Gaming as a job

There are some persons who make a living playing video games. I'm talking about people who play in Esports tournaments and make money from them. Games like League of Legends, StarCraft, Counter-Strike and Super Smash Bros are some games that pay you well if you're good.

I am interested to know: do you like the idea of a person that makes a living by playing a video game? is it a real job?

I think so. You’re forgetting the fact that actual people who make a living for this kind of stuff are very few, because these people have to be extremely skilled. So yes, good for them if they can do it.

Yes it is a real job you have to practice daily for many hours to hone and sharpen your skills. Sometimes it can be a bit boring too.

Most of those people that play in the big tournaments make WAY more money from YouTube, twitch, and other streaming platforms. If they can pull it off without cheating... then why the hell not. For all the ones out there that are though.. you'll get caught eventually and have to get a job sooner or later.

You have two kinds of people who make money off playing games. Those that go to ESports, EVO, etc, competing at extreme levels of skill requiring unhealthy hours of playing games. Usually burning out and not being worth it. Making very little money long-term.

Then you see a lot of other people make money playing video games that can't compete on the highest levels, they're refereed to as "Influencers" which I guess means being a mix between an entertainer on camera and an understanding of the current trends in gaming.

I imagine the skills you need for that is less related to gaming and more research, professional voice and speech training, & acting classes. Along with common health and beauty arrangements too if looking good on camera is a focus, all depending on your audience.

Wouldn't consider any of the following myself.

Because gaming for me is relaxing entertainment after a hard day at work, or better yet binge a good game on some holidays. What I'm getting at is I never considered gaming a job for me. Always the player never the one looking to profit. Turning gaming into a stressful workload that for majority isn't financially beneficial just seems impractical. For every millionaire you read to name that is an 'Influencer', at least one thousand more are scraping by barely paying rent in a cubicle. Never leave your dreams behind I guess, but lucky for me playing video games for money was never mine. If one really is serious about it though, best of luck to you, however I wouldn't say throw all your chips in that one basket, perhaps just try it out as a hobby for a while and see if you're finding an audience at all.

Regardless my current dream in gaming is for Capcom showing the new Flagship for Monster Hunter 6 sooner rather than later_

Honestly it sounds kind of miserable to be involved in gaming as a job.

• If you test games, it sounds thankless; low pay, no credit (usually), and due to NDA and other secrecy measures, you're generally testing a small section of a game for days on end, reproducing bugs, etc. so it seems mind numbing.
• If you develop games, well, it can be gratifying and you get credit, but it's often not what people imagine it is from what I've read. Very few people in game development actually get to be "creatives", most just code or work in regular jobs like accounting, HR, and so forth. I think many people start off making mods for games and sort of having their hand in all aspects of the mods--making maps, creating in-game models, writing code, etc--then when they get into "real" game development they're sat down in a cubicle and told to get to work with no real outlet for creativity.
• If you're an influencer, it requires A LOT of hours and you basically turn what is a hobby into a full-time job. I Imagine if you are good and building a brand you can get some decent income, but for every person with a million views, there's thousands with only a few hundred views. The odds are not in your favor to be successful. I Think the right way to approach the whole "influencer" thing is to start small and don't quit your day job; a lot of my favorite people I watch on Youtube started small and specialized and are still humble, and outside of that community are not really known at all.
• If you do it competitively, oi vey...not likely to make money. Competition is strong and you're never really on top for long. Couple this with the marketization of the esports trade and there's a lot of bad business being done; long hours, no insurance or healthcare, soulless corporate sponsors, and a lot of bad egos.

Honestly if I wanted to "game" as a job, I'd probably get a job in development or just start a casual side project making videos and seeing how that goes.

Ideally I'd somehow come into some wealth, get a part-time job, then spend 20-30 hours a week making tutorial or "let's play" videos or something for a game. I think it'd be good for me as I'd finish more games and it'd be a way to get a bit more disciplined about it as I tend to drift from game to game haha.

It's a real job if they make a living.