In the age of influencers, streaming, and online gaming, many American children dream of becoming professional gamers. It’s estimated that 234 million video game fans tune in to watch their favorite streamers, and professional gamers like PewDiePie and Markiplier can earn millions from leveraging these colossal online followings for endorsements and sponsorships.
After seeing the massive incomes from these influencers, the internet and video game enthusiasts at GetCenturyLink.com analyzed how much more these streamers make compared to the developers who create the games (spoiler alert—the professional video gamer Richard Tyler Blevins, most commonly known as “Ninja,” earns nearly $2 million more per year than the entire staff that it takes to create the average game).
The 10 Highest Paid Professional Gamers
The 10 Highest Paying Jobs in the Video Game Industry
Additional Gaming Income Info Snacks
- The average hourly wage of all 160 game development jobs analyzed is $34.47.
- While Game QA Testers have one of the most tedious jobs in the industry, they only earn an average of $42,186 a year.
- Preston Arsement earns an average of $1.45 per second, allowing him to bag an estimated $5,208 hourly. That’s 673,968% higher than the national average wage for all jobs.
Methodology
We looked at video game employee job postings on Epic Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Nintendo, and Microsoft Game Studio to find 160 distinct titles. We then looked at Glassdoor.com and Salary.com to find the median salary for each position and compared them to video game influencer earnings found on Forbes. Finally, we looked at the job descriptions and estimated the average total hours of work and necessary education level.
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