Are you wondering whether you should choose gaming as a career or not? Is it true that Indian Esports Athletes earn millions? So, recently Sc0utop and 8bitthug revealed that an average top Esports athlete earns almost INR 15 Crores per year. Surprising isn’t it? A mobile device costing INR 10000 can earn you INR 15,00,00,000. So, let’s understand what is the true income of Indian Gamers and how can you become rich while playing games.
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| Esports Players Income |
What is the monthly salary of an Esports Player?
Scout stated in a podcast that the minimum monthly salary of an Esports Player is INR 1 Lakh. The salary as per his statement is true. But these are for players who compete in big tournaments, pool prizes, and those who play for various Esports Organisations. It is worth mentioning that this does not apply to every gamer. The salary of an Esports athlete depends on various factors such as his achievements, his trophies, his skills, and his fan following. So if you’re planning to seek gaming as a profession, you need to understand that at the start of your career, it is quite possible that you won’t even earn INR 1000 unless you achieve something.
What are the various sources of Income for an Esports Athlete?
The sources of income of a star esports athlete include sponsorships, prize pools, and salaries. The top Esports players like Scout earn more than INR 15 Crores per year. Let's put that in perspective how big is the gaming industry? On average most of the Bollywood actresses earn almost the same amount for doing a film. And that too when the gaming industry is still beginning its journey. The effects of the ban on BGMI and Free Fire have stalled the growth of the industry but the market is too big.
To understand how they are earning so much money, first, let's digest the fact that professional players like Scout and Mortal, etc are top Esports players in the country. That means they are the best in their field (the top 0.01%). So, if any individual is best in their field, there is no denying that they won’t be earning that much money. For eg, the top 0.01 % of professionals in the field of Cricket, Acting, Healthcare, Engineering, Chartered Accountants, Lawyers, (not to mention politicians), businessmen, bloggers, etc earn a lot of money as compared to the Esports Players.
Can the love for gaming make you rich?
To be honest, because you play video games it doesn't mean that you are a gamer. There is a term “Casual Gamer” which means you play games just for fun and entertainment. And then there are hardcore gamers which are the true gamers. Each individual is not the same and so it is possible that you are not made for gaming. But at the same time, it is also possible that the urge and dedication to be an Esports athlete can do wonders for you. These established athletes have worked hard for what they achieved now. In a podcast with Shamani, Scout revealed that in the early phase of his career, he didn’t even have a proper mobile for playing games.So, it is very important to understand that earning money is not easy from gaming. But at the same time, things will work out if you keep hustling.
How is the life of an Esports Athlete?
The life of an Esports athlete can be understood by an example of the top 0.01%. Young Gamers are often misguided by the visually appealing lifestyle these players portray. Continuing the professions mentioned above, to be on the top requires dedication, hard work, discipline, and motivation. On average a normal esports athlete plays video games for more than 12 hours a day. A good player always competes. He is memorizing the maps, making strategies, planning attacks, working on weaknesses, overcoming shortfalls, and understanding the opponent. Any sports whether it's cricket or soccer or esports. It puts pressure on you mentally and physically which again needs time to master. That requires a lot of time if you’re a student or a young gamer. Everyone is looking at the success but the hard work behind these are overlooked. 8bitthug stated that when he started his youtube channel, he was streaming with 0 viewers each day. The money, supercars, foreign trips, and expensive clothes all come at a cost and that cost is hard work. Remember success requires sacrifices.
Should you choose gaming as a career?
If you’re looking for a straightforward answer at present, I would recommend not focusing completely on gaming as a career. There are a lot of options to earn money as a gamer like a streamer and esports player. But if you aren’t one of these you can still earn money by making games (developer) or writing a blog about gaming. Anyway, becoming a streamer or a competitive player is not easy at present. The market is completely saturated after the ban of BGMI and Free Fire. The market of PC gaming is not that open for Indian audiences as PC games are still a luxury in the Indian market. The audience will not connect with you if they haven’t played the game. Streaming casual games will not make you rich if you’re not well-established. You’ll need something unique and entertaining at the same time to make your place in the gaming community. Please do not take it as demoralizing, it is the reality which is necessary to understand. A gaming channel will need a good device and good internet.
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A brief process of creating a gaming youtube channel includes recording your gameplay (the good one), editing your videos, adding voice-over, music, thumbnails, and an engaging script. If you’re planning to become a streamer, your personality is the main USP that will attract viewers, gameplay being the first USP. In the end, it is important to understand that gaming is not a professional career at present. You can always have a side hustle but to all the young gamers who aspire to become an Esports athlete, always have a backup plan. But at the same time, if you genuinely feel (1000%) that you can become “THE ONE”, go for it.
Does Gaming have a future in India?
Gaming has a lot of scope in India. The Indian Gaming community has only seen the tip of the Iceberg. Let’s rewind in time and understand what happened in the gaming industry. The Internet became free with the advent of Jio, cheap mobile phones were available in the market and in the year 2018 PUBG was launched, and then BGMI was launched in the year 2021. So, for reference let's take 2018 as the starting year of the gaming profession. In only five years, Indian gamers have proved to the world that India is also a part of the gaming world. We have dedicated ESports Organisations, Esports athletes, live streamers, game developers, and a very ambitious amount of gamers. All this happened when both the games were banned simultaneously. So the question that remained unanswered is What If the Indian government didn’t ban the battle royale games and the games were available at present? In terms of revenue, it is expected that the Indian gaming industry will reach US$1.26bn in 2023.
In the end, Gaming in India is at a bottleneck situation, let us just hope that the government has plans for the industry.
