrative business that you can easily start with a minimal investment.

You can start selling games that you pre-order, while you can also sell older games that you have in stock.

You can generate fine profits with older games that you find at lower prices and discounts, while you can also sell second-hand and new gaming gear for consoles and PC.

How Much Can You Earn from Selling Games?

Selling games will probably be more of a side hustle where you don’t need to invest much of your time.

On average, video game sellers and resellers earn between $3 and $8 per one sold video game.

In case you work out a system and start buying discounted and pre-order games, you can probably earn more.

8. Become a Gameplay Tester

To become a gameplay tester, you will need to land a game testing job.

In a nutshell, game testers play early versions of console and PC video games.

Their job is to report bugs so that the development team could fix any lags before releasing the final version of the game.

Aside from having a chance to be among the first to play a game in the works, game testers can also earn well.

These are the skills that most gaming companies are looking for in a gameplay tester:

  • Previous and extensive experience in gaming
  • Strong communication skills
  • Understanding basic troubleshooting – you will need to know how to recreate specific sequences that cause bugs in the game
  • The ability to follow up with the game’s narrative
  • Technical writing
  • Critical thinking
  • Be a team player
  • Attention to detail
  • Passion for gaming and exploration
  • Tolerance to repetitive tasks

Many gaming devs and companies are also looking for other qualifications, such as education and specific degrees.

Here are some degrees that could help you qualify and land a job as a game tester:

  • Software development
  • Software design
  • Game design
  • Software and game quality insurance
  • Computer Science
  • Software engineering
  • Computer Programming
  • Graphic Communication

If you think your skills and education meet the described criteria, you can apply for open positions available on the job markets.

How Much Can You Earn as a Gameplay Tester?

The salary for a game tester may greatly vary on your location and level of skills and expertise. An average salary for a game tester in the US is around $55,000 per year.

9. Create Gaming Tutorials

Online courses and tutorials are becoming increasingly popular, and the gaming industry can also relate.

There is a myriad of websites, blogs, and YouTube videos that serve fresh material on new games, including gaming step-by-step tutorials.

You can create your website, start a blog, start a channel for gaming tutorials, or enroll in one of the platforms with online courses as a course seller.

You can create numerous sales points for your tutorial content.

How Much Can You Earn with Gaming Tutorials?

Depending on what channel or platform you are using and what type of content you are creating, you can earn anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to $100,000 per year.

You can create video gaming tutorials, set up a blog, and even create related courses for multiple sales points.

10. Start a Game Development Business

If you know how to code, design games and graphics, or you have all these skills, you can start a game development business.

The chances are that you will finish your project faster with a team of equally skilled people, so you’ll need to find a dev team for your game.

As a good start, you can come up with a few ideas and outline your game development project.

If you are lacking funds to start your project, you can always create a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter or similar fundraising platforms.

How Much Can You Earn with a Game Development Business?

An average salary for a game developer in the US is $130,500. However, developers behind the most popular games can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars on sales.

If you have a good idea and you know how to develop and produce games, you might have the next “it” project.

Wrapping Up

Those were some of the most profitable gaming business ideas that we researched and listed for you.

Browse through your options and make sure to have a concise business plan if you want to turn your business idea into a profitable venture.