The Tragic Truth of Being A Pro Gamer

So, you want to be a pro gamer, huh? Well, you may want to think about a few things before jumping in. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’ll be comparing the expectations to the realities of being a pro gamer. While we see the headlines about eSports teams winning hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars, one can’t help but think, “Well, aren’t they lucky to be playing video games for a living!” On the contrary: being a pro gamer isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, at least for most pros. We’ll start with the expectation we just mentioned - “playing video games for a living”. Yeah, that’s basically what a pro gamer does, but that’s when you strip the occupation to its bare bones. The misconception implies that all the job requires from you is to simply play video games. However, there is much more to it than sitting on your butt and wasting the days away. Pro gamers spend significant chunks of their lives playing not a handful of different video games, but one and ONLY...THAT...ONE. So, if you’re thinking about building up a career playing “Counter-Strike” competitively, then you better be damn sure you will never get tired of that game! Most eSports teams spend ten to twelve hours a day, seven days a week practicing against other players, improving their strategies, and watching footage of their previous matches. In other words, the job can quickly become extremely monotonous. Another common misconception stems from how quickly the eSports scene has exploded these past few years. Given the popularity and supposedly overwhelming statistics of eSports viewership, one could easily think signing on with a team like FaZe Clan or OpTic Gaming means you’ve achieved instant stardom and thousands of fans. Nope! As we said before, most teams spend ten to twelve hours a day every day of the week training. There is practically no time to relish in fame. Even the biggest players, like Team Liquid’s Alex “Xpecial” Chu, don’t have much time for social interaction, not even dating. In an interview with Business Insider, Chu recounts a time where a fellow teammate started dating during his career only for it to start affecting his plays. Shortly after, he was cut from the team. According to Chu, this has happened to many players in the past, which makes it difficult for anyone wanting a relationship while playing competitively. “So what if you have a limited social life and play a single video game day in and day out? At least you’re making bank!” Once again, this is another myth that the media fails to clarify. While it is true that some pro gamers are making six-figure salaries or higher, that’s only to a VERY select few! On top of that, the high pay doesn’t strictly come from prize money. Pro gamers are treated as full-time employees, earning a base salary with an occasional bonus for winning competitions. It’s basically another 9-to-5 job with the only difference being longer, more grueling hours. To make things worse, not every team pays its players well. The ones that do are only able to thanks to years of experience, tournament wins, and dozens of sponsorships wanting to plaster their uniforms with logos. So, those less fortunate often have to search for second jobs. Now, with that expectation comes another money-related expectation: prize money covers the bills. When we see the victors holding up that handsome check and basking in the limelight, it’s easy to think that fat stack of money is going straight to the players. This could not be further from the truth. When a team wins a tournament, the players get a small percentage of their winnings. The rest goes to the coaches, managers, organizations, taxes, and paying off expenses. In the end, the pay gets so low that it often results in some members getting second jobs, which can lead to some difficulty in maintaining a consistent practice schedule. Other pro gamers hop on Twitch late at night to either share their knowledge or let viewers watch them practice. Even then, pro gamers don’t make a heck of a lot of money on Twitch - just enough to supplement their primary income. And you thought your life was nothing but eat, work, and sleep! Still, think the life of a pro gamer is for you? Well, we got one other factor you might want to consider: health risks. Professional gaming may not be as physically taxing as actual sports, but eSports come bearing their own grievances. For starters, sitting on your tuckus for extensive hours can lead to back problems, and putting your hands through fixated, repetitive motions can cause carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, and wrist injuries. One example of this occurred in April 2015 when “League of Legends” player Hai Lam of Cloud9 was forced to retire due to a wrist injury he had been enduring for several months. The health risks go beyond physical, too! Remember, we live in the Age of the Internet where people can be very aggressive and nasty towards each other. Even without the harassment, the presence of a live audience can be too much for some players to bear. Fighting game streamer Maximilian Dood has cited his anxiety as part of the reason why he quit playing competitively. While Max is somewhat of a unique case, his experience holds truth - playing video games is vastly different when you’re playing in front of a large crowd of people, especially when your livelihood is on the lines. It is this anxiety, this fear of being judged that lead some players to turn to drugs, like ADHD medication, to calm their nerves while increasing their performance. Playing video games for a living does sound like a dream job, but we need to realize that professional gaming has its own set of pros and cons like any other job. The hours can leave you exhausted at the end of the day. You won’t get to have much time to socialize outside of work. You may not be able to cover all of your expenses from just tournaments or even your own base salary. And most importantly, you need to consider your health, both mental and physical. We aren’t trying to discourage those who want to try and be a real eSports competitor, but you’ll need to consider a plan for additional income as well as keeping yourself safe and healthy. Good luck!