How Do I Earn Money On Twitch Selling Games

Twitch.tv is one of the most popular ways to make money as a gamer. There are several huge streamers making more than just a living on Twitch – Shroud, Ninja, and Summit to name a few, it’s definitely possible to make good money.

One of the main advantages of Twitch is its low barrier to entry, as long as you have the right hardware and software anyone can stream on Twitch and attempt to start earning money as a gamer.

Jul 22, 2021 When you decide to stream on Twitch, subscriptions are one of the most common ways to earn money. Subscriptions are also what a lot of streamers prefer, because it gives you recurring income.

What You’re Going to Need to Stream to Twitch

A decent internet connection

Twitch recommends an upload speed of at least 3 Mbps as the bare minimum, that speed should be able to produce a stable 720p 30fps stream. More bandwidth will enable you to stream up to 1080p at 60 fps.

Games

You obviously need a gaming system and games that people want to watch, PS4, Xbox, Switch, and PC are your best bets. There’s a bit of a balance between streaming super popular games like Fortnite or Apex Legends or streaming something a little more niche so you don’t have to compete with a lot of other streamers.

Streaming hardware and software set up

There are several kinds of setups you can run when streaming, let’s quickly run through some of the most common ones.

Streaming from Xbox or PS4

The great thing about streaming to Twitch is you can get started with a little as a PS4 or Xbox, they have built-in capture cards and software to stream directly to Twitch. All you need to do is create an account on Twitch and plug-in credentials onto the streaming app on your Xbox on PS4.

With this setup, you’ll be able to broadcast your gameplay and capture your mic to interact with your stream.

Streaming from the Switch

The switch, unfortunately, does not have built-in streaming software so you’ll need to a capture device and a streaming PC. We like the Elgato HD60 for streaming Nintendo Switch gameplay.

The Elgato HD60 is a standalone device that will capture the video and audio from your switch and feed it into your PC for streaming.

Connect your switch to the Elgato HD60, your Elgato HD60 then connects to your PC and a display.

The streaming PC then handles broadcasting to Twitch with streaming software, I’d recommend Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), it’s the industry leader and completely free.

The combination of the Elgato and OBS allow you to add overlays, graphics, and alerts to your Nintendo Switch stream, you could also use Elgato with an Xbox or PS4 to enhance those streams as well.

Streaming from the PC

If you’re a PC gamer with a strong CPU and GPU then you’re in luck, all you need is OBS to broadcast your gameplay to Twitch.

Twitch recommends your PC having at least an Intel Core i5-4670 CPU (or the AMD equivalent) and 8GB of RAM to be able to broadcast smoothly. The stronger your computer is, the higher quality you can make your stream.

A note on streaming software

Streaming software like OBS lets you really enhance your broadcast with a bunch of nice features, it’s worth it to take the time to set up a good broadcast scene.

OBS handles all your video and audio sources and lets you build scenes with overlays, text and other features to enhance your broadcast. It’s completely free and open source with a lot of big-time streamers relying on OBS to perform.

With OBS you can put together your gaming video, gaming audio, a webcam and a microphone in one scene so you have a cohesive and interactive stream.

There are alternatives to OBS if for whatever reason you don’t find OBS suitable, take a look at Xsplit, Elgato Game Capture or Wirecast.

Stream enhancements

A webcam and a microphone go a long way in helping you build a following and improving the interactivity of your stream. These are things you likely already have so you can connect them into OBS and add them to your broadcasting scenes.

If you don’t already have these, the most popular Twitch mic and webcam are the Blue Yeti and Logitech C930 respectively.

Gaining an Audience on Twitch

Leverage existing social media channels and promote

If you already have some kind of presence or following on Instagram, Twitter, Reddit or Facebook you can use that to tell your followers that you’re live streaming on Twitch to get started.

Be really really good at a game

If you’re obscenely good at a game you’ll start getting viewers on your stream pretty quickly. Of course, if you’re not already really really good at a game you’ll need to practice a ton to get there.

Entertain and engage

A lot of streamers have strong personalities and gimmicks on their stream to keep viewers entertained rather than focus on their gameplay. It’s better to have both but streamers like Dr. Disrespect have blown up in popularity due to how entertaining their personalities and streams are.

Stream consistently

You have to stream consistently and often to build a relationship with your audience, set a schedule that you can commit to and stream regularly. Early on, you might be streaming to a few people or even no one but if you continue to promote and improve your stream you can hope to start capturing an audience that follows you as you grow.

Making Money on Twitch

Games

There are 4 primary ways to make money on Twitch once you’ve started gaining a following.

Subscriptions

Viewers on your Twitch channel can choose to subscribe to your channel with a $4.99, $9.99 or $24.99 subscription or a Twitch Prime sub if they have an Amazon Prime subscription. When you get subscriptions you split the money with Twitch 50/50.

You can incentivize viewers to subscribe by offering perks such as custom emotes, ad-free viewing and other exclusives, as well as acknowledging and shouting out their name if they subscribe during the stream. For you to get sub alerts you’re going to need services such as StreamLabs or StreamElements to enhance your OBS with overlays.

Donations

StreamLabs and StreamElements can also help you set up a donation button on your stream that will allow viewers to send you a message visible on your stream for you to interact with. Donations usually process through Paypal and are one-time where you keep the entire amount.

Twitch also has a currency called bits that are essentially microdonations that happen on Twitch instead of Paypal. Twitch does take a cut of this money but it is built into the Twitch platform so less set up required, but you have to be a Twitch partner first.

Advertising & Sponsorships

Once you get large enough you can get Twitch partnered to start using their advertising platform as well as selling direct sponsorships yourself.

Affiliate & Merchandise

You can have your channel page link to products you use or love and make a commission off of any sales you make, Amazon is the most common, easy to set up and has a ton of products you can link to. Some recommendations would be to link to the gaming mouse or gaming keyboard you use.

You can also design and develop your own merchandise and sell if you have big fans that want to rep or support you as a streamer.

Making Money Livestreaming and Gaming on Twitch

Even with a good streaming setup, it takes a long time and consistency to build a sizeable audience and even then it’s not guaranteed. Be sure you’re okay with not making much money at all for a prolonged period of time and you have income coming from elsewhere.

Last updated Jul 6, 2020

Twitch is a streaming service primarily marketing to video gamers. That’s a big market: there are an estimated 2.7 billion people worldwide who play video games. It’s not a surprise then that Twitch has grown rapidly since its start in 2011.

Twitch offers video gamers a chance to live-stream their games online. The concept is simple, but it caught on quickly. Today, Twitch has become one of the biggest sources of web traffic in the US, with 15 million daily users and 2.2 million streamers.

While Twitch showcases live streams from across genres - including “in real life” and music performances - gaming is still the dominant genre. On Twitch, you can find streamers playing nearly every game imaginable, from retro favorites to the most popular new releases.

For the top broadcasters on Twitch, the platform provides a path to making millions of dollars a year. It’s not quite as lucrative as YouTube, even for the top broadcasters, but it’s not terribly far behind. In this article, we’ll look at the ways users monetize Twitch and how many of them are now using Brave as a key income source.

Making money on Twitch - Where to begin?

How Do I Earn Money On Twitch Selling Games Now

A Twitch account and equipment

Go to Twitch.tv and create an account. Make sure you have the right equipment - a good gaming PC or console, a webcam, and a high-quality microphone headset are the basics. As far as getting started, that’s pretty much all you’ll need. Twitch channels resemble TV channels; they’re always “on,” even if nothing’s being broadcast. Of course, the more you play or upload content to your channel, the more opportunities you’ll have to gain followers.

A Twitch career - more than a hobby?

Like YouTube content creators, for the majority of Twitch streamers, the platform is simply a hobby. While it can be monetized - as we’ll discuss - it takes a bit of luck and a lot of work to become a Twitch millionaire.

Twitch follows the success of the video game industry more generally. Video games themselves aren’t going anywhere, which bodes well for the continued growth of Twitch.tv.

Steps to start earning on Twitch

Maybe Twitch has been a hobby for a while now, but you’d like to take it to the next level. The good news is that Twitch offers a number of different methods to monetize your account, either directly or indirectly. How much do small Twitch streamers make? There’s no set fee: it depends on how well they can monetize through non-Twitch methods, such as affiliate links or external merchandise.

1. Broadcasting

Everything you do on Twitch is based on your live streams or broadcast. So, your first step is to get playing! Find the game or games that you like and start playing.

There are three interactive parts to any Twitch live stream. There’s the video feed of the streamer, a live screenshare to show the game being played, and shared audio from the game itself, and from you the streamer. This is part of Twitch’s appeal; you’re not just watching a YouTube video of someone playing a game a couple of days ago, you’re watching a gamer work through everything live. You can see the player’s actions on the screen and their reactions visually.

Twitch also offers a live chat feature, allowing the audience to give real-time feedback to the Twitch broadcaster.

2. Building an audience

The “up close and personal” nature of Twitch streams means that a lot depends on the tone a Twitch streamer takes. Some broadcasts are in-depth “how-to” guides, unlocking strategies and techniques for beating a game. These Twitch streams tend to take a more knowledgeable tone.

Other streamers are more informal and tongue-in-cheek. Some streamers regularly pull crazy in-game stunts or try risky strategies just to see what happens. The goal is pure entertainment rather than instruction.

Building an audience is one of the biggest keys to Twitch’s success, so it’s always good to experiment with the kind of tone you want to use. Use something that feels natural but will keep your audience coming back for more.

3. Monetizing - Twitch Affiliates

The Twitch Affiliate program is the first step to monetizing your Twitch account. Like the YouTube Partner Program, there are a set of minimum requirements you’ll need to meet.

These include:

  • 50 followers
  • 500 total minutes broadcast
  • 7 unique broadcast days
  • Average of 3 or more concurrent viewers

How To Make Money On Twitch In 2021: 7 Ways | GOBankingRates

Once you reach that threshold, you can apply to become a Twitch Affiliate. Being an affiliate provides its own list of benefits, including:

  • Twitch subscription
    Many Twitch streamers find that subscriptions provide the majority of their income. Twitch offers three subscription levers, at $4.00, $9.99, and $24.99. Subscribe to a particular streamer, and Twitch splits the revenue from the recurring monthly fee 50/50 with the broadcaster.

  • Twitch Bits
    These are Twitch’s premium emoticons, purchased with real money but “tipped” to streamers in the online chat that accompanies each live stream. Each Bit tipped to a streamer pays $0.01, meaning that a hundred of them trickling through the chat pays $1.

  • Video ads
    Unlike YouTube, ads on Twitch are a relatively minor source of income, paying roughly $2 per 1,000 views. Since ads are in-stream, and even the biggest streamers may have only a few hundred viewers at any one time, total ad revenue for any one streamer tends to be pretty low.

  • Donations
    Donations are a simple, one-off sum paid to a streamer, often through PayPal. For step by step instructions read out Guide to Setting Up Donations on Twitch.

You can find out more information about the Twitch Affiliate program here.

4. Twitch and Brave

The key to Twitch monetization is to diversify, and a new and exciting way to increase your revenue from Twitch is to use the Brave browser.

Brave is built on privacy and security. It’s the first browser to have a built-in rewards program. Brave blocks most advertisements, but when you opt-in to certain privacy-respecting ads you are rewarded with Basic Attention Tokens (BAT). Your BAT accrues in your in-browser wallet.

Brave’s Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) can be tipped directly to Twitch streamers and content creators, just like Twitch Bits or the donation system. You can even set up a recurring tip, similar to a Twitch subscription. The Brave Rewards system doesn’t replace Twitch’s donations, but offers Twitch streamers a further supplemental form of income.

Brave reinvents the current Internet economy, empowering users to take control of their privacy and security. It also strengthens the economy of Internet creators, giving a means of supporting content creators on Twitch, YouTube, and more.

Other ways streamers make money through Twitch

  • Sponsorships
    Similar to the Instagram model, many Twitch streamers accept sponsorships to promote products from niche-specific companies. These can be paid in different ways, from a one-time fee to a portion of the sales from that campaign.
    Most sponsorships come from a company’s marketing team, rather than a Twitch streamer soliciting a partnership. Some tech companies like Corsair, the computer component manufacturer, have entire programs dedicated to supporting and developing streamers and promoting the brand.
    How do you attract sponsorships? Cultivate your niche and grow your viewership first. After that, network within the industry. Attend video game conferences and develop relationships with companies marketing to the video game industry. A few professional marketing practices will only help your chances of attracting a good sponsorship.

  • Affiliate links
    Twitch is a natural fit for affiliate programs, particularly in the video game and tech worlds. Twitch offers a unique interactive opportunity to sell products via affiliate links: a streamer can actually solicit feedback, both good and bad, directly from his market as he streams. A lot of tech products like gaming headsets or computer components can be reviewed and promoted organically as part of the stream, and the link to the product dropped into the live chat.

  • Merchandise
    For larger broadcasters, there’s also the chance to sell merchandise directly. Merchandising isn’t as big a source of income on Twitch as other platforms; affiliate links are a bit easier and potentially more profitable.

Other things to consider

Will Twitch last forever?

The underlying market for Twitch - video gamers - doesn’t seem likely to go anywhere anytime soon. But there are a number of competitors for Twitch itself. YouTube offers a live feature for established channels, but newer competitors probably pose a bigger challenge for Twitch in the future.

The biggest challenger is Mixer. The platform, which bills itself as the “next generation” of live streaming, scored a huge coup when Ninja, the top earner on Twitch, made the jump to Mixer. However, Ninja’s viewing numbers have fallen since the move, indicating that Twitch is still on top. For a more complete list of Twitch rivals, check out this list.

Living the Twitch Dream: the Twitch Partner Program

The Twitch Affiliate program has certain basic requirements, as covered above. The Twitch Partner Program is a step above that. The requirements are intentionally kept a bit vague: you can find out more here, but the program is for dedicated and established streamers only. What does the Partner Program offer? The same basic monetization features as the Affiliate program - but with increased technical support, better video storage features, and a host of incidental extras designed to reward dedicated Twitch streamers.

Twitch

To give you an idea of how exclusive the Partner Program is, consider this: there are over 2.2 million Twitch streamers and only 12,000 Partners.

How Much Does A Streamer Make Per Sub? - Quora

While the Twitch Partner Program might be out of reach for most streamers, Brave is open for all. Between its high performance, security, and Brave Rewards, Brave is the ideal browser for Twitch streamers and subscribers. Download the Brave browser today!