Whether you are a video games who has always dreamed of working in the industry or a self-starter looking for your niche, you may want to know how to earn income in the video games industry. Here’s a list of opportunities that the industry offers.

1. Game development
The average cost of producing a video game may vary between 1 to 4 million US dollars. In addition to this, one has to find the right people to do the job, meaning programmers, graphic designers, and many others. Not to mention a project manager who would oversee staff and deal with all administrative tasks like licensing, marketing and budgeting.

Investment of time
You can obtain the necessary funds for game development through crowdfunding or pitching to an investor. No matter which option you go for, be aware that developing a game takes loads of time and can even span several years. Profits, however, can be much higher than the initial investment, even within the first days of the release.

Licensing costs
Also, keep in mind costs related to licensing. For example, developing for Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, or PlayStation 3 requires an SDK license fee of between US$2,000 – $10,000. Add to it yearly developer fees, some profit cuts, and total expenses are by no means small. Development costs for Xbox Live Indie Games, on the other hand, require only the sum of $99 per year while Creators Club membership and Microsoft take 30% of sales.

2. Game publishing
If you’re not interested in developing video games, you can always get involved in publishing. That’s a costly venture as you need to subsidize game development and cover the costs of marketing activities. Plus, the marketing budget can often double the actual cost of developing a game. So what does the game budget cover? Game promotion in the form of banner ads, discs, manual books, print ads posters, gadgets, TV and radio commercials, in-store promotions as well as displays. And if you sell a game in a digital format, then digital distribution fees come into play.

Getting the game to distributors

On top of that, creating a distribution network among wholesale or retail businesses consumes plenty of time, money, and effort. A good idea is to establish a good relationship with distributors. Generally, if a game sells well, distributors will want to buy it anyway. Obviously, getting your game in the minds of the public is extremely costly, but once the game becomes a hit, you will not regret the initial investment.

3. Start a retail or wholesale business
Another way to make money in the games industry is to sell games to the public. In other words, it is about being a part of the distribution network – a wholesaler or a retailer who sells games directly to end users. Depending on whether you want to sell physical or digital games, your expenses will vary. With boxed games, you will have to organize and secure premises, pay utilities, and salary to the staff.

Get involved in digital distribution
If you plan to sell digital games, the in-house CodesWholesale API will help you save tons of time on supplying video games to the end-client. Once you have connected your store to CodesWholesale, your customers will enjoy instant access to a broad catalogue of digital games. And, of course, your store will earn a significant profit from sales.

4. Create game content
Seriously, you can make money on video game content. Come up with reviews, how-to guides, walkthroughs, gameplay or simply live-stream on Twitch. There’s a huge demand on the market for any content related to video games. The more readers or viewers you have, the more opportunities you have to monetize your ideas. What else is a possible source of video game income? You can place third-party ads on your website or just run them on your YouTube channel. This works nicely if you sell digital games with the help of CodesWholesale API technology.

5. Offer marketing services for the games industry
If you are familiar with the world of games and can put yourself in the shoes of the player, you may pursue a career in marketing. There are tremendous opportunities for marketers in the games industry out there. You can set up a company that will carry out promotional campaigns for game developers or publishers. It may not be easy to break through as some game companies already have their own marketing agencies. Nevertheless, if your head is always full of gaming ideas, why not give it a try?

About the author

Tommy
Tommy
Gamer and marketer. Knows how to sell video games. B2B e-commerce educator.