Your Dad told you that you were wasting your time playing video games. Your Mom had high hopes for you and becoming a professional gamer wasn’t one of them.
“There’s no future in it,” they said.
“How will playing video games pay the bills?” They questioned.
“You could be an accountant… a doctor… a lawyer… the President!” They pleaded. “Think of how much money you’ll earn then!”
But, they were wrong…
With the rise of esports gaming and content creation platforms, gamers now have more earning potential than some of the most prominent career paths.
In the infographic below, we’ve listed 20 of the highest earning professional gamers (of 2018) and compared their earnings to their country’s President’s or Head of State’s salary.
Obviously, it’s not easy to get to the level of the gamers listed below. You’ll need to put in countless hours of practice and you’ll need the right equipment (a console or high-end gaming PC and monitor, top-of-the-line peripherals, and a fast internet connection).
But, the bottom line is that, if you (or your parents) are worried about the earning potential in becoming a professional gamer, the reality is that you can actually earn more by playing video games than your President or Prime Minister can earn running your country.
* We only considered publicly available data, so for the gamers’ earnings below, only their earnings from tournaments in 2018 are included (all earnings are available on esportsearnings.com). Most of these gamers have earned even more through sponsorships, salaries from the teams they play for, and through streaming on Twitch.
*We only used publicly-listed salaries of the Presidents and Heads of States. Their salary doesn’t include any other earnings they may earn through any businesses they have, or signify the potential value they can accrue after their time as a Head of State (book deals, businesses, consulting, etc.)
*The infographic only displays countries where the top earning gamers earn more than the President or Head of State.
*We looked at 46 different countries. In 32 of the countries, the top earning gamer earned more than the President.
*In countries like the United Kingdom, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Norway, and Mexico (among others), the President still out-earns the highest earning gamer (at least, when only tournament winnings are considered).
