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TLDR: I’m Not Rich OR Famous – Yet!
Why an income report? Because I think that it’s a valuable thing to do for both myself and for others that are thinking about trying to make money with gaming. I get to see my progress and you get to see what you could potentially make as a gamer.
I used to do this kind of income report all the time when I was writing as a side gig. I’d show how much I made from each revenue source and evaluate my progress and whether or not it was worth continuing. So, it occurred to me that some of my readers might find this useful.
Where Does My Gaming Income Come From?
I always try to remember the old saying, “Never put all your eggs in one basket.” I think it is important advice, especially when you rely on sites that you can’t control. I don’t know if Twitch is still going to be around in a year or more in the future so, relying only on Twitch for income would be a mistake. So, eventually, I will branch out to other streaming options.
Even streaming itself could become obsolete or maybe even illegal. Who knows? So, I want to have sources of income that aren’t related to streaming, too.
In 2025, I have had three sources of income:
- Streaming/Twitch
- Epic creator code
- Mobile gaming for pay
In the future, I’d like to create streams of income from this blog, social media/influencer collaborations, and potentially other sources.
Gaming Income from Twitch
Obviously, Twitch was my first source of income. I started streaming in August of 2024 and made it to affiliate status in late December. So, I’ve had a year of Twitch income.
In a way, it’s been a grind. Keeping up the regular streams, learning to be interactive with chat, getting followers – all of that does take work.
But it’s also been a lot of fun. I like streaming. I’d like to have more followers and more people in my chat sometimes but even if I’m just streaming to no one, I’m still having a good time.
So, how much have I made?
I’ve made $108.15 US (which is roughly $150 CA) and some of that is still pending. I’ve had one payout.
It’s not a huge amount. But honestly? More than I was expecting.
The most followers I’ve had is 155 but it’s currently at 153. People come and go. It’s part of the deal.
I’ve had 32 subscriptions. One of those is pretty regular. One is a streamer friend who uses her Prime subscription when she has it. A third is a randome person who is no longer subscribed. The rest are gift subs, given by the regular subscriber. Ya, he’s pretty awesome.
Gaming Income from the Epic Creator Code
In all honesty, I didn’t think I’d get approved for a creator code from Epic as quickly as I did. You need to have 1000 followers somewhere (Twitch, TikTok, YouTube, etc) and I wasn’t expecting to hit that so fast. But once I got going on TikTok, I got to 1000 followers quite quickly.
I applied for the creator code and was approved within a day!
Of course, I use it myself whenever I buy skins/emotes/etc. on Fortnite. Which is way too often. I know my son and daughter use it. And there are some gamer friends who use it.
How much have I earned?
Payout is $100 and I’m 87.69% of the way there so I’ve earned $87.69 US (or $121.63 CA). I haven’t hit payout yet as you can see, but I’m hoping that will come in the next few months.
I knew it would take a while to get to payout so I’m not disappointed. $100 is a fairly high threshhold. I’m ok with that. Time will bring the money.
I share my code in my stream and some friends share it from time to time. I use it in my social media posts sometimes (but not all the time because I think that gets annoying) and I could likely be a little more consistent with that. I have the code on the blog.
I’m happy with that so far.
Gaming Income from Phone Games
This has been the big surprise this year. I didn’t expect to make much, if anything at all. But I decided to give it a try back in October.
I started with MistPlay about a year ago. I cashed out a Playstation card for $50 but I’m not sure when that was. It might have been more than a year ago so I’m not including that in the earnings from mobile games. I also cashed out an Amazon card shortly after that but I’m not sure when that was either or how much so I’m not going to include that first card.
After my first try at mobile gaming for income, I stopped. I like MistPlay but I got bored with the selection of games.
In October, I started playing again. Then I tried another app, and another, and I kept making money so I’m still doing it.
The income in my report below is only from 2025.
Here’s a screenshot of the money that went to PayPal (in part):
Here’s the breakdown:
- MistPlay – $25 (Amazon gift card/CA)
- FreeCash (Tango) – $125 (Amazon gift card/CA)/ $229.72(US)/$317.58(CA) = $442.58(CA)
- TopSurveys (Tremendous) – $20(CA)
- JustPlay – $2.96(CA)
- EarnApp by Mode – $3 (Amazon gift card/CA)
TOTAL: $493.54(CA)
I’m not counting earned but not received money for mobile games because there have been lots of little bits that I never have (and probably never will) cash out because I either didn’t like the app or didn’t like the games or some other reason.
Total Gaming Income & Conclusions
After adding it up, I’m pretty happy with my total.
I’ve made…
$765.17(CA) this year from (mostly – see below) gaming income. I’d say that’s a win for a newbie to the whole making money from gaming game. Especially considering I’m still figuring out my niche (if I even want to have one) and getting set up properly.
The bulk of my money has come from mobile phone gaming and that was a surprise to me. I honestly didn’t expect to make much of anything at all. I just figured if I was going to play games on my phone I may as well see if I could make some extra money from it.
And FreeCash is obviously the big winner but I have no clue why. The truth is, most of the money from FreeCash came from “referrals” – which I don’t get because none of my referrals are actually people I know. As far as I can figure, FreeCash puts people without a specific referral code as “friends” of random players. I think they do this just to get you hooked on playing the games. Maybe. I don’t know.
Some of the FreeCash money is actually from games though and the game I had the best luck with was Carnival Tycoon. I’ve since stopped playing it but it was good while it lasted. About a quarter of my income from FreeCash came from that game.
My best game app is still MistPlay. They are consistent and understandable and in total, I’ve made about $100 from them, just playing games. No referral nonsense.
Do I Recommend Gaming for Money?
Yes, and no.
If you love gaming (phone, Playstation, whatever) then go for it. The chances of becoming rich and famous from it is pretty low though. You have to have fun with it and love doing it just because you’re having a good time. If you need the money – you’re better off getting and everday job (yes, I have one of those!).
No – don’t do it if you really need the money or if you just think of it as a way to get famous or rich. The likelihood of that happening is pretty small.
According to StreamYard, you need to have about 1000 average viewers per stream to make $5000/month – and these days that’s not riches. I can’t even estimate how many followers you need to get 1000 average viewers per stream.
Will I continue trying to make money from gaming? Sure, why not? I’m having a good time.
I’ll also continue to not put all my eggs in one basket though. I’ll dabble in mobile gaming and I’ll continue to add content to my blog. I’m hoping that soon I’ll have Adsense enabled for the blog and I plan to implement Amazon products.
I’m really not looking to get rich and famous. I just like the side hustle.
