Revealed: the most profitable video games for players to become experts

A third (31%) of eSports gamers primarily take part in tournaments to make money, with Call of Duty: Warzone ranking as the easiest game for players to become experts in. But with fierce competition, varied skill ceilings, and countless ways to play, which games should players choose to maximise their profits?

As part of their online gaming statistics report, Uswitch.com analysed cash prizes for video game tournaments as far back as 2010, to predict which game will have the most potential winnings over the next five years. Reviews for the most profitable games were then scraped for words like “complex” and “difficult” to award each with a “complexity score” out of 10, and determine which were the easiest for players to become experts in.

Dota 2 tournaments are predicted to award the most winnings over the next five years, at a staggering £215,972,000. The real-time strategy (RTS) game has given over £300 million (£309,057,000) in competitions since 2011. This is 250% more than rival RTS game League of Legends (£87,774,000) in sixth, which has been hosting tournaments since 2010. However, Dota 2 is the one of the most difficult games analysed, with a complexity score of 8.67/10, second only to Hearthstone (9.33/10).

Fortnite players could also see huge earnings, with £145,667,000 worth of winnings predicted to be awarded over the next five years. Fans of the battle royale genre could win over three times more from Fortnite than PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS in fifth place (£45,850,000). The sandbox survival game also boasts a low complexity score. At 2.67/10, it is the fourth simplest game analysed, so players looking to earn from eSports can take advantage of the low barrier to entry.

Counter Strike: Global Offensive is third, predicted to give just under £100 million (£99,721,000) over the next five years. As the highest ranking first-person shooter on the list, CS:GO tournaments award 264.8% more in prizes than Overwatch (£27,337,000) in seventh. CS:GO is also second to Call of Duty: Warzone (0.67/10) as the simplest game analysed, with a complexity score of 1.33/10. CS:GO is also consistently one of the most viewed games on Twitch, so streamers can also profit from the average £105.63 donated by each audience member annually[1].

Nick Baker, gaming expert at Uswitch, comments on ensuring you have the best broadband set up before playing online: “Whether you’re playing casually or professionally, a poor internet connection is an ordeal for any gamer. However, there are steps you can take to keep your gaming experience lag-free:

Check your broadband speed: technically, a minimum speed of 3mbps is all you need to play online. However, that figure doesn’t take into account others in the home sharing the internet connection and some games requiring large downloads. With this in mind, a download speed of 50mbps - 100mbps is more appropriate for gamers, especially those interested in streaming their gameplay.

Switch to a wired connection: currently, a wired connection is the only way to get the fastest speeds in the UK. While a wireless connection can allow for a cleaner set-up, a wired connection can better ensure that your online play runs smoothly.

Check your ping: your ping is essentially the reaction time of your broadband. Usually measured in milliseconds, ping is the time it takes for your device to communicate your in-game actions to the server. If you have a ping over 150ms, it may be worth talking to your provider to see if there are alternative plans to help reduce this."

You can read more information about online gaming at the Uswitch Online Gaming Statistics Page.