Method Stats:

• Setup time: a few minutes to create an account, but setting up your live streaming equipment, software, and content may take up to a few days
• Age threshold: 13+, but some platforms limit monetization to 18+ users
• Time of payment: every month

Streaming has taken off in the past few years, generating an average of around 2 million daily viewers on Twitch alone.

It’s a great money-making idea if you’re good at playing games and enjoy being in front of a camera. You can stream for a few hours at a time and interact with your audience to foster a sense of community.

Streaming platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook offer partner programs, allowing streamers to accept ad revenue and tips from their audience. Video game streamers can also earn money from brand deals, sponsorships, and merchandise sales.

The amount of money you can make depends on your following’s size. For example, the Canadian streamer Shroud has an estimated net worth of $8-$12 million and 10 million+ Twitch followers.

How do I become a gaming streamer?

1. Create a Twitch or YouTube channel

In the past, only the best gamers in the world were known to the general public. Nowadays, anyone with a YouTube or Twitch account can show off his virtual skills to the rest of the gaming world. You can do this in two ways. By livestreaming, or by managing your own gaming channel.

Livestream

Suitable for beginning streamers

The most accessible form of streaming is the livestream. You’re funny or good at the game, or not. Whatever it may be, people can watch with you. You connect your PC or console with your YouTube or Twitch account and people can instantly watch what you’re doing live. Unless you use a game capture or special software, the footage isn’t recorded. That way, your friends can watch you play live.

Videos

** Suitable for advanced streamers **

In addition to livestreams on YouTube, Twitch, or Hitbox, streamers often have a YouTube channel. The advantage of this is that you can make the videos more attractive by only showing people the funny or exciting moments. So you break 8 hours of livestream footage into chunks of 15 to 20 minutes. Of course, this takes time and you need special software to cut scenes and make videos more beautiful with effects.

2. Get the right items

What do we need for serious streaming? From Fortnite to Counter Strike or FIFA, people watch online gameplay. Most streamers gather their audience by concentrating on one popular game. Create an account on popular streaming sites like YouTube or Twitch.tv, so you’re more likely to reach a larger audience. Start with choosing your game.

3. Play on a powerful PC

Nothing is more frustrating than a game that stutters or just doesn’t look good. Not only for you, but also for your audience. So make sure you have a PC with a powerful video card, enough memory and, last but not least, enough storage space to store the footage in high quality. Does the game only stutter while you’re streaming? Then a video card upgrade is the best way to improve performance.

4. Choose a game capture

Whether you have 1, 2, or 100 viewers, without a game capture your kill streak, blooper, or funny joke will be lost after your livestream. With a game capture, the images and sound of your game are stores on your hard drive. Are you playing on a console?

Then a capture card is even more important, because most consoles only have basic streaming or sharing functionality Make sure to check the specifications to see if your game capture is compatible with your platform. During streaming, you need a streaming app such as XSplit, OBS, or Streamlabs OBS. You can download these apps via their won websites.

5. Use a stream deck

The most popular streamers use awesome overlays, backgrounds, and other interactive elements in their streams. How? Via a stream deck. This is a little box with various buttons with LCD screens. You can assign function of your stream to these buttons, such as gifs popping up, overlays, or soundboards, or you r Be Right Back screen, for example. Thanks to these buttons with various functions assigned to it, you can control your stream while gaming.

6. Provide a stable internet connection

When the image is displayed grainy or stuttering to the audience, viewers will of course quickly drop out. So it’s important that you have a fast and stable internet connection. Streaming works best via a wired internet connection, because these are often faster and more stable than a WiFi connection. Are you all the way up in the attic? Then read our tips on how to play the game through a wireless connection.

7. Communicate with gaming headsets

People watch not only for the game, but also for you. One of the factors that can make a stream or channel successful is interaction with the public. With a clear microphone or gaming headset, you ensure that your audience can understand your jokes and tips. Many streamers also use a good webcam, so your viewers can read the emotion, passion, and concentration of your face.

8. An awesome gaming mouse

As a trendy streamer, you obviously don’t play with a standard mouse or keyboard. With a gaming keyboard and mouse, you give yourself an advantage in games and show your audience you’re not a casual gamer.

A gaming chair not only prevents back problems, but also looks impressive. Viewers are often interested in your material and with reviews or unboxing videos you attract more viewers, and perhaps even samples of sponsor brands.

Tips from our YouTubers

Finally, we’ve asked our streaming Coolbluers to give you some tips:

• Stick to a schedule: whether you livestream or upload videos, make sure that people know exactly where and when they can follow your digital adventures. This’ll bring people back and you can build a regular audience faster.
• Find the interaction: many successful streamers talk to their viewers. Make a chat or answer questions via your stream chat or via social media like Twitter.
• Vary your content: you can’t always be funny, play the same level, and get the most beautiful Play of the Game. So stream new games, hold a contest, and make sure you have a serious video sometimes (or not).
• Don’t give up: at the start, you of course won’t have full chat rooms, you’ll only have one a handful of viewers. Don’t let yourself be demotivated and don’t forget that it’s important that people see that you like to stream.