Gamers Pan for Gold in Video Game Streaming

The growth of online video game streaming has greatly increased the monetary opportunities for professional gamers.  Players that have historically relied on the income from their professional teams and from tournament winnings now have an opportunity to supplement their income.  The growth especially helps semi-professional players that are either unsigned or lack the capital to attend the major international events.  The income that the streaming provides allows these semi-professional players to quit their regular job and dedicate more of their time to refining their skills or attended the aforementioned tournaments.    

            Several of the big names in online gaming such as, EGIdrA or HotshotGG of CLGaming may average between ten and twenty thousand viewers every time that they stream.  This popularity can provide these streamers with a very substantial source of income.  For instance, if the streamer averaged 15,000 viewers and played three advertisements per hour they could potentially earn a six figure salary from streaming alone.  But along with the streamers that have appeared to strike gold, there are numerous that are struggling to garner the necessary support for their streaming to be economically viable.

One example of one of these players is Nhat Nguyen, a professional League of Legends player on team EPIK Gamer.  After graduating from Pacific University several years ago, Nhat has dedicated a majority of his time playing League of Legends.  He streams on average for 6-10 hours per day.  However he averages only around 500-1000 viewers at a time.  The two most commonly used video game streaming sites, www.own3d.tv and www.twitch.tv usually offer $2-$3 per thousand viewers per ad.  Nhat has said several times on his stream that he makes below minimum wage.  He claims that even though he is making less money than a regular job does, he find his current occupation enjoyable because of how fun that he and his viewers receive.

One problem that the video game streaming industry is facing is the rampant use of adblock by viewers.  Some steamers claim that around fifty percent of the viewers are using adblock or don’t receive advertisements in their countries.  As a player relying on ad views for income, having half of your audience not viewing them can greatly reduce revenue.