From pro to amateur, three new paths to game monetization

Monetization in gaming is growing beyond the professional, full-time gamers and streamers who can cash in on their fast-twitch muscles and being shared with hobbyists and casual players who are making money from their graphic arts skills, betting, and more. At the latest GamesBeat Summit Next event, Brendon Kim, VP, Managing Director, Global Head of Investments at Samsung Next, headed a panel discussion about the monetization strategies now available to the gaming community at every level, and possibilities for both professional and amateur players.

The panel brought together founders from three companies with very different paths to monetization: StreamElements gives live and video content creators the tools to create content, engage their audience, and monetize in a variety of ways. With Overwolf, third-party developers can build on top of existing triple-A games. The company has about 20 million monthly active gamers, more than 87,000 creators, and around 15 billion yearly downloads of mods and apps.