Playing games for many is rarely seen as anything other than a fun hobby. However, if you’ve ever tried completing Dark Souls or nailing every challenge in Myst you will understand skill and dedication involved. More and more teens see gaming as their potential future. This value should be rewarded and Dean Anderson, Gamestatix believes that it won’t be too long before it’s possible for every player to make a Living just by playing video games.

Value shared and rewarded

Developers need dedicated players with the insight and experience to review their work and provide crucial feedback at different stages throughout the creation of their games.

Players are also needed to create game mods and additional in-game content to extend the life of titles, and, increasingly, to help in the promotion of games themselves.

There are many sites that reward users with virtual currencies for various activities such as playing and reviewing online games. However, without being pegged to cryptocurrencies, these rewards can be used only on the site itself, or be converted into retail vouchers.

There are a number of platforms working to change this system by allowing anyone to sign-up and start making money.

Steemit is a blogging and social networking ecosystem fuelled by blockchain-generated Steem and Steem Dollars for creating and engaging with content.

Gamestatix will use a similar model, allowing developers and players to effortlessly find each other and collaborate on many innovative titles. And for every value contribution, players will receive cryptocurrency rewards that can be used to buy games, or be exchanged for traditional fiat currencies.

Get paid for more than just playing

Consider all that goes into the creation and promotion of a game, and it’s clear that a connected global talent pool of players could make all the difference.

Experienced players are already making masterful additional content that can be used in a variety of different games, and players are constantly sharing social content around their favorite titles, but they have, until now, rarely seen financial rewards for their efforts.

Players will be soon able to establish themselves as third party developers, playtesters or micro influencers, and earn a living doing so.

This new model will be a revolution for the industry, and for the millions of dedicated players who have fuelled it for decades.

Current limitations to your earning potential as a gamer

There are currently a number of ways for players to monetise their gaming skills and insight, but they come with notable limitations.

Livestreaming: as soon as internet speeds allowed it, players began broadcasting their play sessions to thousands of transfixed users. Twitch is the most well-known platform, but it’s being rivalled by YouTube gaming.

Charismatic players can also make ad and subscriber revenue through podcasting, vlogging, or creating detailed game guides.

However, players can only make decent money by building a huge following and allowing ads to be run off the back of it. Only the most popular commentators manage to make a living from such activities.

Tournament gaming is another way to make money solely from playing games, but you’ll have to be world-leading to beat the competition and win any cash prizes.

Other platforms host competitions and sweepstakes, but often require a lot of time and effort for a small chance of winning a cash reward.

The use of in-game currencies is cited as evidence of players getting paid, but they are often redeemable only inside the platform and lack real-world value.  One of the few exceptions is the Sims-esque SecondLife. In this online virtual world, players can get a job or set up digital businesses. They use Linden Dollars, which are exchangeable for real world currency. Famously Anshe Chung became a millionaire through her SecondLife virtual assets.

One highly sought-after way to make a living from gaming is by becoming a playtester. Its popularity makes for fierce competition, and jobs are offered only by multinational studios, or in piecemeal form by agencies.

Playtesting is also quite an isolated process, with no real opportunity to work directly with developers to co-create and promote games. In the future, I imagine a system where players are financially rewarded for their contributions to the video games industry as a standard. The fruits of their labour, such as additional content, will be protected by smart contracts, securing the ownership and licensing of such digital assets.

Eventually skilled player will get financial rewards for playing and promoting games, creating content, and for collaborating with developers. This will create the option for players to make a good living doing what they love.

About Gamestatix

Dean Anderson is co-founder of Gamestatix, an upcoming social platform for the co-creation of PC games that recognises, encourages and rewards user contribution, whilst giving game developers access to global pool of talent to efficiently generate, curate and promote their content. The company was founded in 2016 by Dean Anderson, Visar Statovci and Valon Statovci.

Gamestatix is currently preparing to launch a Token Sale – a form of crowdfunding for cryptocurrency and blockchain projects. www.gamestatix.com