If you're a passionate gamer and would love to turn your passion into a paycheck, it's entirely possible to earn money by playing video games. There are two basic ways to do this: taking a job as a video game tester or becoming a professional league game player. Both choices have their ups and downs and should be carefully considered. The average gamer will never get rich, but if you're good, you can make a decent living off of it.

Taking a Job as a Video Game Tester

In order to get an entry-level job as a video game tester you will need at least a basic gaming education. An endless selection of colleges and universities around the country offer bachelor's degree programs in video game design. While you're studying it would be helpful to take a part-time job that in some way, shape, or form is tied to video games or computer usage. Game producers are looking as much at practical experience as they are at education. Read more »

Video gamers around the world are familiar with Valve, the creators of the original Half-Life shooter released in 1998. Since those early days, Valve has gone on to release several more versions of the Half-Life series as well as Left4Dead, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike. But in order to produce a successful line of video games, any software company must have a means of ensuring those games will be a hit with consumers. For Valve and others, that's where game testing comes in.

The process of game testing is designed not only to determine the functionality of the software on various computers, but also how players react to the game. Obviously, the hardware testing comes first. If a game will not run on the average computer it's not worth producing until it does. Valve games for example, are designed to run effectively on the average Windows or Mac computer. Unfortunately, the company doesn't produce products for  Read more »

Video game tester jobs are hard to find simply because of the fact that there are so many applicants and so few jobs. Add to that the fact that most game publishers do not hire their own testers directly, and aspiring young gamers may have a difficult time getting their feet in the door. Persistent job seekers who send out resumes to publishers, and hook up with a recruiting agency, stand a better chance of landing their dream job as a video game tester.

One of the questions commonly asked by new gamers looking for testing jobs is what countries video game testing jobs are available in. Technically, jobs are available in dozens of countries around the world. But practically, the bulk of these jobs are available in the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. When you stop and think about it, this makes perfect sense. Read more »

Video game testing jobs have become one of the hottest commodities on the market for up-and-coming job seekers. The exploding gaming industry is providing all sorts of employment opportunities for young, technically savvy students who have an eye for art and design. Many game designers and developers start their careers as testers, while other testers stick with their chosen job simply because they love it. Regardless, there are game tester jobs out there if you're willing to invest the time and effort to look.

For young gamers looking to get their foot in the door through a job in testing, there is the question of whether or not one should join an agency offering game testing jobs. Before addressing this question, it's important to state up front that jobs in the gaming industry are no different than those in any other industry. Supply and demand rule the marketplace. The higher the number of applicants for a given job, the less likely any one Read more »

The explosive rise of video games over the last couple of decades has given rise to a whole new career of video game testing. Many a young high school student dreams of graduating from college and heading off to find a career which entails endless game-playing fun. Unfortunately, modern video game testing is not merely sitting in front of the game console for a few hours a day and submitting minor bugs.

It is an incredibly detailed and tedious job which tends to pay very little and sees huge turnover. To give you an idea of what you could expect my game testing career, we have provided these three game tester analysis examples. They are not comprehensive by any means, but they should give you a good idea of what the average game tester  Read more »

Game testers play an extremely important role within the video game industry, helping to keep the reputation and credibility of many companies intact simply by identifying and reporting bugs, glitches, and other errors present within the beta versions of games due to be publicly released at a later date.

Although most people think that testing games is a relatively simple job, the reality is that most game companies will require their potential employees to demonstrate that they are qualified for the position offered. Once accepted for the position, game testers will typically receive an almost complete version of a specific game, and will be required to test it for potential problems.

The Basics

Although some game developers will require more from their testers, Read more »

Activision is a premier game developer that is major staple in the video game industry, having produced games such as Call of Duty, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Guitar Hero. Activision creates and distributes games for PC and most video game consoles. The company also owns several subsidiaries, the most notable of which are Blizzard (the designers of World of Warcraft) and Infinity Ward. Due to the increasing popularity and presence of Activision within the video game industry exemplified by a reported 2.9 billion dollars in 2008 revenue, Activision will likely continue to offer various game testing jobs to both inexperienced and experienced testers alike.

Things to Know About Activision

Activision games are usually characterized by compelling graphics, a strong attention to online multiplayer modes, and diverse plot lines/character development.  Read more »

A game tester is someone who is paid by game developers and producers to test out pre-release beta versions of different games. Testing games can be relatively easy for entry-level testers to master or more complicated, and this depends specifically on the type of games tested and the details of each individual job description.

However, most testing jobs simply require the game tester to provide feedback and review to the game developer by evaluating the overall user experience of the game and whether or not the game has any bugs or errors. This presents an excellent opportunity for those who enjoy playing games on a regular basis to get paid for what they like to do.

The Importance of Game Testers

Game testing jobs may revolve around one specific gaming platform  Read more »

For most people, the idea of testing premier Xbox games from the comfort of home seems quite attractive. This is especially the case if you have a passion for playing a wide range of video games. An employment opportunity that allows you to do something you love and receive a paycheck for it almost seems too good to be true. In reality, all game developers need their games to be tested by third-parties who are not their lead programmers, which mean that there are plenty of opportunities out there for you to land a high-paying job as an Xbox game tester.

Finding a job as a part time game tester for the Xbox console is not a walk in the park. You will have to search diligently for available jobs and apply for a lot of  Read more »

With the size of the game industry you would be right in thinking that there are opportunities for people to get involved in the development of games at the testing stage. The vast majority of game players have thought about playing for money at some point in their life and there are a few people that actually do something about it. The question is though is there enough money to make a full time career out of it or is it only ever going to remain a hobby. Well it really is up to you and how serious you are about it.

Make Money with Video Game Testing

The budgets involved in a modern game for even small games are astronomical and because there are so many different platforms to test games there is always a need for a steady stream of testers to make sure things are right. The thing is that different software houses will need different types of game testers because they really need people who  Read more »

If you haven't heard of Blizzard Games then the chances are that you've not had much to do with online gaming over the last decade. The name Blizzard games has become a thing of legend in the world of the MMORPG with their release of World of Warcraft back in 2004 and it has managed to take the world of online gaming to an unprecedented level. MMORPG or massive multiplayer online role playing games is what Blizzard Games have become most widely known for but they have many other titles that have huge fan basis.

Blizzard Games

As well as World of Warcraft, Blizzard also maintains Starcraft and Diablo III but their pipeline product is Diablo III is an update that is being worked on at the same time as yet another World of Warcraft expansion pack. To keep their army of fans happy  Read more »

With lots games development going on in thousands of companies all over the world, there are always companies that are in need of testers. Testers are always in demand by software developers so that they always have people available to give feedback and to provide a critical service in the pre-release stage. Without testers many of the world's most popular RPGs, Shoot 'em ups and MMORPGs or any game would fail terribly because of too many glitches. The games would just be unplayable and all the money invested in their development would have been wasted.

This is why there are lots of video game companies looking for testers and the recruitment drive never stops for a number of reasons. Take Blizzard games as an example of a company that is forever producing expansion packs for World of Warcraft and its twelve million plus subscribers. They always need testers  Read more »

There are a few things to remember when creating your resume for the gaming industry and it doesn't matter whether you are applying for a testing role, a developer’s role or even someone who specializes in media communication. The most important thing to remember is that if your CV doesn't have something to catch the eye then it will be glanced at and passed by.

Too many people assume that the employer who receives their CV will automatically give it the time and consideration that it deserves. It just doesn't happen. What the recruiter is looking for is someone who concise and to the point and does not waste time getting their point across.

The most important thing to make visible on the first page of your resume is your relevant skills and experience. This can be altered to match whatever job Read more »

Strategy games are some of the largest games around today with more players of online strategy titles than any other genre of online game. The games are made with lots of very complex algorithms constantly being run through to establish which team or player is in a better position to win battles or games against their opposition.

These games take years to arrive and when they do they are rarely left alone as they always need tweaking. Especially if they are being run in an online environment where there are lots of people to pick up on issues that would otherwise be the subject of gamer forums.

So because the scale and resources used in the development of new strategy games the testing process has to follow some very strict procedures and secrecy is critical. Microsoft had the infamous project 'S' in the pipeline and there has been lots of Read more »