Paid to Play
The world of gaming has had many skilled players come and go; you might even say it had pros before the idea of professional gamers was even an acceptable one. These days, in a gaming industry worth trillions, being a professional gamer is an incredibly well-paid and coveted job. It might seem, to the casual observer, that pro gamers get paid to do nothing but play all day. While, in a way, this is true, there is also a lot of work that goes into becoming and maintaining your status as a professional gamer. You need to be an engaging person, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a game streaming channel to connect with your followers via video and social media platforms. Not only do you need to be a people person if you choose to stream your gameplay, but you’ll also need to have a head for business in order to manage sponsorship applications or requests. If streaming doesn’t sound like your thing, you’ll need to become the kind of pro gamer who competes in gaming tournaments and wins. Whether you’re playing Slingo, Solitaire (doubtful), or something new and exciting like Age of Empires 4, you’ll need to have a particular set of skills and be able to adapt them to different situations if you want to win tournaments or World Cups.
Naturally, every professional gamer has a game theme that they prefer over others. For some, it might be survival games; for others, it might be zombie games (these could be survival or RTS games) or racing games. It makes sense to aim to compete in professional tournaments that include game themes that you like and are proficient in, but being able to do well in a wide variety of game types will, of course, be beneficial as well.
While the pro-gaming industry is still relatively small, when compared to the rest of the gaming industry, it is growing fast. The Fortnite World Cup held in 2019 was the beginning of a turning tide that has more and more people interested in pro gaming and really respecting it as a profession. Let’s take a look at some game themes that are favored by pro gamers all over the world.
Shooters
This is one of the most popular game genres or themes in the world. There are a few shooter games that are currently particularly lucrative in the pro gaming world. Call of Duty, while it is a tricky one to play in tournament format because of constant updates, has awarded more than $4 million in prize money across its franchise to date. Counter-Strike may be an older game but is also played in professional circles. So far, Counter-Strike tournaments have awarded more than $10 million in prize money, and Counter-Strike: GO follows up its predecessor with $4 million already awarded in prize money.
Real-Time Strategy
StarCraft and Warcraft, both from Activision Blizzard, are two of the most well-known and loved RTS or Real-Time Strategy games in the world. When Starcraft 2 came out, it quickly surpassed its predecessor in the arena of competitive earnings. The game is space-themed, which has been a popular theme since the very first video games were released and still keeps pro gamers coming back for more. To date, the StarCraft World Championship Series has grown its prize pool to $1.6 million. StarCraft Brood War has surpassed even that. While professional competitions have now moved to Starleague and SonicTV, the total prize money awarded for this version of the game has now risen to $6 million. While the professional following that Warcraft has garnered is not as extensive as StarCraft’s, professionals playing Warcraft 3 have now won a total of $3,5 million in prizes.
Sports
Sports games have long been favored in professional circles, but the tide has turned on these, and while they are still played, they are not nearly as much of a favorite as they used to be. FIFA used to offer huge prize pots, back when Virgin Gaming was still holding ESports challenges, but as Virgin has become World Gaming, the scene has changed a little. FIFA is still making incredible games and has paid out a total of $600,000 across their franchise to date. Madden NFL was also a big drawcard in the professional arena, but things are a little more uncertain now. However, Madden continues to make incredible games, so there is likely still a future for pro gaming with their titles.
Wrap Up
Of course, there is a whole world of games to choose from if pro gaming sounds like something that you might be interested in. Don’t fret if the game theme you love isn’t mentioned here; the world of pro gaming is constantly growing and evolving. Will you be joining the world of pro gaming soon?
