However, as their aesthetics and quality have improved, they have become incredibly popular. They're purely aesthetic: they don't increase the character's abilities or impact on the game in any other way.

Skins are downloadable alterations to a game character’s appearance.

Twitch’s top streamers, Ninja and PewDiePie, both earned more than $20 million in 2021. While it takes time and dedication to develop an engaged fan following, if their Twitch channel or Discord server becomes successful they can earn money from subscriptions and audience contributions. Similar to Twitch, server members can donate to server owners, who can withdraw the donations directly via PayPal, or set up a monthly subscription. The greater the bit donation, the greater the emoticons displayed on screen – and stream viewers can compete to ensure their name remains displayed as top donor.ĭiscord is a platform that allows gamers to chat as they play, in groups known as servers. Each ‘bit’ is worth 1.4 cents and the streamer receives one cent of each bit donated to them. Those watching a Twitch stream can tip the streamer via donation buttons, or donate ‘bits’, as in-platform currency. Live-streamingĪnother popular way to earn money from gaming is through live-streaming on platforms like Twitch or Discord. It can also help boost game development and entrepreneurial skills. Roblox has said that young developers have earnt upwards of $30million on its platform. They can then “cash out”, exchanging the Robux they have collected back into real-world currency. Within this, there is scope to develop games that collect Robux.įor example, their game could require players to pay for an item in order to progress, or include a “donate” button for users to contribute if they feel they’ve enjoyed the experience. Roblox allows users to create their own gaming worlds for other players to experience. However, gamers can also harness these in-game currencies for their own financial gain.

The “exchange rate” between real and in-game currencies can be difficult for younger players to grasp, especially if their financial or numeracy skills are still developing. These can be used to unlock new levels or features and represent a significant amount of games’ revenue – 90% of Roblox’s revenue comes from Robux sales. Many games have their own in-game currencies, such as Fortnite’s V-bucks or Roblox’s Robux.

Earn real money in online games