You Can Paid To Play Fortnite Using These 7 Methods

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve almost certainly heard of Fortnite, an enormously popular and sometimes controversial online game.

What you might not know is that playing this video game can make you some money.

As of September 2019, the highest-earning player is Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, who has earned over $3 million in prize money. The top 5 earners have collectively earned $9.5 million.

That’s some very real cash.

You might not earn as much as Bugha right away, but you can still earn a few dollars from playing. Here are some ways you can get paid to play Fortnite.

What Is Fortnite?

Before we get into how you can earn money from playing Fortnite, let’s look at what Fortnite is and why it’s popular.

Fortnite is an online first-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games.

It is available in three distinct game mode versions, and by far the most popular is Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play game that can be played by up to 100 players that involves being dropped in an island where they have to build bases, find weapons, and eliminate all the other competitors until only one player is left standing.

The Battle Royale mode is free to download and play, but users have the option to make in-game purchases, such as Battle Passes, costumes, skins, and dances, using V-Bucks that can be bought with actual money or won in in-game challenges.

Why is Fortnite so popular?

As of March 2019, Fortnite has 250 million registered accounts, and the highest number of players active in a single month is 78.3 million in August 2018.

Surveys show that 62% of Fortnite players are aged between 18 and 24, and 22% are between 25 and 34. The number of hours played weekly ranges between 6 to 10 hours.

Obviously, Fortnite is highly popular among the youth, but why?

1. It’s free.

In-game purchases are fully optional and don’t give players any unfair advantages over other players. They’re either cosmetic or access to additional content.

2. It’s available to be played on multiple platforms.

You can play it on your smartphone, PC/Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

3. It’s well-designed.

The designers conceived Fortnite as a more creative, visually appealing, and youth-friendly version of a first-person shooter game, which was in stark contrast with other dark-tinted, violent first-person shooter games.

4. It’s a complex game.

Fortnite offers opportunities for players to express their creativity through building forts and encourages them to slink their way through the virtual world and find secret spots and hiding positions, enabling players to win games without firing a single shot.

5. It’s generally a positive experience.

There are some instances of teasing and taunting, but players rarely get aggressive and abusive with each other. It’s a refreshing change from the usual behavior of players of other video games.

How To Get Paid To Play Fortnite

1. Play in tournaments.

Anyone can make money playing Fortnite by joining an online tournament.

Third-party websites such as E-Sports Hub, Toornaments, and GamerzArena host matchups that reward winners with prize money.

Players purchase credits on the site that hosts the tournament they’re interested in, the site then generates a bracket against other players, then everyone plays for prize money.

You might earn a few dollars per tournament, but if you join a few tournaments in a week, the prize money can add up to a few hundred dollars a week. If you get better at it, you can earn more prize money.

Fortnite also hosts its own in-game tournaments for Solo players, Duos, and Squads, where you play for a target score that allows you to win prizes.

Also, the Fortnite World Cup is a free-for-all annual esports competition with a total of $30 million in prize money divided up across various competitions.

2. Bet in tournaments.

If you understand the game, know what it takes to be a good player, and have a handle on your odds, you can get on third-party sites such as Unikrn, SickOdds, eSportbetting, or Esportsonly and bet on Fortnite tournaments.

Note: If you’re struggling with a gambling problem, chat, text, or talk to a gambling helpline.

3. Stream or upload to Twitch and YouTube.

Twitch and YouTube are both streaming online video platforms that allow you to broadcast whatever you’re doing. Twitch is more popular with gamers, but YouTube is also fast catching up.

Video gamers use Twitch or YouTube to broadcast themselves playing games. The broadcast usually shows the game that you’re playing from your perspective.

You can broadcast it with your audio commentary or video commentary in an inset. Viewers can interact with you through a chat window.

Below are some of the ways you can get paid to play Fortnite while you’re streaming your game.

Be sure to check out my full-guide on how to make money on Twitch here!

Become a Twitch Affiliate.

Twitch streamers with more than 50 subscribers and have broadcast for at least 500 minutes in the past month can become Twitch Affiliates.

When you become an affiliate, you can then earn money from ad revenues, subscriptions, and Twitch Bits, which are pseudocurrency that viewers buy from Twitch and then give to their favorite streamers through Cheering. Twitch gets a percentage from your Twitch Bits.

Turn on YouTube ads.

You can turn on YouTube ads if you’re on YouTube, but bear in mind that YouTube is stricter with your content; they prefer content that’s more “family-friendly.”

As you will see as we go down this list, you’ll need to have thousands and even hundreds of thousands of viewers, followers, or subscribers for you to monetize their views.

Accept donations.

Viewers can show their support by donating through various ways.

You can set up a PayPal.me link to share to your viewers so they can donate directly to your PayPal account.

Another way is to use a stream management tool, such as Streamlabs OBS or Muxy for Twitch, or StreamElements or SuperChat for YouTube.

If you have fans, they’re usually more than happy to support you, but they won’t donate if they don’t know that it’s an option. Show your donation links on as many places as you can, and mention them on your streams.

Encourage your viewers even more by including a list of your top donors on your profile page, as well as giving them a shoutout in your stream.

Encourage viewers to subscribe.

Following a channel on Twitch is different from subscribing to it. Following is free but subscribing involves a monthly fee, which you split with Twitch 50-50.

In return for this monthly fee, subscribers get perks such as special emoticons to use in a stream chat room, loyalty badges, and more importantly, exclusive chatrooms, competitions, and content that’s not available to free viewers.

YouTube has a channel membership feature, but you can only turn this on when you have more than 50,000 subscribers (which is free and is the equivalent of followers on Twitch). As with Twitch, this comes with various perks.

Promote affiliate links.

Affiliate marketing is yet another way you can get paid by playing Fortnite.

Affiliate marketing involves promoting links for products or services on affiliate sites. Affiliate programs that you can choose from include GearBest, NewEgg, Zavvi, and the classic program Amazon Associates.

When you’ve proven yourself as an affiliate marketer, you can apply to Epic Games’ Support-A-Creator Program that allows a few creators to earn money from Fortnite.

Creators get $5 for every 10,000 V-Bucks spent by other players to support them in-game. So you earn from your viewers’ support, and Epic Games supports you even further.

Get sponsorships.

Brands take notice of content creators that have a lot of engaged viewers. When brands sponsor you, they’ll pay you to promote, show, or even mention their products in your stream.

When you’re ready, you can check out Twitch’s Bounty Board Program or YouTube’s FameBit, which connects video creators with companies who are interested in sponsoring their content.

Sell your own merch.

When you make it big as a celebrity streamer, you can partner with manufacturers and create your own merchandise to sell.

Selling your own brand by selling mugs, T-shirts, cellphone cases, etc. not only adds to your revenue but promotes your brand to other viewers and gets you more fans and subscribers.

YouTube has merch shelf, while Twitch has a Teespring extension. Both allow you to manage your merchandise for sale.

Here are some reminders before you start streaming.

Get the highest quality webcam you can afford. When your content of choice is video, getting the clearest, sharpest quality you can get is crucial.

Your viewers want to be able to see your expressions, and you want to be able to convey your personality.

Don’t skimp on your internet connection. You need a fast internet connection for playing Fortnite in the first place, but you’ll need an even faster connection if you’re going to stream videos.

Plus, you’ll have to be online almost constantly because you want to be online when people are online and watching.

Don’t quit your day job… yet. If you manage to get plenty of subscribers and a steady income, then you can probably quit your day job at some point and make a living by getting paid to play Fornite.

But it doesn’t happen in a matter of days. It’s going to take some time. And if you quit your day job before you’re ready, you’re in a situation where you don’t have a backup source of income, and you’re setting yourself up for financial ruin.

4. Become a professional eSports Fortnite gamer.

Fortnite: Battle Royale is now in the realm of eSports, and if you have mad skills, you can join eSports tournaments as a pro gamer and play for prizes in the millions of dollars.

You can compete Solo, get a partner and compete as a Duo, or join a team. For an idea of the top Fortnite teams, here’s an unofficial list.

Just like professional football or basketball players, you can then find brand sponsorships on your own or backing from an eSports franchise team owner willing to pay you to play for their team.

5. Coach other Fortnite players.

If you’ve built your reputation in Twitch, in eSports, or in both, you can earn even when you’re not playing Fortnite by sharing your expertise with other players as a coach.

Some of the websites that offer coaching include GamersRdy, ProBoosting, and Eloboostpros. You can also offer your coaching services through freelance sites such as Fiverr or Upwork.

You’ll find that Fortnite coaching is in high demand nowadays, with gamers willing to pay as high as $20 to $30 an hour or more.

6. Boost other players’ accounts.

Another way to get paid playing Fortnite through your expertise is to boost other players’ win or kill statistics, power levels, or simply play daily quests if they had no time.

The same websites that offer Fortnite coaching normally offer account boosting as well. Interested gamers would go to these websites to get boosting services, they provide their Fortnite account information, and you get to work doing what they need you to do.

This is perfect for you if you don’t like the idea of coaching, and depending on the specific task or goal that you have to accomplish, you can get paid anywhere from $10 to hundreds or even thousands of dollars at a time.

7. Sell Fortnite accounts.

Yet another way to get paid playing Fortnite is to create an account, play excellently, collect various items, and win lots of times.

Afterward, you can sell these Fortnite accounts loaded with skins, emotes, and accessories on third-party, unofficial marketplaces, such as eBay or Craigslist. Once a transaction is confirmed, you can send the email address and password of that account.

While this is not exactly illegal, it is certainly frowned upon in the community, so if you go this route, protect your personal information and do your best to fly under the radar.

Start Making Money To Play Fortnite!

Playing video games is not just a hobby anymore; you can get paid to play Fortnite and make a lot of money doing so.

If you’re a beginner to Fortnite, start honing your skills and becoming a good player to catch hardcore Fortnite fans’ attention.

Additional Readings

Here are other ways to make money playing video games.

Also, here are more ways to make money from your hobbies.

Do you play Fortnite? How do you plan to earn money playing Fortnite? Tell us in the comments!