Earning by playing games: streams, tournaments and in-game items – what is realistic

It is possible to make money by playing computer games, but almost never for the playing itself. The money is paid by viewers, sponsors, tournament organisers or game developers, not by the game. This means that the one who earns is not the one who plays a lot, but the one who is interesting to watch, who wins or who helps to make the game better.

This part of the guide covers four realistic paths, the platform rules worth knowing before you start, and the line beyond which “earning by playing” is, under the law, already gambling. Phone apps that promise to pay for playing are discussed in the guide on earning from your phone – here we talk about computer games.

Four paths and who pays for them

Streams: it is not the best player who earns

On streaming platforms you are paid for the audience. For example, the first tier of the Twitch partner programme (“Affiliate”) opens up when within 30 days you reach 25 followers, stream for 4 hours on 4 different days and have an average of 3 viewers. Then you can earn from subscriptions, Bits gifted by viewers and advertising.

The threshold is low, but it means only the right to earn, not earnings. Three viewers bring no money. Income appears when people come back because of you – your commentary, humour, teaching, community. So the better chances belong not to the one who plays best, but to the one who streams at the same time several times a week and talks to the viewers.

What is worth knowing before you start:

• The first months are without viewers. In the lists for the most popular games a new channel stays at the very bottom. Smaller or new games get noticed more easily.
• Stream recordings work for longer. Clips and videos on YouTube are found in search long after the stream.
• Advertising for sponsors and affiliate links has to be labelled – like any other advertising on social media.

Tournaments and esports

In tournaments you are paid for the result: the prize pool is divided among the few best, and the others get nothing. It is a sport in every sense – with training, a team and a very short list of people for whom it becomes a source of income.

When taking part it is important to separate two things. A tournament in which the result is determined by your play is a competition. But if in a “tournament” or “duel” you have to pay money in and the winner is determined at random, it is no longer a competition – see the section on gambling below. A prize from a competition is income: prizes of up to 200 € received not from your employer are not taxed if you receive no more than six of them per year from the same person; when the prize is paid by a foreign organiser, you declare and pay the tax on larger amounts yourself.

In-game items and accounts: what the rules allow

In many games items can be traded or sold to other players. However, before counting the profit it is worth reading what the platform says about it. The Steam Subscriber Agreement states:

• The account is personal. It may not be sold, transferred or charged for the right to use it.
• Steam Wallet funds have no value outside Steam and are not exchangeable for cash. When you sell an item on the platform's market, you get funds for buying games, not money in the bank.
• Items are a licence right, not property. Valve does not recognise transfers made outside the platform.

The practical conclusion: trading items inside the platform can reduce your spending on games, but it cannot become a salary. Selling for real money through third-party websites takes place without the platform's protection: if the buyer disappears or the account is blocked, there is nobody to complain to. Police reports constantly show cases where an item bought online is paid for in advance and never received – the same risk applies to in-game items.

Game testing

A tester does not play for their own pleasure but repeats the same actions according to a plan and describes the bugs: what they did, what happened, how to reproduce it. It is work under a contract with a game studio or a testing company, mostly in English. Separate testing platforms pay for short user tests, but not everyone gets orders there, and not all the time.

If an ad promises to “pay for playing” but asks you to pay for access, training or a “licence” – it is not a job but a scam.

Where the game ends and gambling begins

The Law on Gambling defines gambling as follows: it is a game or mutual betting whose participants, seeking a monetary prize, voluntarily risk losing the amount paid in, and winning or losing is determined by chance or by the outcome of some event or sports competition.

In Lithuania persons under 21 are prohibited from taking part in remote gambling, and only companies holding a permit may organise it. The list of illegal gambling operators is published by the Gambling Supervisory Authority (Lošimų priežiūros tarnyba). Websites where in-game items are “staked” on roulette or paid “boxes” with random contents are opened work on the same principle: you pay, and the result is determined by chance.

Gambling is not a way of earning: the organiser's profit is the amounts lost by the gamblers.

A more realistic option for someone who likes games

If you can talk or write about games, you do not need an audience counted in thousands: reviews, tips and comparisons with an affiliate link earn from the first reader who buys something on your recommendation.

Frequently asked questions