Is It Worth Starting a Gaming Channel or Is It Too Late?

For a lot of new YouTubers, Twitchers or gamers in general the main question is it worth starting a gaming channel in 2024?

Despite the fact that competition in that niche is growing every year, it is still worth starting a gaming channel in 2024. The gaming channel itself is as wide a niche, as the audience and trust me, it’s still not crowded.

First of all, you just have to find a unique way to connect with the gaming audience to enable you to grow your channel. So, let us look at the essential factors that determine if you are cut out to start a Gaming channel.

Having a Gaming Channel Pros

You Become a Part of a Community

Whether you are social with people or not, one aspect of having a gaming channel is it introduces you to a community. From subscribers to viewers, you will be surrounded by people sharing the same gaming interest as you.

This not only enables you to share your skills with different people but also build strong relationships with people from all over the world.

Enables Engagement

In addition to sharing what you love with your audience, another benefit of having a gaming channel is engagement with your viewers.

By replying to comments or answering questions you get to understand your audience on a deeper level thus enabling you to grow as a gamer and as a person too.

Also, the engagement also gets rid of any camera shyness or lack of confidence as you become more comfortable recording your gaming videos.

Brings About Growth

Another benefit of having a gaming channel is growth. Everything starts with a simple step and by growing your audience you get to also grow in your gaming experience.

Just ensure your viewers experience something unique to enable them to keep coming for more.

What’s more, you also learn about the best equipment and gadgets for the gaming channel.

Overall, all these enable you to produce great videos thus making you grow in the online gaming industry.

Monetization

Did you know the average professional online gamer can earn around $60,000 to $100,000 annually from a gaming channel exclusive of other deals?

Of course, it depends on your selection, will you record streaming sessions or maybe publish video content on YouTube or even both?

So, having a gaming channel is the first step to opening other ways to earn money. For instance, you get to earn from sponsorships, advertisements, merchandise, donations, gaming competitions among others.

Having a Gaming Channel Cons

Time Consuming

Before you start creating a gaming channel or videos, you need to understand that it takes time. You need to research and film yourself playing the game, editing so as to upload it on your YouTube channel. Don’t forget you also need to market yourself to be able to monetize on it.

If you decide to start streaming,  first of all, you will need to attract and find an audience that is going to watch you. To achieve this, you need to spend more than a couple of hours, be creative and patient with your first viewers.

For this reason, a lot of people give up and quit this activity.

Therefore, this simply means you need to give your gaming channel proper time in order to be successful in this niche.

Constant Criticism

Criticism is always surrounding us no matter which profession we are involved in and being a gamer is no different. Whether you are live streaming or uploading videos on YouTube, you will be criticized. Though some comments may be harmless, others come with threats.

So, to keep your gaming channel going, you need to have a thick skin and not let the negative comments affect you.

Keep in mind, letting the criticism personally affect you can lead to some damaging issues such as low self-esteem, anxiety, or depression.

Prying of Your Personal Life

Although the main intention of having a gaming channel is to play games and interact with other gamers, you might get more than you bargained for. Fans prying on your personal life is a major concern not only gamers but other online personalities.

Though you might get harmless people asking about your love or financial status, family members, how where you live. Be aware of online and physical stalkers.

Keep in mind, while it’s not bad to put yourself out there, make sure you try to keep your personal information away from the public.

Anyway, on the other hand, if you will follow basic rules, having a gaming or a vlogging channel is safe.

Doubts from Family Members and Friends

No matter how much you enjoy playing games and are enthusiastic about having a gaming channel, remember not everyone will be supportive of your decision (you are really happy if everybody around you are very supportive).

Yes, you want the support of close family members and friends but know that not all will understand your choices. That’s normal. This might be because they really don’t understand that this is your career or simply they aren’t quite sure what you are going to do, so make sure to explain everything in depth.

Don’t forget, having a gaming channel is not an easy task and it might cost you quality time with your family and friends too. Just know that this is necessary in order to grow your channel.

What to Choose for Gaming: Channel or Streaming?

Honestly, choosing to either have a gaming channel or simply live streaming depends on what suits you best. With both having their benefits and downfalls, it’s better to highlight both for more clarification.

When it comes to streaming, it is easier in terms of setting up as you are live as compared to a YouTube gaming channel which requires editing and uploading.

Nonetheless, if you have a busy schedule, a channel is better as you can record beforehand, edit and pre-schedule, unlike streaming which requires you to be live at all times.

As for building an active audience, growing in a streaming platform such as Twitch is better than having a YouTube gaming channel as it has a larger general audience.

Although the downfall is not being able to enjoy ad revenue in the early days of your streaming, you will still grow far better than through YouTube gaming.

Ultimately, although we can’t decide for you what to choose between a gaming channel and streaming. We recommend you first start with streaming and then mix your content with channel videos later on. It could help you get future viewers too.

How Much Money Should You Invest in a Gaming Channel?

When it comes to investing in your gaming channel, it all depends on your budget. Although it’s possible to start a gaming channel with a low budget, it is advisable to find the best equipment so as to produce quality work.

Whether you are live streaming or recording, you can invest in equipment worth $250-500. Make sure you have invested in the best possible microphone or headphones, a camera, a comfortable chair, proper ring light (works perfectly) and even a green screen.

In addition, make sure you have a good gaming PC with the newest graphics card and processor to play your games as well as for editing purposes.

Steps To Follow To Become a Successful Gamer:

Last but not least, here are crucial steps to follow if you want to start a gaming channel:

• Decide where you going to start: live streaming on Twitch or creating gaming YouTube videos;
• Buy required equipment (tools and devices);
• Create a structure and a plan of the content (what are you going to show, what games you are going to play and how the full video or stream should look like);
• Do a test session. If you are going to stream on Twitch, make sure that everything works and do test live-stream sessions without viewers but act like you have more than 1000. It will help not to get lost when you will be live on Twitch.
• Create your own character – you should attract your viewers. Custom characters work perfectly here. A great example is one of the most popular gamers and streamers – Dr.Disrespect.
• Do marketing campaigns. Whether you’re creating a video on the YouTube platform or streaming live on Twitch, you need to start building your brand and attracting people to your social networks before you start streaming.

Summary

Gaming is a competitive niche but this should not stop you from starting a channel. You can be motivated by top popular gamers, perfect example is Tyler Blevin also known as Ninja who is the richest gamer in the world.

Although you won’t grow your channel overnight, be patient with your channel and eventually, it will grow. Just make sure you know which games you are more skilled at playing and have a preplanned arrangement so as to post your recorded games in advance.

In addition, have a targeted audience and reach out to them from Facebook or Twitter to ensure they view your videos every time you post. If you are live streaming ensure all the equipment is ready and you are all set to entertain your viewers.

We believe it is worth starting a gaming channel. Just continue doing what you love as you engage with other gamers while earning from your channel.