The US magazine Forbes has published a list of the ten highest-earning gamers in the world. The exciting part: none of the top 10 gamers are pure professionals. They are all influencers: many are content creators on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, or other platforms.
What is this list about? The list shows the ten people who earn the most money worldwide from playing video games. All ten are influencers who make their money through YouTube, streaming, or other platforms.
The list comes from the US magazine Forbes. Forbes is known for putting a lot of research into such lists: Their list of the “richest people in the USA”, the Forbes 400, is legendary. However, the information on the site is based on sources and estimates from experts.
How do they make their money? None of the gamers is a pro gamer, at least not primarily. You can make a lot of money gaming professionally, but apparently not as much as with Twitch, Mixer, YouTube, and so on. Even the highest prize money in eSports is not enough for a spot on the list. Sorry, Bugha.
Although players like shroud and Ninja also participate in tournaments or were previously pro gamers, they now earn most of their money from streaming, representing brands, and advertising. According to Forbes, the gamers together earned over 121 million US dollars in 2019.
Rank 10: Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff
Who is Nickmercs? Nickmercs is a Fortnite streamer who plays the shooter with a controller. This is generally considered more challenging and has earned him some fame.
In 2019, he was ranked 10th among the most-watched Twitch streamers based on viewer hours (via sullygnome, excluding event streams and broadcasts). Over 3.2 million people follow his Twitch channel.
Nickmercs impresses fans not only by playing with a controller but also by doing it really well. He is considered a strong player in Fortnite. Despite his skills in Fortnite, he didn’t make it to the World Championship 2019.
Currently, he is exclusively contracted with Twitch, reportedly with an offer of $2 million.
How much does Nickmercs earn in a year: $6 million.
Rank 9: Timothy “TimTheTatman” Betar
Who is TimTheTatman? TimTheTatman is one of the largest streamers on Twitch and was ranked 5th in 2019 among Twitch streamers with the most followers (via sullygnome, excluding the Riot Games channel).
His Twitch channel has over 4.2 million followers, and 1.8 million follow him on YouTube. TimTheTatman is known for his Fortnite content but attempted Escape from Tarkov in early 2020, which didn’t quite work out.
The American started streaming in 2012 and has since streamed a wide variety of games, including CS:GO, Overwatch, and WoW. He also broadcasts the NFL on Twitch and provides commentary.
TimTheTatman is regarded as good-natured, easygoing, and family-friendly. His viewers appreciate the relaxed, friendly atmosphere of his streams.
After Ninja and shroud left Twitch, TimTheTatman received a big offer from Twitch as one of three streamers to stay. Besides Twitch, he is also a partner of the energy drink manufacturer Monster.
How much does TimTheTatman earn in a year: $8 million.
Rank 8: Sean “Jacksepticeye” McLoughlin
Who is Jacksepticeye? Jacksepticeye is the largest YouTuber in Ireland with over 23 million subscribers. He showcases gameplay and Let’s Plays of various games, including quirky ones like the “Human Simulator”.
He gained fame not only from gaming but also from vlogs. In 2017, he was even supposed to play a role as the antagonist in the show “Scare PewDiePie”, which was planned for the premium service YouTube Red. However, the show was canceled after PewDiePie got into trouble for anti-Semitic remarks.
Jacksepticeye has appeared on television and in web series several times, collaborates with Disney, and has even made videos with movie stars like Ryan Reynolds.
In October 2019, he participated in a tree donation campaign. At the end of 2018, he launched his own clothing line along with Markiplier.
How much does Jacksepticeye earn in a year: $11 million.
Rank 7: Evan “VanossGaming” Fong
Who is VanossGaming? VanossGaming creates Let’s Play content from various games, recently focusing on niche and party games like Uno, Skribbl.io, or Garry’s Mod. He also has several videos about GTA 5.
The videos usually consist of montages of him and other content creators playing together, edited into funny, entertaining scenes. His channel now has nearly 25 million subscribers.
He uploaded his first videos on YouTube back in 2011. Since 2016, he has played a monster hunter named “Vanoss” in the cartoon series “Paranormal Action Squad” on YouTube.
Under the name “Rynx”, Vanoss also makes music. A large part of his songs are remixes or collaborations with other musicians.
Interesting fact: The name “Vanoss” was more or less inherited. His father had the nickname “vanoss62” on PlayStation 3, derived from the engine system VANSO from BMW and the S62 engine.
Vanoss later adopted this nickname for himself.
How much does VanossGaming earn in a year: $11.5 million.
Rank 6: Daniel “DanTDM” Middleton
Who is DanTDM? DanTDM has primarily built his YouTube presence around Minecraft videos, now boasting over 22 million subscribers. The Brit is considered the biggest YouTuber in England.
DanTDM has been in the business since 2012, starting with the gaming channel “The Diamond Minecart” (hence the “TDM”). In 2016, he released a graphic novel that spent eleven weeks at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
In 2019, he launched a tour with the interactive film “The Contest” in collaboration with Nintendo.
Since January 5, 2020, DanTDM has been a father to a son named Asher. He has been married since 2013.
How much does DanTDM earn in a year: $12 million.
Rank 5: Michael “shroud” Grzesiek
Who is shroud? Similar to Ninja, shroud comes from pro gaming and was previously a Counter-Strike professional. He is known as one of the best shooter players in the world and is nicknamed “human aimbot”.
He likely gained his biggest boost in popularity in 2019 with the release of Apex Legends, which quickly propelled him to the top on Twitch. He has since switched to Mixer, like Ninja, making the switch in 2019.
shroud has previously played CS:GO with the eSports team CompLexity (later Cloud9), achieving several notable successes with them.
He retired from competitive CS:GO in 2018 but still occasionally participates in eSports tournaments like Twitch Rivals (PUBG).
How much does shroud earn in a year: $12.5 million.
Rank 4: Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach
Who is Markiplier? Markiplier is a classic Let’s Player who has made a name for himself on YouTube mainly through hilarious reactions to horror games. He has been on YouTube since 2012.
In October 2019, he released a YouTube original titled “A Heist With Markiplier,” which has since received over 487,000 upvotes and has been viewed over 14 million times.
Markiplier is known for his participation in charity events. According to his profile on the donation site Tiltify, he has raised nearly $2 million for various charity causes (as of January 31).
He has also appeared in various roles in web and TV series, as well as music videos, and played himself in the film “Smosh: The Movie”.
How much does Markiplier earn in a year: $14 million.
Rank 3: Preston “Preston” Arsement
Who is Preston? Preston has become known as a Minecraft Let’s Player and content creator through his vlogs.
However, Preston frequently showcases games like Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty. In addition to his gaming content, he publishes crazy videos on seemingly random topics:
His main channel “Preston” has over 11 million subscribers, and his gaming channel TBNRFrags has an additional 5 million subscribers. He also has a channel dedicated to Roblox content with another 2 million subscribers. In total, he runs 5 channels.
A large part of his newer content consists of challenges and giveaways with large sums of money, currencies like V-Bucks, or expensive devices like iPhones.
How much does Preston earn in a year: $14 million.
Rank 2: Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg
Who is PewDiePie? PewDiePie is the largest YouTuber in the world (as an individual), measured by his subscribers. Over 103 million people have subscribed to his channel. He was the first person to break the 100 million subscribers mark.
His content on YouTube includes reaction videos and Let’s Plays, which reach many people daily. Some time ago, he even ventured into streaming with a Fortnite tournament, where he accidentally destroyed Twitch before leaving.
PewDiePie was not only the largest creator on YouTube for six years since 2013 but also ran the largest channel. Only in 2019 did he get competition from the Indian music and film company T-Series.
In 2017, PewDiePie attempted to highlight the absurdity of the Fiverr website, where people offer services. He allegedly wanted to pay two people to hold a sign saying “Death to all Jews” to illustrate the absurdity. However, this sparked a large controversy that harmed his image.
Despite this and similar incidents, PewDiePie has a massive fanbase. His fans support him wherever they can. For example, in 2018, they even called for a boycott of The Division 2 because a developer criticized PewDiePie.
Currently, PewDiePie is taking a creative break on YouTube.
How much does PewDiePie earn in a year: $15 million.
Rank 1: Tyler “Ninja” Blevins
Who is Ninja? Ninja is perhaps the most well-known streamer in the world. The sometimes blue-haired American has built a massive audience primarily through Fortnite in recent years. There, he even received his own skin at the beginning of 2020.
His career began in 2009 with professional Halo gaming. He even joined the eSports team Luminosity Gaming in 2017 but later switched games, first to H1Z1 and then to PUBG. He started streaming in 2011.
Ninja has become huge on Twitch over the years, but switched to Mixer in August 2019. While he now has fewer viewers than on Twitch, his earnings do not seem to be significantly less.
According to CNN Business, Ninja reportedly received between $20 and $30 million for the switch.
During his steadily accumulating fame, Ninja and his family were featured on the US game show “Family Feud”. In 2019, he and his family returned to the show, this time for the celebrity version “Celebrity Family Feud”.
Ninja was the first pro gamer to be featured on the cover of ESPN magazine in 2018. In the same year, he released his electro album Ninjawerks: Vol. 1.
At the end of 2018, Ninja played the bus driver in YouTube’s rewind video, which garnered over 4 million dislikes. In August 2019, he released his book: “Get Good: My Ultimate Guide To Gaming”.
How much does Ninja earn in a year: $17 million.
How important are Twitch, YouTube, and Co.?
The top earners listed here reportedly have a reach of 270 million followers. From such a large audience, a substantial amount of money can be made from advertising and sponsorships, as seen.
Despite the growth of Facebook and Mixer, Twitch remains unbeaten in first place in this area. Apparently, YouTube, apart from streaming, is also important, even just with the videos.
This works, by the way, not just in the USA or other countries. In Germany, one can also become big with Twitch and Co.:
