Category: Money Making

To some, an epic movie is one of significant size and scope. To others, it’s just an exceptional movie.  Often, it’s both. While the definition of an “epic” movie may change from one viewer to the next, there are some movies that you’ll watch and immediately understand why they earned the title.  

If you’re looking to elevate your movie-watching game, you’ll need a launching point to get you started on some of Hollywood’s most epic and mostly unknown films.

1. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

When you think of a movie from the 1940s, you’re probably not expecting some visual spectacle. And yet that’s kind of what A Matter of Life and Death is, even by today’s standards. Directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger put together a finely crafted film that follows a deceased soldier who, thanks to an issue with Heaven’s soul collection, may get a second chance at life on Earth. The movie is praised for its use of visuals and the artistic vision that brings it all to life on screen.

2. The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

There have been plenty of movies about the successes of the Roman Empire, but there don’t seem to be many about its downfall. The Fall of the Roman Empire is exactly as it sounds, starring Obi-Wan himself, Alec Guinness, as Marcus Aurelius. The movie starts with the threat of a Germanic invasion and highlights revolts in its individual provinces. The title is one big spoiler, though, as the movie concludes with a voice-over briefly detailing the fall of the Roman Empire.

3. Prince of the City (1981)

Sidney Lumet’s three-hour-long character study based on the life of Robert Leuci, an NYPD cop who decided to blow the whistle on corruption within the force, may not be all car chases and gun fights. Still, it is a well-written adaptation of the book of the same name and a real treat for fans of gritty, documentary style, shoot-on-location neo-noir.

4. The Leopard (1963)

Luchino Visconti’s adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi’s 1958 novel, De Lampedusa, follows the exploits of Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina (Burt Lancaster), one of the last Sicilian noblemen left during Italy’s Unification in 1860. As Garibaldi and his Redshirts sweep through Sicily, te Prince finds himself trapped between the inevitability of modernization and his longing for a now unobtainable past.

5. The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Sean Connery and Michael Cane star in John Huston‘s epic adaptation of the 1888 Rudjard Kipling novella about a pair of rogue British NCOs who travel from India to Kafiristan (Northern Afghanistan) in search of adventure. On arriving in the region, one of the soldiers is mistaken for a god by the local populace and makes their king.

6. Gallipoli (1981)

This Australian First World War epic, directed by Peter Weir and starring a young Mel Gibson, follows the lives of a group of Western Australian men who join the Australian Imperial Force sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in the Ottoman Empire. They take part in the disastrous Battle of The Nek, which saw thousands of ANZAC troops cut down by Turkish machine gun fire.   

7. Sorcerer (1977)

Roy Schneider stars in William Friedkin’s tense thriller about four outcasts tasked with transporting a dangerous cargo of faulty dynamite across South America. 

8. Giant (1956)

Brock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean star in George Stevens’ Western epic about a Texas rancher and his descendants. Although Giant was a massive hit when it was released, it has fallen by the wayside almost 70 years since. 

9. Kagemusha (1980)

Kuwasawa’s period drama about a criminal taught to impersonate a dying feudal lord to try and avoid a war may not be one of the Japanese auteur’s most well-known movies. But it is one of his best, winning the 1980 Palme D’or at Canne, and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film the same year.

10. War and Peace (1965)

This eight-hour-long Oscar-winning Russian adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s iconic novel, directed by Sergey Bondarchuk, is an absolute feast for the senses. The film, funded by the Soviet Government to show useless Yanks what an actual epic looked like, features the largest battle scene ever committed to film, rumored to have included 120,000 extras. Although Bondarchuk later denied this in an interview with National Geographic about the making of this oft-overlooked epic.

11. The Big Red One (1980)

Samuel Fuller’s hard-hitting, autobiographical World War II epic stars Lee Marvin alongside an ensemble cast including Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, and Siegfried Rauch, follows the exploits of an American 1st Infantry Division Sergent and his squad as they face the horrors of the Second World War from the Allied invasion of Sicily to the D-days landing, and the liberation of the Falkenau concentration camp. 

12. Once Were Warriors (1994)

This New Zealand drama about the devastating effect of British colonization on the Māori people and the survival of their culture against the odds by Lee Tamahori chronicles the lives of the Heke family, who live in poverty in South Auckland. Unflinchingly violent and dealing with themes including addiction and domestic abuse, Once Were Warriors is not an easy watch, but one that is certainly worth your time,       

13. 1900 (1976)

Bernardo Bertolucci’s epic about the rise of Italian fascism in the early 20th century stars Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, and Donald Sutherland in a tale of two boys born on the same day; one into wealth and luxury and the other into extreme poverty.  

14. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

Scorsese’s controversial biblical epic stars Willem Defoe as Jesus Christ as he struggles with temptations, including fear, doubt, depression, reluctance, and lust.

15. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

This historical epic, directed by Ridley Scott, presents a heavily fictionalized account of the events that led to the Third Crusade and stars Orlando Bloom as Balian of Ibelin as he fights to defend a besieged Jerusalem from the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin.

16. The Last Emperor (1987)

This award-winning epic biopic about the final Emperor of China, Puyi, written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and adapted from Puyi’s 1964 autobiography, follows Puyi’s life, from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and ‘political rehabilitation’ by the Chinese Communist Party. John Lone stars in the eponymous role, and it was the first Western film the People’s Republic of China authorized to film in the Forbidden City in Beijing. 

17. Little Big Man (1970)

Dustin Hoffman stars in Arthur Penn’s Satirical Western epic about the life of a white man raised by members of the Cheyenne nation during the 19th century and his attempted integration into American pioneer society. One of the Earliest revisionist Westerns, Little Big Man was one of the first films to depict Native Americans in a sympathetic light while exposing the criminal practices of the United States Cavalry.

The Sopranos exploded onto the television scene with revolutionary force and metaphorical gunfire. TV shows didn’t experiment with morally ambiguous protagonists, antiheroes, gore, or dysfunctional families like David Chase’s in the 20th century.

After Tony Soprano and his kin elevated HBO to the forefront of cable in 1999, other crime dramas and genre pieces took from the genetic makeup of The Sopranos. These incredible shows all owe some sort of debt to the O.G.! Meet the best TV shows The Sopranos inspired.

1. Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad’s enthralling roller coaster plotlines would never have appeared on TV without The Sopranos opening the door. Walter White’s evolution from common civilian to drug emperor captured the devastation and consequences of poor decision-making like no other story put to screen.

2. Mad Men

Mad Men’s parallels to The Sopranos go further than just Matthew Weiner’s work on both programs. The series hauntingly envisions the internal struggles of a man who seemingly has everything, Don Draper, but mental health and narcism rip all ambitions and hopes to smithereens. 

3. Ozark

Ozark served as Jason Bateman’s entry into the drama world, and it also catapulted audiences into a world of crime and drugs. The Netflix hit explored all of the ways the Byrd family didn’t prepare for the harsh realities of cartel warfare. Great camerawork and lighting make the show feel cinematic, suggesting that The Sopranos inspired the cinematography.

4. Boardwalk Empire

The Sopranos’ Terrence Winter created this period piece about criminals working their way through Prohibition in 1920s New Jersey. Nucky Thompson juggles personal and professional lives much like Tony Soprano, and Steve Buschemi delivers a striking lead performance.

5. Lilyhammer

Lilyhammer feeds The Sopranos’ fans directly through the starring turn of Steven Van Zandt as Frank Tagliano. Van Zandt played Silvio Dante on The Sopranos, and this time, he gets more screen time as a mob boss out of his element living in Europe.

6. Succession

Audiences won’t find much blood or weaponry in Succession, but the emotional climaxes reached within the Roy family more than resemble the heated arguments that echoed from the Soprano household. Selfish betrayal and a heavy dose of dark humor make it hard to take a glance away from Waystar’s headquarters…and suggest The Sopranos inspired the series on more than one level.

7. Dexter

Imagine a world where a network could air a show about a serial killer as the protagonist before The Sopranos. Crazy, right? Dexter exemplified the vision of its inspiration with a plethora of internal dialogues and interesting dream sequences that allowed for essentially every thought of Dexter Morgan’s psyche.

8. Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy gives an entertaining insight into motorcycle culture while frequenting the family issues present at the heart of the biker club. The show dabbled in dense themes while going to extreme lengths to exhaust every parameter available for violence on cable network FX.

9. Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under doesn’t resemble The Sopranos through plot lines or characters, but the show artistically reflected the changing TV landscape that took place in the 2000s. Alan Ball’s family drama always throws at least one good dream sequence into each episode and touches on the effects of mental health problems.

10. Barry

Barry wouldn’t seem like it takes that much from The Sopranos, but the basic plot definitely couldn’t have existed before Tony Soprano’s show. Bill Hader’s character works through personal and professional issues as he tries to handle assigned assassinations and acting simultaneously.

11. Ray Donovan

Ray Donovan substitutes mob work for a potpourri of fixer activities. Liev Schreiber plays the title character with swag and confidence as the protagonist lives a life of crime that often spirals into something more dangerous than he originally intended.

12. Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul engages in the depth of its side characters much more than its predecessor, Breaking Bad. Much like The Sopranos, the series asks viewers to take their time with the story and think about its themes on a deeper level. Crime and consequences go hand in hand and allow the viewer to live vicariously through the poor decisions of Jimmy McGill and others.

13. Justified

Justified combines the best of the Western genre with antihero tropes from The Sopranos to create a unique and enthralling crime drama. Timothy Olyphant gives an underrated performance as a reckless ranger in the Midwest.

14. Hannibal

Hannibal builds on the incredible success of The Silence of the Lambs to give a clearer picture of the psychotic tendencies running through Hannibal Lecter’s mind. Both Hannibal and Tony Soprano have more complicated brains than most viewers could fathom.

15. The Bear

Hulu’s acclaimed cooking comedy-drama takes a lot of creative liberties from the dialogue in The Sopranos. Prodigious chef Carmy and his family bellow and scream just like Tony, Carmela, and Janice Soprano!

16. Gomorrah

Gomorrah suits the taste of fans who love The Sopranos for its mobster themes. The series takes place in Italy and goes in-depth on the cutthroat violence and rash thinking that intertwine the loyalties of organized crime.

17. The Wire

The Wire often gets credited with helping HBO rise to prominence alongside The Sopranos during the early 2000s. The series lays every last piece of Baltimore out in the open, from schools to police officers, and examines the internal rot of America’s most beloved values and decisions.

18. Deadwood

Deadwood throws audiences into the grimy, immoral fire of South Dakota in the mid-to-late 19th century. The ruthless leaders of the titular encampment used all means necessary to gain respect and rationalize their need for existence in the United States. Al Swearengen scares just as many people when he walks into a room as Tony Soprano.

19. The Shield

The Shield’s chronological proximity to The Sopranos makes it shine even brighter in television history. The series’ premise, a dirty cop who lets his ego and anger take over in the worst moments, clearly drew more than a few inspirations from Tony Soprano’s plight. The show helped FX usher in a new era of drama on its network.

20. The Americans

A period piece that throws viewers into the Cold War like no other, The Americans thrills audiences with a married Soviet couple that pretends to be American to gain a tactical advantage while spying on the enemy. Tony Soprano popularized the double life trope.

21. Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom shows a different type of crime family than audiences are used to, but the results are fascinating nonetheless. Janine Cody rules over her brood of boys with violence in her eyes as the family commits illegal acts to stay afloat.

22. Griselda

Loosely based on the life of Griselda Blanco, this recently released Netflix miniseries turns genre tropes upside down by placing a mother of three kids into a world of drugs and murder. Like Tony Soprano, Griselda’s attempts at protecting her family from the dangers of her profession come with varied results.

Gearheads love numbers. Most of us know the horsepower figures, engine sizes, and top speeds of our favorite models by heart. But the one figure that trumps them all is the 0-60mph time.

Does your car do it in 5.0 seconds? Well, mine does it in 4.8, so it’s clearly the superior vehicle in every possible way. Or is it? Well, let’s find out.

Why Is 0-60MPH Such a Big Deal?

Back in the day, when most cars could barely get to 60mph, knowing how long it took to get there was a pretty accurate indicator of how it would perform overall. But now that even the cheapest cars can easily top 100mph, it is far less relevant.

We still want a simple number to know which car is fast and which one is slow, but modern cars are too complex to be judged on just their 0-60mph times alone.

Horsepower

Many modern cars have such a massive amount of horsepower (we’re looking at you, Dodge) that trying to send it all to the rear wheels results in lots of tire smoke and not much else. A Dodge Challenger with a 485 horsepower V8 takes around 4.4 seconds to get to 60mph, which is decent but similar to far less powerful cars like a VW Golf R. The problem is traction.

All-Wheel-Drive Traction

Grip off the line makes a big difference to 0-60mph times. Comparing a car like the BMW 740i, which can be had in RWD and AWD, shows that the AWD model is 0.2 seconds quicker to 60mph with the same power output. That doesn’t make it any faster in daily driving, and it might even be a bit slower in gear due to the extra weight.

Electric Power

EVs don’t need to rev up to deliver their maximum power, and that’s why they are so quick off the line. But once they pass 60mph, the acceleration tapers off quickly because most have a single gear designed to offer the best performance at lower speeds. That may be fine for daily driving, but just because your EV sedan is as quick as a Lamborghini to 60mph doesn’t mean it can keep up at higher speeds.

Gearing

Some cars have extra-long gearing for improved fuel economy, but they may not have the power to accelerate strongly. Others have very short gearing, which may aid 0-60mph times, but makes them frenetic in normal driving conditions.

Turbochargers

Turbos force air into the engine, which allows more fuel to be added in each combustion cycle. The result is more power, but there is usually a slight delay in power delivery as the turbo spools up. This can result in a delay in acceleration. Small engines with big turbos can seem like rocket ships when on the move, but the big lag in power delivery can be very frustrating and even dangerous.

Drivability

That is why drivability is more important than that mostly meaningless 0-60mph figure. Choosing your next car based on its 0-60mph times is as useful as picking one based on its top speed. If you do hundreds of highway miles each month, then in-gear acceleration and high-speed refinement are far more relevant. Spending most of your day driving around town? Then you will probably never see 60mph anyway.

When Did You Last Go 0-60?

Traffic, pedestrians, speed bumps, and the law make it harder than you’d think to show off your fancy 0-60mph times. Most cars go from 0-40mph or 10-40mph far more often. A car that is responsive and quick in that speed range is far more pleasant to drive than a laggy, over-boosted performance car or one with impossibly short gearing.

In-Gear Acceleration

The way a car responds while on the move is called in-gear acceleration. A car designed to excel at sprinting from 0-60mph may not be set up to deliver good in-gear responsiveness. It may be geared too short, have too little torque, or have too much turbo lag to be able to respond when you need to overtake or get up to speed on the highway.

Power or Torque?

This topic deserves an article on its own, but in simple terms, torque is how much work an engine can do, while power is how fast it can get it done. Power figures sell cars, so most manufacturers tend to focus on that number, but torque is what gives you that satisfying push in the back and makes a car more enjoyable to drive. It may not necessarily improve your 0-60mph time, but it makes for a better all-rounder.

Manual or Automatic?

The quicker and more seamless the gear change, the faster you will go. Electric cars usually have one or at most two gears, so the power delivery is seamless; this can make them feel quicker than gas-powered cars, which need to shuffle through a few gears as they accelerate.

Manual transmissions allow you to engage with a car and are an enthusiast’s favorite, but they can slow down acceleration times. Just comparing the 0-60mph figures won’t tell you what it feels like to drive the car in varying conditions.

Measurement Madness

You would think measuring a 0-60mph time would be simple. But you would be wrong. In the US, some testers and manufacturers allow for a one-foot rollout before starting timing; this can take as much as 0.3 seconds off the actual time.

European manufacturers tend to quote 0-62mph figures, which equates to 100km/h, yet it is often used interchangeably when quoting acceleration figures. That extra two mph can add 0.3 seconds to the overall times.

So, two identical cars tested at opposite ends of the globe may be 0.6 seconds apart. Then some manufacturers quote their 0-60mph figures on prepped drag strips or grippy performance tires, claiming times that will never be matched in real-world conditions.

So, How Can You Compare Performance?

So, 0-60mph times are a pretty basic way to compare cars, but they do have some relevance. Seeing a time of 10 seconds for the 0-60mph dash will let you know that it will be markedly slower in just about any situation than a car that can do it in 7.0 seconds. A car that can do a sub-6.0-second 0-60mph sprint should feel reasonably quick in most situations.

But it is important to compare powerplants (EV, Gas, Diesel, Hybrid), transmission types (manual, automatic), and drivetrain layouts (AWD, RWD, FWD) to really understand how a car will perform.

Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by Katie

If you have a passion for gaming you may be looking for lucrative opportunities to carve a profit in the industry. Luckily, there are many gaming business ideas that we’ll take a look at today to start online and offline.

Whether your interest lies in opening a retail store for video games, designing intuitive game development software, or organizing esports tournaments, the gaming industry offers a fertile ground for your business aspirations.

You could even venture into the world of video game testing, or consider starting your own game development studio to bring unique game concepts to life.

As mobile gaming continues to surge in popularity, there’s space for you to express your entrepreneurial spirit.

Today, this article will cover:

• Best online gaming business ideas
• Best offline gaming business ideas
• The step-by-step process to start a gaming business
• Successful examples of gaming businesses
• Skills needed to succeed with a gaming business
• Profit potential for gaming businesses
• Emerging opportunities in the gaming industry

Let’s get started!

 

 

Best Online Gaming Business Ideas

There are numerous opportunities to reach a wider audience by starting a profitable venture in the gaming world online.

Take a look at the best video game business ideas you can start without leaving home.

 

1. Video Game Tester

Your keen eye for detail, excellent gaming skills and great communication can make you an asset as a video game tester.

Game developers are in constant need of dedicated testers to provide feedback and identify bugs before public release.

If you spend lots of time playing games, this could be the ideal way for you to make money in the gaming world, doing something you love.

Take a look at these remote game tester jobs hiring today.

 

2. Game Development

If you have the right programming and creative storytelling skills, you have the opportunity to cash in crafting immersive worlds that captivate players.

As a game developer you may be asked to work on several areas of game development such as the visuals, user interface, game logic and artificial intelligence.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with game designers and bring their creations to life.

 

3. Video Game Rental Services

Launch an online games rental service, allowing video game players to access a variety of titles without a long-term purchase commitment.

This is a hugely popular business model that is in demand, as it gives gamers who can’t afford to buy games, the opportunity to play new games without having to buy everyone.

Subscription models are extremely popular also, as you can charge low and reel in a high volume of customers, who’ll pay you every month for a long time if you keep the games on offer updated regularly.

Potential revenue streams for an online video game store include:

• One-off rental fees
• Monthly subscription fees for unlimited rentals
• Website affiliate revenue
• Ad and sponsorship deals
• Selling gaming merchandise

 

4. Create Mobile Gaming Apps

With millions of smartphone users, you could create the next gaming app that becomes the next viral sensation.

You will need coding skills, or be willing to learn, so you can design your new app. But,the good news is that you can learn to code for free at the Code Academy.

Once you know what you’re doing, you can put your skills to the test by creating new mobile games and if one catches on, you can profit from:

• App downloads
• In-app purchases
• Ads and sponsorships with big gaming brands

 

5. Start a Gaming Blog

Another one of the best gaming business ideas is to create a hub for gaming enthusiasts with a gaming blog.

Through regular content creation, you could provide gaming insights, news, and updates to establish yourself as an authority in the gaming community.

Once you have created your blog and started to drive traffic, you can put monetization strategies into place like affiliate marketing, advertising and sponsorship content.

A few ideas for a gaming blog include:

• Tips and tricks for winning at popular games
• Latest video game releases and what to expect
• Gaming reviews
• How to create your own video games
• Strategies to earn money while gaming

 

6. Write Game Tutorials

Your expertise can guide players through complex game mechanics with well-crafted game tutorials.

Many new gamers need help with the right strategy and you can profit from your gaming passion by sharing your knowledge.

Take a look at these companies with new opportunities for game guide writers:

 

7. Write Game Reviews

Share your opinions and cultivate a following by writing insightful game reviews.

​This can be done on your own gaming blog, or you could write reviews for other big gaming brands.

Game reviews reportedly get paid between $50 – $300 per review, depending on the game, the company you write for and the length of the review.

Check these companies for game review writing jobs:

 

8. Create Graphics for Games

If you have an artistic touch, you could start a profitable business creating graphics for games.

Indie developers and larger companies alike may need your design expertise and often hire graphic designers full-time and on a freelance basis.

And, large gaming developers often hire multiple designers to support the development teams.

If this seems like the best gaming business idea for you, search for jobs on this job page and set up profiles offering your services on freelancer marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork.

 

9. Start a Video Game Podcast

Another top gaming-related business idea is to start a video game podcast.

​Podcasts have exploded in popularity over the last few years, meaning this is a lucrative market to get into.

Your podcast could give tips and tricks on how to beat different games,  or you could review various games you know are going to be popular.

Once you have enough listeners, you can monetize your content with affiliate marketing, advertising and brand sponsorships.

 

10. Livestream Game Play on YouTube

YouTube offers exciting opportunities for gamers to capitalize on their gaming skills and personality by livestreaming gameplay on the platform.

You can engage with your audience in real-time, share tips and tricks on how to progress through game levels and even monetize through ads and sponsorships.

Take a look at these popular gaming YouTube influencers for inspiration:

Learn more about how to make money with YouTube here.

 

11. Create Your Own Video Games

Forge your path with original content by choosing to create your own video games.

If you have the skills, creating video games is a great business idea for game lovers that could earn you a huge amount of money.

If this is new to you, a great place to start is with the Steam developer program as they show you the exact steps to create and distribute your game, VR experience of video through the Steam platform.

Learn more about how to make money with Steam here.

 

12. Start a Video Game Marketing Business

If marketing is your strong suit, offer your expertise with a video game marketing business.

Developers and game brands need sharp strategies to compete in a crowded marketplace and make their new games get seen by the right audience.

It will help if you can show success stories, where you’ve helped a new game developer market their game and get sales so offer your services to gaming friends first to get good reviews.

​Once you have a portfolio to share with big game companies, you can start reaching out to offer your video game marketing services.

 

13. Create and Sell a Video Game Card Game

Another type of business for gaming enthusiasts is to create a video game card game.

Your card game could be inspired by popular gaming franchises that gamers know about, which will increase the likelihood of sales.

Card games are popular online and offline so there are plenty of opportunities to increase your revenue streams.

 

14. Offer Game Account Boosting Services

Professional players and skilled gamers can make money by offering game account-boosting services.

This involves elevating their gameplay to higher levels, elevating their rank and helping them get through difficult game levels.

To succeed as an account booster, you will need considerable gaming talent for the game you play.

But, this type of work can rake in between $500 – $1000 for around 10 hours of rank-boosting play per person.

 

15. E-Sports Tournament Hosting

E-Sports gaming tournaments are competitive events that are extremely popular and lucrative.

Players compete from all over the world to gain recognition, huge winner fees and to meet other players with the same passion.

This is one of the best gaming business ideas that can be started with minimal cash, as it can all be hosted online.

You will have to spend time advertising your event though to get enough people interested.

If you succeed, you can make money from:

• Tournament fees
• Sponsorship opportunities
• Advertisements
• Sell merchandise

 

Best Offline Gaming Business Ideas

There are also many ways to make money from gaming business ventures in the real world.

However, do be aware that this route may require more substantial startup capital and you will need to get your business registered with the relevant authorities.

 

16. Set Up a Gaming Lounge

Opening a gaming lounge provides a communal space where gamers can gather to play the latest video games.

You’ll need a detailed business plan and might consider forming an LLC to protect personal assets.

Think about the customer experience, from comfy seating to an impressive array of gaming titles and offer deals to get new customers through the doors.

Possible income streams include:

• ​Game rental
• Monthly subscriptions
• Game meetups
• Income from drinks and food

 

17. Video Game Console Repair Business

If you have technical skills, a video game console repair business could be a rewarding endeavour.

Acquire your EIN for tax purposes and ensure you have a workspace equipped with the necessary tools.

Service quality and turnaround time will be your benchmarks for success.

 

18. Rent Out Gaming Equipment

Starting a rental service for consoles and other gaming gear requires inventory management and a solid understanding of your market’s demands.

Use an LLC to safeguard your investments, and craft a pricing strategy that keeps you competitive yet profitable.

If you don’t want to start your own rental business, you can still make money renting on your gaming gear on popular platforms like:

 

19. Host Virtual Reality Gaming Experiences

Virtual reality (VR) gaming is gaining traction and you could start a business offering VR experiences.

Remember that you will have to invest in high-quality VR equipment, gaming PCs and audio equipment and you’ll need to rent out a suitable space.

Start by establishing your target audience, so you know what type of games to offer that will cater to their nature and keep them coming back for more.

Money can be made from:

• Entry fees for VR gaming sessions
• Hosting private VR parties and experiences
• Working with developers to showcase new games

 

20. Gaming Event Organizer

As a gaming event organizer, your role is to create tournaments and gatherings that attract gamers.

This can range from local events at schools to large-scale events for pro gamers, or experiences at festivals.

Network with sponsors, and consider the logistics from venues to gaming equipment.

Your ability to organize will be the keystone of your business’s reputation and success.

Revenue can be made from entry fees, sponsorships and advertising fees for showing events on streaming sites like YouTube.

 

21. Gaming Merchandise Shop

Your love of gaming can be shared with others through selling merchandise in an online or offline store.

A mix of the two is the best way to make a lot of money and most physical stores these days, also have an online presence, which helps customers to find them and have the convenience of purchasing from home.

Gaming store revenue opportunities include:

• Merchandise sales
• Sponsorships deals
• Advertising income

 

Gaming Business Ideas: Step By Step Process To Start an Online Gaming Business

Starting an online gaming business is a strategic process, where thorough planning lays the foundation for success.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to set your gaming venture in motion.

 

Step 1: Define Your Vision
Narrow down your focus to the specific niche of the gaming industry that resonates with you. Whether it is game development, streaming, or organizing esports events, clarity is essential.

Step 2: Market Analysis
Understand your audience and competition by conducting comprehensive market research. Analyze trends to ensure your business stays relevant and competitive.

Step 3: Business Plan
Build a detailed business plan outlining your mission, financial projections, marketing strategies, and business structure.

 

**Step 4: Legal Formalities**
- Register your business to legitimize it.
- Obtain required licenses and permits.
- Protect your business with the necessary legal documentation.

 

Step 5: Funding
Open a business bank account and explore different funding options, including investors, loans, or crowdfunding.

Step 6: Build Your Platform
Develop a user-friendly website or app that hosts your gaming services. Ensure it’s robust and scalable as your business grows.

Step 7: Launch Marketing Campaigns
Use social media, SEO, and other marketing tactics to grow your audience and attract gamers to your platform.

Step 8: Operations and Management
Keep your business running smoothly with efficient operations and management practices, constantly adapting to the evolving gaming market.

 

Gaming Business Ideas Frequently Asked Questions

In this section, you’ll find targeted answers to common queries regarding establishing and running gaming businesses, which will help you navigate the industry with confidence.

 

What are some successful examples of gaming businesses?

Successful gaming businesses range from game development studios and independent game publishers to hardware retailers and e-sports organizations.

Companies like Valve with Steam, Sony with PlayStation, and high-traffic gaming lounges exemplify thriving ventures in the gaming market.

 

What skills are needed to start a successful gaming business?

Starting a successful gaming business requires the following skills:

• Industry knowledge
• Gaming proficiency
• Technical proficiency (such as game development, networking, and IT)
• Business acumen
• An understanding of your target market
• Creativity in game design, marketing skills, and customer service are also helpful

 

How profitable can a video game business be?

The profitability of a video game business varies widely, with factors such as market positioning, game quality, and monetization strategies having an impact.

Successful video game businesses can reach high-profit margins, particularly if they capture niche markets or create widely popular games.

 

What should be included in a gaming business plan?

Your gaming business plan should include:

• A clear description of your business model
• Market analysis
• Detailed marketing and sales strategies
• An operations plan
• Team structure
• Financial projections
• Additionally, include an analysis of competitors and risk management strategies

 

What are the emerging opportunities in the online gaming industry?

Reports show that gaming is booming, with the industry predicted to be worth 321 billion by 2026.

This indicates that there’s never been a better time to start a gaming-related business!

Emerging opportunities in the online gaming industry include:

• Mobile game development
• Cloud gaming services
• Virtual reality experiences
• The expansion of e-spots

 

Final Thoughts on the Best Gaming Business Ideas

These gaming business ideas could make you a huge amount of money if implemented in the right way.

Take the time to do your research, create a business plan and research how you’ll market your new business to your target market.

There are many hungry gamers out there, but if they don’t know about your business, they won’t buy anything!

But, with perseverance, you can make a name for yourself and a decent income in this fast-growing industry.

​Check out these other online business ideas that might interest you:

 

 

How Much Should You Charge Per Hour As A Freelance Copywriter?

When it comes to how much exactly you should be charging, there’s no right answer. When in doubt, charge at the lower end of the median when you’re a beginner, and raise your prices from there as you get more experience. According to Payscale, the current median hourly rate for a freelance copywriter is $34.16.

How Much Should You Charge Per Page As A Freelance Copywriter?

If you want to charge based on the type of content you’re writing, check out this chart from professional copywriter Abbey Woodcock. She surveyed 68 copywriters for IWT to find out how much they charged:

You can see that there’s a HUGE disparity between a highly experienced copywriter and a beginner copywriter. This should be encouraging for anyone just getting started.

Also, even when you’re a relative beginner, you’re still making a good amount of money for your services. Say you write an About Page for a company and charge $85. If that About Page only took you an hour to write, that’s a fantastic ROI on the time you spent on research, writing, and editing.

Tips For Improving Your Copywriting Skills

I’ve been a copywriter for over 15 years, everything from a New York Times Bestselling book to million-dollar sales pages. So, I have some tips to share with you as you get started in your career (or side hustle) as a copywriter.

Tip #1: Focus On The Reader 

This sounds obvious, right? Aren’t all writers focused on the reader? Not at all. It’s shocking how often writers lose focus when they’re writing. A lot of writers sit down at their desks, stare at a blank page for a minute, and think, “What should I say?” And then, wham! They’ll just dive right into whatever they feel like writing about. They go off on long tangents. They inject their writing with random stories. And they make everything about themselves (this is I, I, I syndrome). In the process, they kill their writing.

Mediocre writers talk about themselves. Great copywriters write about what their readers care about. This takes planning. You also must be meticulous about the actual words you use. But it’s important to know: the best writers focus their copy on their readers, not themselves.

One of the best ways to do that is to stop talking about YOURSELF and talk to your audience. That means to drop all the “me” and “I” in your copy and start saying “you” instead.

• NO: My customers don’t like studying — maybe I can help them shortcut the studying process!
• YES: Do you hate studying and do anything to avoid it? Do you wait until the last minute even if you have an exam the next morning to even touch your paper?
• NO: I’m proud of the results that I’ve helped my readers achieve.”
• YES: You will see extraordinary results. Our team has helped thousands of people, just like you, create breakthroughs after breakthroughs in their business. Now it’s your turn.
• NO: I know you’d benefit from our services. I’ve helped dozens of people lose weight.
• YES: If you skip a day of going to the gym, who holds you accountable? That makes it easier to skip two then three then suddenly, you wake up and find you haven’t worked out for a month. Well, make sure never happens to you again so you look and feel incredible.

Do you see the difference? When you focus on your readers and write to them, you turn tired, boring writing into exciting and relevant copy.

Tip #2: Focus On Learning More 

Good copywriters never stop improving. They don’t wake up one day and think, “Wow, my writing is perfect; I’ll never have to change it again.” That would be absurd.

Beyond that, they’re constantly investing in themselves. They read books on copywriting and marketing. They buy the newest courses. And they read other copywriters’ stuff to stay in the loop. They know it’s important to stay sharp and always keep up-leveling their skills.

Tip #3: Be Humble 

Good copywriters aren’t fighting tooth and nail to defend every idea they have. They’re always looking for feedback. That could mean they show their first draft to a friend to see if it’s interesting. Or it might mean reaching out to customers directly for their take.

Good copywriters know that getting feedback on their early first drafts helps their writing improve by 10x or even 100x. They don’t see feedback as criticism. They see it as an opportunity to improve their work.

Notice that I don’t say anything about grammar or editing skills. Those things are important, but you can develop those skills over time with practice. What I pointed out are the mindsets that you MUST bring to the table.

You can work on your technical writing skills later on, but if you’re starting out with the wrong frame of mind, you’ll never make it as a copywriter.

So adopt these mindsets. If you do, you’ll already be 90% of the way to being a good copywriter.

Tip #4: Use The Bar Stool Test

Imagine you’re sitting at a bar with your closest friends. You’re having a few drinks and chatting away.

After a few minutes, your friend asks you, What does your business do again?

Would you read off the mission statement from a company about page and say something like, were you on a mission to drastically reduce process inefficiencies for our valued clients?

No. If you used stiff words and robotic phrases like that, they’d look at you like you were crazy.

So what would you do? You’d take a sip of your drink and just start talking, using simple words and stories.

Good copywriting works the same way.

It’s not super-dense technical material. It uses short sentences and reads the way people talk.

If you want to be a copywriter, read everything you write out loud. If you find yourself thinking, “There’s no way I would ever say that,” trash it and start over.

Tip #5: Bring Your Writing To Life With Specifics 

Vague copy might as well not exist. It doesn’t get people excited or even keep them reading. So any time you find your copy drifting into the clouds, you should try to bring it back down to the ground level with some specific examples. Take a look at these simple edits to vague copy that make them exponentially more powerful:

• Boring: I don’t like commuting.
• Specific: Every single day, I wake up and think Oh God, I can’t take yet another 45 minutes of sitting through gridlocked traffic just to get to some job that I don’t even like.

• Boring: You’ll have freedom and flexibility.
• Specific: Want to take a break from work and see a movie at 1 p.m. on a random Wednesday? You can do that. Have a friend in town and want to meet him for lunch? You can do that, too and no you won’t have to ask your boss if it’s okay.

• Boring: You’ll look great.
• Specific: You’ll finally be able to fit into your high school jeans and be the envy of all your friends.

These simple tweaks will make all of your writing much stronger.

And once you understand how to apply these frameworks, you can start earning money right away. Let me show you what I mean.

Tip #6: You Can Earn Money While You Practice Your Skills 

Copywriting can be a lucrative career, but you don’t have to go all in at the beginning. You can earn a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars per month doing it on the side in as little as a few hours per week.

How? Think about it like this: every company has something they need to sell, but not every company knows how.

They may have an amazing product or brilliant idea, but no idea how to get people to buy it.

That’s where you, as a copywriter, come in. You can help them sell their products and services better.

All you have to do is work with them on the copy in their sales letters, emails, and on their website.

Think of the horrible sales pitches you’ve gotten. You don’t have to be a great copywriter to do better. And as long as you beat the competition, you can earn good money.

There are thousands of people looking for these types of jobs every day. The only hard part is selecting good clients to work with (some people just don’t value copywriting and that’s okay).

Often,  new copywriters end up chasing low-paying gigs and working with clients who don’t value their services.

Not every video game console sees the immense success that Sony had with the PlayStation 2 or Nintendo with the DS. For every significant gaming hit – like the Nintendo Switch – there is another that was a commercial failure. While these moments feel disappointing for fans and game companies, the most noteworthy console flops in gaming also teach valuable lessons. 

These catastrophic console failures help the industry to consider what the fans want and what succeeds, for the most part. Some failed due to risks taken, while others didn’t have the right luck or timing. But even then, there remain some key lessons and takeaways from these most notable flops in gaming history. 

1. Virtual Boy (1995)

Nintendo became the first major video game publisher to create a dedicated virtual reality system long before the medium saw the success it has today. Its horrible graphics and burgeoning health concerns among gamers – headaches, nausea, and increased risk of seizures – led to its quick failure. Still, Nintendo jumped well ahead of the curve decades before VR became commonplace. 

2. THQ uDraw Game Tablet (2010)

Drawing tablets stand out as a popular accessory for artists on PC, and THQ gambled by releasing a drawing tablet for home consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360. Its initial release for the Wii became a quick success, but its attempt to expand to other consoles led to its demise. The tablet’s failure played a significant role in THQ’s closure.

3. PlayStation Vita (2011)

Sony followed up on the surprising success of the PSP with the PlayStation Vita. The gorgeous OLED screen and powerful hardware seemed ideal, but the games library fell short. It failed compared to its predecessor, the PSP, and its competitor at the time, the 3DS, with a fraction of both consoles’ sales. However, it retained a passionate fan base and fared better than most other flops.

4. Nintendo 64 Disc Drive (1999)

The Nintendo 64 Disc Drive, or 64DD, allowed users to put floppy disks into the 32-bit console and expand its capable power to 64-bit titles. Only nine games were ever released for the N64 expansion, including SimCity 64, but rampant delays and a restrictive launch in just Japan led to its downfall. 

5. Google Stadia (2019)

One of the newer failures on this list comes from the massive tech company Google. The famed search engine creator and Android platform owner brought its dedicated gaming system with the cloud-based Stadia. Players could stream popular and high-profile games without a console. The exact reasons for its cancellation remain unknown, but Stadia ceased operation in early 2023. 

6. Ouya (2013)

This micro-console ran on Android and sold for a mere $99. Ouya started on Kickstarter and found great success there. However, its eventual arrival at retail saw little movement from consumers and game developers alike. Despite its solid emulation capabilities and intriguing games, Razer acquired Ouya and subsequently terminated the project in 2019.

7. Sega 32X (1994)

Sega tried to buy some time until the worldwide release of its 32-bit console — the Sega Saturn (another failure in its own right) — with the 32X expansion for the famous Genesis. The most significant contributor to its failure came from the simultaneous release of the Saturn in Japan alongside the 32X, which made it redundant. 

8. Atari Lynx (1989)

This handheld system felt ahead of its time with its ground-breaking LCD screen and 8-bit library of games. It had modest success for a short time, with around 2 million units sold, but it failed compared to the more mainstream Nintendo Game Boy and Sega Game Gear around the same time. 

9. Philips CD-I (1990)

Philips worked together with Sony before the latter’s eventual PlayStation to create this ground-breaking, interactive CD game player. It doubled as a computer and console at the same time, with access to the internet and games. However, its games library felt forgettable, with loads of horrible titles, even from Nintendo. Worse still, its initial $1,000 (!) price point in 1990 killed most interest. 

10. Nintendo Wii U (2012)

Nintendo’s most puzzling failure comes from the Wii U. It shared a similar name to the Wii, which stood as Nintendo’s greatest home console success at the time. However, mixed messaging about its handheld gamepad feature and name led some to believe it to be a Wii accessory.

A general lack of support for newer games from third-party developers also hurt it. Most of its most successful games now live on with the Nintendo Switch. 

11. Sega Dreamcast (1998)

Sega’s final home console came with the Dreamcast. The system came out long before its competitors at Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, which gave it an edge for a time. However, its shallow library and the forgettable Saturn before it gave it a rough start, but the eventual arrival of the PS2 ended Sega as a console developer for good. 

12. Sega Genesis Nomad (1995)

The Nomad sounded quite ahead of its time upon release, capable of playing most 16-bit games from the Genesis but in a portable format anywhere on the go. However, its lack of identity and Sega’s focus on the also problematic Saturn at the time left it without much marketing. Worse still, it only ever hit shelves in North America. 

13. Nokia N-Gage (2003)

This early smartphone-style device brought together a cell phone with a gaming handheld. It had an impressive library of games, but its high sales expectations and the eventual arrival of the DS and PSP stopped its potential. 

14. 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (1993)

The 3DO from Panasonic featured some of the most powerful hardware and graphics at the time. This led to solid ports of games like Myst, Alone in the Dark, and Doom. However, the jam-packed console market at the time meant it had no chance of succeeding against the likes of Sony and Nintendo. 

15. Atari VCS (2021)

The name of Atari returned in 2021 with the release of the odd VCS console. One of its most significant problems came from the confusion surrounding the new device. While some thought it would be a nostalgia-filled retro system, similar to the NES Mini, it turned out to be a PC-like gaming device with the ability to play older games and modern titles alike. Tons of delays and the mixed messaging led to a little more than 10,000 units sold. 

16. Apple Bandai Pippin (1996)

Apple developed its own gaming console alongside Bandai in the 1990s. It used a Macintosh operating system as its base and acted like a hybrid between a computer and a gaming device. However, its lack of accessibility and games failed to garner any significant attention. 

17. Commodore 64 Games System (1990)

The quite popular Commodore 64 home computer attempted a video game console version in 1990. It had some solid games, but its limited launch in Europe in a competitive market led to its downfall. It sold a mere fraction of the 80,000 units produced at launch. 

18. Neo Geo Pocket and Color (1998-1999)

The original Neo Geo came out in Japan as a black-and-white handheld device but felt outdated right from the start. This led to the bizarre decision to release the Neo Geo Color worldwide only a year later, in 1999.

A mix of problems surrounding communication and the impending Game Boy Advance stopped a solid start dead in its tracks, leading to a short-lived lifecycle.

19. Atari 5200 (1982)

Atari’s successor to the beloved 2600 failed for a variety of reasons. For one, it lacked dedicated games and tried to ride the wave of the 2600’s success without backward compatibility, at least at first. Its strange controllers and competitors like the Intellivision II didn’t help, leading to a short lifetime. 

20. PC-FX (1994)

The popular TurboGrafx-16—PC Engine in Japan—received a successor in the PC-FX. However, it only released in Japan and felt quite underpowered compared to the 3D consoles at the time, like the PlayStation and later N64. NEC discontinued the platform only four years later, in 1998, after 400,000 units sold.

21. PlayStation Classic (2018)

PlayStation tried to ride the wave of nostalgia led by the NES and SNES Minis with a tiny version of the original PlayStation. Its poor set of 20 games, lack of analog thumbsticks on the controller, and other factors led it to seem like a cash grab. It failed compared to its competitors. 

22. Vectrex (1982)

Vectrex came out as the one and only vector graphics-based home console. This led to a fascinating design where it came with its own CRT monitor, not requiring a separate TV at all. It had impressive vector graphics and a solid game library with fun games. Everything sounded great but the great video game market crash of 1983 doomed it to failure. 

23. Atari Jaguar (1993)

The final console from the original Atari Corporation offered a 32-bit console experience at the stacked time of the Sega Genesis, SNES, original PlayStation, and more. It had some decent ports of games like NBA Jam and Wolfenstein 3D, but the numerous other more successful competitors led to its downfall and the end of Atari’s time in console creation. 

24. Fairchild Channel F (1976)

Gamers who have never heard of this early video game console shouldn’t feel bad. It broke new ground in gaming history as the first console with cartridges rather than packed-in games. It had about 27 games, many of which contained solid multiplayer components. It stood out as a solid game platform, but the Atari VCS, otherwise known as the 2600, released a year later and put it out of business.

Founded in 1987, Ubisoft has become one of the biggest names in video games. They are one the largest developers and publishers in the industry, featuring franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Tom Clancy games, and more. 

The best Ubisoft games of all time showcase the true strength of this global developer and its various worldwide studios. It has its hands in just about every genre imaginable, and this list of the best Ubisoft games of all time reflects just that. 

1. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory offers the pinnacle of stealth action gameplay despite its release in 2005. It nails the idea of a single-player campaign focused on terrorists and sinister organizations but also impresses with its competitive and cooperative multiplayer experiences. Players will have a hard time finding a better stealth, or Ubisoft, game than this one. 

2. Assassin’s Creed Origins

Bayek offered players the most decisive single game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise with this groundbreaking shakeup for the series. The switch to Egypt brought not just a prequel storyline but also a more RPG-focused experience. The immense amount of worthy side content and rich freedom make it the best in the franchise to date. 

3. Far Cry 3

This monumental Ubisoft title blends together the FPS genre with the open-world tropes of the Assassin’s Creed games and all of their various side content. Players adventure across a beautiful tropical setting with numerous camps to infiltrate, trippy missions to complete, and a mix of stealth and action gameplay. 

4. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

So many Ubisoft games and series owe their existence to this 3D remake of the classic 2D side-scrolling action games. Players take on the role of a prince who has the power to reverse time if they make mistakes in the gorgeous explorable levels. This time-traveling mechanic still feels unique even many years later. 

5. Rainbow Six Siege

This online multiplayer-focused entry in the series represents the peak of multiplayer in gaming. Two teams compete in various modes to either save hostages, defend their hostages, and so on. Each weapon, playable character with different abilities, and moment feels impactful in a way no other multiplayer game comes close to. 

6. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter

This entry took the Ghost Recon series to the future with a look at high-tech gadgets, special weapons, and more features to help with its strategic squad-based gameplay. This resulted in the strongest iteration of the series with the most depth and fun. 

7. Just Dance 2014

Ubisoft games found immense success in its musical dancing series Just Dance. If players want the best game in the ongoing annual franchise, they should look no further than the 2014 entry. It features the overall best suite of songs to dance to, plus welcome game modes. 

8. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

The 2020 entry in the open-world stealth series expanded even further. Its world of medieval Great Britain may not have the scale of the previous game, but it delves into Norse mythology. This makes it one of the most engaging RPGs of the 21st century, with an emotional main story. 

9. Splinter Cell Blacklist

This stealth third-person action game departed from many of the core elements from past titles, such as the voice for protagonist Sam Fisher. However, this didn’t detract from its extraordinary single-player campaign and its exceptional “Spies vs. Mercs” multiplayer. 

10. Rainbow Six Vegas

This first-person action game represents the pinnacle of this series in terms of single-player content. Players embark on an adventure to take down a terrorist organization through cinematic and thrilling missions, each of which feels memorable on its own. 

11. Rayman Origins

Ubisoft’s initial fame began with Rayman, but the best game to come from the platforming mascot didn’t happen until 2011 with Origins. The 2D side-scrolling visuals look terrific, and each level captivates the player with swift gameplay. 

12. Beyond Good & Evil

Ubisoft’s grand sci-fi take on the action-adventure series feels so different from everything else. It has a large, intriguing world to explore and a fascinating storyline about evil corporations. Its welcome combat, vehicle, and story mechanics make it a cult classic.

13. South Park: The Stick of Truth

The elementary school students of the classic animated show South Park feel brought to life with graphics almost identical to the actual cartoon. This pairs well with the turn-based RPG gameplay, which features engaging action and welcome customization. 

14. Mario+Rabbids Sparks of Hope

This remarkable, colorful video appears like someone threw random ideas into a blender at a glance. It mixes together Nintendo characters, the bothersome Rabbids, and a third-person tactical strategy format. These disparate ideas somehow work well; this sequel only makes them better. 

15. Assassin’s Creed 2

The second game in this beloved and successful series from Ubisoft games elevated and proved its potential. The open-world format took proper form here with all of the various content and beautiful locales of Italy. But its most impressive feat remains the emotional revenge tale of memorable protagonist Ezio. 

16. Anno 2070

The fifth game in this strategy sim series takes the setting to the future. Players build various cities and manage their issues, such as overpopulation, pollution, resources, and more. Its rich gameplay only deepens with the three available factions. 

17. The Division

This MMO-like take on Tom Clancy’s universe boasts online multiplayer functionality better than almost any other Ubisoft title. Its open-world exploration of New York City amid a disaster feels immersive and full of danger, especially in battle royale-like modes like Survival. 

18. Ghost Recon: Island Thunder

This expansion to the second game in the series stands on its own as a rightful game. The third-person shooting game emphasizes squads and commanding troops to fight alongside the player. The action-packed campaign and significant levels lend themselves well to the gameplay style. 

19. Myst 4: Revelation

The fourth game in the ground-breaking and memorable adventure puzzle game series feels like the final bastion of the old style before its switch in the fifth. This also means its story, cutscenes, and challenging obstacles feel like some of the best since the original. 

20. Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30

This Gearbox Software FPS World War II title feels, unlike any other game in the bloated genre. It focuses less on the actual gun mechanics and more on the strategy of commanding a squad. This leads to excellent strategy elements and deep gameplay. 

21. XIII

If players ignore the awful remake of this title and play the excellent original, they’ll find one of the most inventive and colorful FPS games. It has a comic book, cel-shaded style to its action with a glorious single-player campaign and also multiplayer matches. 

22. Deathrow

This fascinating and ahead-of-its-time cyberpunk sports game features the sport Blitz, with elements of rugby, basketball, and American football. Its intense action and teamwork feel so unique, especially in multiplayer. It had plenty of modes for players to check out as well. 

Stories about strong, healthy, happy LGBTQ+ people are finally entering the limelight. In the past, these tales about tragic decades-long gay affairs kept secret from the world (think Brokeback Mountain), and heartbreaking coming-out tales plagued by familial rejection and low self-esteem (think Pretty Little Liars and Glee) were the only queer stories the LGBTQ+ community got to see on screen. While these portrayals reflect elements of reality, LGBTQ+ people get tired of that constant narrative and crave representations of queer joy on screen. 

Luckily, more and more TV series feature plotlines about happy queer relationships. From Queer Eye (2018-) to A League of Their Own (2022), these TV series delight LGBTQ+ audiences because they celebrate the queer joy of being a member of the community. 

1. A League of Their Own (2022)

Based on the 1992 film of the same name, this comedic sports drama highlights the lives of the queer women who played in the first-ever women’s professional baseball league during World War II. The series highlights essential topics like gender identity, sexuality, racism, homophobia, and more. 

It follows three main characters: Carson Shaw (Abbi Jacobson), an awkward woman who struggles to find confidence in herself when she’s not on the field; Greta Gill (D’Arcy Carden), a feminine beauty with a talented throwing arm who falls in love with Carson; and Max Chapman (Chanté Adams), a black baseball phenom who struggles with her gender identity and doesn’t make it on the team because of its racist managers. 

While most depictions of LGBTQ+ characters and relationships in historical fiction focus more on the tension of secret romance as a titillating plot device, A League of Their Own takes a different look at LGBTQ+ history by showing off the robust queer subculture of 1940s America. The series doesn’t shy away from challenging moments of homophobic backlash, but it also shows that LGBTQ+ people, like Max’s uncle Bertie (Lea Robinson), have found a way to thrive despite the hate for decades. 

2. Drag Me to Dinner (2023-)

Drag Me to Dinner gathers drag queen artists from across the U.S. to compete in an over-the-top dinner party hosting competition. Contestants include stars from RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-), like Jinkx Monsoon, BenDeLaCreme, and Thorgy Thor, who team up with another queen to compete against another pair in each episode. Judges Neil Patrick Harris, Haneefa Wood, Bianca Del Rio, and David Burtka choose the winning party based on three categories: Food & Drink, Design & Decor, and Entertainment & Overall Vibe. 

Like other competitive reality series about the stars of drag shows, Drag Me to Dinner focuses on the fabulous side of what it means to express your most authentic, theatrical self. The series doesn’t have space for tragedy when there’s so much party planning to do. Drag Me to Dinner celebrates queer joy by showcasing drag queens having fun together to do what they do best: entertain. 

3. First Kill (2022)

This sapphic vampire take on the classic Romeo and Juliet story of a treacherous love between two members of warring families is tense, fiery, and oh-so queer. When Juliette (Sarah Catherine Hook) turns sixteen, she must face a crucial coming-of-age milestone in her vampire family by taking her first kill. At the same time, she nurses a crush on a mysterious classmate named Calliope (Imani Lewis). But what Juliette doesn’t know is that her love interest is a member of a monster-hunting clan determined to wipe vampires off the face of the earth. 

Yes, Juliette and Calliope’s love story sets up as a tragedy from the get-go. But unlike other portrayals of tragic queer romance, the reason their families disapprove of the girls’ relationship isn’t because they’re gay but because one is a vampire and the other is a vampire hunter. This narrative choice was intentional on the part of the creators.

Co-creator Victoria “V.E.” Schwab tells ScreenRant that creating First Kill “was specifically about placing this queer romance into a genre space and allowing them to take up space in that place and have it not be about their sexuality, have it not be about this one aspect of them.” LGBTQ+ viewers get to focus on the joys of the girls’ steamy, forbidden romance without homophobia as the central conflict. 

4. Glamorous (2023-)

The hilarious workplace drama series Glamorous follows a gender-nonconforming person named Marco (Miss Benny) who has a passion for makeup. When they land a job as an assistant to a high-powered beauty mogul named Madolyn (Kim Cattrall), they must learn what it takes to make it in the cutthroat makeup artistry world. Throughout the show, Marco contends with problems typical to a workplace drama: career stress, romantic interests, and workplace friendships form and burst as viewers get to know the zany yet loveable characters. 

The show spends most of its time showing its audience that queer people, and people who are different, live whole, meaningful, everyday lives. “At no point in the show are our characters feeling less-than because of their queerness. Glamorous is a celebration of not wanting to be any different than we already are,” actor Zane Phillips, who plays Madolyn’s son in the show, shares in an interview with Digital Spy. 

5. Heartstopper (2022-)

This heartwarming, romantic coming-of-age story about two gay British boys falling in love earned a spot in many fans’ hearts upon its first season’s release. It follows Charlie (Joe Locke), an anxious, openly gay student who begins crushing on a handsome rugby player named Nick (Kit Connor). The first season depicts the beginning of their love story as the two share intimate moments and Nick explores his sexuality, eventually coming out to his friends.

While the series’ first season’s main plotline contends with the tension between a homophobic society and its characters’ true identities, the second season examines Nick and Charlie’s ongoing, primarily happy and stable relationship. “The main reason for this show to exist is to bring people happiness and joy, so wanting to show as much of that as possible was a big priority in this season,” executive producer Patrick Walters told NBC News. 

Countless series have dedicated themselves to the romance between straight couples that chronicle the ups and downs of teen dating life. With Heartstopper, LGBTQ+ teenagers finally get a lighthearted romantic series created just for them. Chock full of intimate moments, hot makeout sessions, and cute conversations, this series is a welcome relief for young queer audiences and older LGBTQ+ adults alike. 

6. In My Skin (2018-2021)

The dark comedy series In My Skin follows Bethan (Gabrielle Creevy), a teenage girl with a massive, life-altering secret. Her mother lives with severe bipolar disorder and often stays at the psychiatric hospital down the road from her high school. Even though much of her free time gets consumed by caring for her mother, Bethan tries to hide her mom’s condition from her classmates, including her crushes, Poppy (Zadeiah Campbell-Davies) and Cam (Rebekah Murrell). 

In season two, Bethan and Cam meet and quickly realize they’re both attracted to one another. Bethan spends time with Cam to distract herself from her challenging home life. Their moments of connection are a beacon of light compared to the dark moments of Bethan constantly on guard about her mother’s recurring bipolar episodes and her father’s alcohol-fueled anger issues. The secret in Bethan’s life isn’t her sexuality but her family’s unfortunate situation. 

In My Skin subverts the typical narrative of queer tragedy by exploring Bethan’s complex human struggles outside the realm of sexuality. LGBTQ+ people exist beyond their sexual and gender identity, which this dark teen comedy series understands to a tee. At the same time, the show embraces queer joy by depicting gay romance as the one beautiful morsel in a teen’s complicated life. 

7. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020)

This animated, family-friendly sci-fi fantasy series takes place in a world full of larger-than-life mutant animals. Now equipped with human intelligence, the “mutes” overtook the planet’s surface, leaving humans scrambling to find safety in underground burrows. But when Kipo (Karen Fukuhara), a bubbly twelve-year-old human girl, gets lost on the planet’s surface, she makes it her mission to reconnect with her people and befriend every mute and human surface-dweller along the way. 

One of the new pals she meets on her journey is Benson (Coy Stewart), a music-loving teenage human boy. When Benson brings Kipo to the wonderful amusement park Ratland, she begins to develop feelings for her first crush. But Kipo’s feelings get squashed in a fantastic twist when the viewer learns that Benson wasn’t trying to win Kipo’s romantic interest; he was just being a great friend. It turns out Benson is gay.

This series never brings up homophobic attitudes in any way, shape, or form. It does the opposite. Every human, cat, snake, or bird Kipo’s group of heroes encounters has no qualms about Benson’s sexuality. Plus, in the last episode of season one, Benson trips and drops his cassette player before a handsome teen named Troy (Giullian Yao Gioiello) reaches down and grabs it for him. The animation shifts into a dreamy state as a romantic song plays in the background, and both Benson and Troy experience love at first sight.

As the series continues, the two share an out-and-proud adorable romance that makes any LGBTQ+ person swoon. This lighthearted gay relationship presented without the context of homophobia is something we rarely see in the media for queer couples, and it’s so satisfying to watch in this incredible series. 

8. Legendary (2020-2022)

Legendary dives into the subculture of the Ballroom scene. While examining the history of queer Ballroom culture in the U.S., the series evaluates several contestants’ performance skills in a series of dances that present various challenges. From walking to voguing to dancing, these talented contestants go through it all, hoping to be crowned the winner and take home a cash prize of $100,000. 

The series sets out to accomplish the same goals of the pioneers of ballroom all those years ago: to provide an inclusive, warm, and supportive space for people of all races, genders, and sexualities to come together and be themselves. The competitors joined the competition to win the money, of course. But mostly, they wanted an opportunity to showcase their talents, individuality, and culture to the world. Legendary celebrates the joy of queer people coming together to create incredible performances that teach viewers it’s ok to stop holding back and reveal your true self. 

9. Modern Family (2009-2020)

This hit mockumentary-style sitcom tells the story of an extended family split into three households. Jay (Ed O’Neill), the family patriarch, lives with his second and much younger wife, Gloria (Sofía Vergara), and their son. Jay’s daughter, Claire (Julie Bowen), lives with her husband and three children. Lastly, Claire’s brother, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), shares a home with his long-term partner Cam (Eric Stonestreet), who becomes his husband at the end of season five. 

Upon its debut in 2009, Modern Family earned praise for depicting a gay couple as protagonists in the series. While the show has received criticism for falling into some stereotypes, like hyper-femininity and its focus on white, affluent gay men, Modern Family helped normalize queer relationships, adoption, and marriage. 

What other TV shows in the 2000s showcase the family life of a queer couple? At the time, Cam and Mitchell’s relationship was groundbreaking. Even today, some elements of their relationship prevail as a subversion to typical tropes about LGBTQ+ people. Cam and Mitchell already went through the coming out process and live as an openly proud gay couple. The men experience ups and downs in their relationship, but not because of their sexuality. Modern Family displays the everyday nature of queer joy and did so before most other shows were willing to go there. 

10. One Mississippi (2015-2017)

When L.A. radio host Tig (Tig Notaro) returns to her Mississippi hometown to support her family as they take her ailing mother off life support, she decides to move in with her brother for a while as she recovers from a double mastectomy. As she reacquaints with her childhood home, she uncovers secrets about her late mother and struggles to stay connected to her girlfriend in California. Comedian Tig Notaro’s real life loosely inspired this dark comedy series. 

One Mississippi’s first season delves into dark topics like death, cancer, and child abuse, all of which are punctuated by heartwrenching moments and a healthy dose of dark humor. While Tig struggles to maintain her tense relationship with her girlfriend in season one, it’s not because of Tig’s sexuality. Even Tig’s family in the South have no problem with who she dates. “In the first season of One Mississippi, it was important for me to show being gay in the South and with my family being not a big deal,” Notaro shares in an interview with Metro Weekly. “I think people, as soon as they hear the South or Mississippi or whatever, they have their ideas. Although those ideas can be true, I wanted to show that it wasn’t my truth.”

While the second season of Notaro’s semi-autobiographical series discusses homophobia in the context of the Trump administration, it also showcases a beautiful, complex, and loving relationship between Tig and Kate (Stephanie Allynne), the producer of Tig’s new radio show. One Mississippi challenges the commonly held perception that queer people can’t exist openly anywhere in the South because of the oppressive, homophobic attitude of its culture. While that can be the case, those beliefs don’t define every individual. This series provides hope that queer people can live an open, fulfilling, and joyful lives in stereotypically homophobic environments. 

11. Our Flag Means Death (2022-)

Our Flag Means Death begins as Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), a wealthy early 18th-century aristocrat, gives up his luxurious lifestyle to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a pirate. On his new ship, the aristocrat-turned-pirate’s crew soon discovers that Stede has no idea how to live a tough life on the rough seas. While you may expect this series to be primarily action and adventure, it falls more clearly into the romantic comedy genre. 

The series spends ample time showcasing three queer relationships. The adorable casual romance between Revenge crewmates Lucious (Nathan Foad) and Black Pete (Matthew Maher) takes off after Black Pete crafts Lucious a wooden thumb to replace his missing one. Jim (Vico Ortiz), an AFAB pirate with high-powered fighting skills, falls for their kind fellow crew member, Oluwande (Samson Kayo). Lastly, the romance fans squeal about the most is between the show’s two main characters: Stede and Edward Teach (Taika Waititi), more commonly known as Blackbeard. 

Many challenges exist for a pirate on the vast, open waters. Other pirates, decked-out warships, finding drinkable water and edible food, and the elites in port cities all threaten the pirates’ lifestyles. But the pirates’ sexual identities never become the source of an episode’s tension. Instead, the pirates welcome queer romance and, even more surprisingly, respect Jim’s they/them pronouns and respect his trans identity after they discover their assigned gender. The creators’ decision to keep homophobia at the margins of this series lets queer audiences revel in its adorable, steamy, and heart-wrenching LGBTQ+ romances.

12. Pose (2018-2021)

Pose broke ground by putting black trans women at center stage. Taking place in 1980s New York City, the series dives into the world of ball culture through the life of Blanca (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez) and the LGBTQ+ youth she supports in her “house.” In ballroom culture, houses are chosen families that come together because of their blood families’ rejection. 

As Blanca and her house children cope with racism, the AIDS epidemic, and other historic ’80s-era history in the Big Apple, they support one another so they can do what they love: get on stage to dance, walk, and vogue in ball competitions. Pose does an incredible job depicting the complex relationship between sadness and jubilance, aptly showing the dire importance of queer joy in a hostile world. 

The final episode of the series encapsulates the importance of this complex emotional web. The sorrow occurs when Pray Tell (Billy Porter) dies of AIDS, and his loved ones scatter his ashes on the White House lawn as a form of protest. This utter tragedy is followed by a beacon of hope when the show flashes forward to 1998 as four of the show’s main characters put on one last performance and have built fulfilling lives for themselves. Pose boldly argues that in a world filled with prejudice and hate, clinging to joy is an act of resistance. 

13. Queer Eye (2018-)

Queer Eye encourages people down on their luck to embrace their most authentic selves. In each episode, a team of queer experts meets up with someone who needs a slight push to get back on the right path. Grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness helps the guests style their hair and craft the perfect skincare routine. Culture expert Karamo Brown provides a listening ear and essential advice. Tan France, the team’s fashion expert, gives the guests a new wardrobe. Antoni Parowski teaches vital cooking skills, and Bobby Berk gives their homes a renovation makeover. 

While the series focuses on the guests’ transformation more than anything, seeing a team of bubbly, proud, and joyful queer people teach others how to live their lives to the fullest feels like a beautiful dream. But luckily, it’s a reality. As the Fab Five provides encouragement, fashion advice, and five shoulders to lean on, people see that these men and nonbinary people are role models to look up to. Most importantly, members of the LGBTQ+ community watch the series and know it’s possible to live a full, successful, happy life as a queer person. 

14. RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-)

This long-running reality TV competition takes the world’s most talented drag queens and launches them into the contest of a lifetime. Each season, ten to thirteen queens compete in fashion and performance challenges in the hopes of making it to the final to be crowned as America’s Next Drag Superstar. The contestants must impress Judge RuPaul with their outfits, makeup, dancing, and lip-sync skills if they want a shot at winning the $200,000 grand prize. 

Drag is all about embracing one’s innermost desires and putting them out there for the world to see. It plays with gender roles and, most of all, having fun. RuPaul’s Drag Race brings drag to the forefront of America’s media landscape and, with it, shows queens having the time of their lives. 

15. Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020)

Schitt’s Creek follows a wealthy family whose riches disappear when a sketchy business manager scams them. The scammer leaves the family with nothing but a deed to a small, rural town called Schitt’s Creek. Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy), the family patriarch, moves his melodramatic wife Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and their two pampered adult children, Alexis (Annie Murphy) and David (Dan Levy), into a shabby motel in town, hoping to sell the deed and get back on their feet. 

As the Rose family clashes with the overly involved mayor and the other townspeople, they slowly integrate into their new lifestyle. Settling in at a snail’s pace, some family members have an easier time fitting in than others. David manages to befriend Stevie (Emily Hampshire), the deadpan hotel manager, and later, a romance blossoms between David and his business partner, Patrick (Noah Reid). 

David and Patrick’s relationship is filled with love. While they have a few ups and downs, like when David gets a massage with an unexpected happy ending on the morning of his wedding, their squabbles are typical of a happy, communicative couple. The townspeople or David’s family members never make homophobic comments about their relationship. Instead, they embrace the happy couple with open arms. This lighthearted queer romance with an overwhelmingly happy ending is a rare thing to see on TV, and we’re here for it. 

16. S*x Education (2019-2023)

This show follows Otis (Asa Butterfield), an awkward teenager who opens an underground sexuality therapy practice at his school to help his classmates with issues like impotence, consent, and how to please their partner. The series also follows Otis’ crush and business partner, Maeve (Emma Mackey), Otis’ vibrant best friend, Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), and the protagonists’ best friends, parents, and love interests.

The series has gained acclaim for fostering an open dialogue about sexuality amongst teenagers and for its authentic LGBTQ+ representation. Eric is a black gay man who copes with classic homophobic bullying in the series’s first season. But as Eric’s story develops, his character experiences more joy through his sexuality. In the show’s final season, Eric finally connects with a vibrant LGBTQ+ community at his new school. The show depicts just how essential it is for queer people to come together to support one another and provide a safe space for us to be ourselves. 

Eric isn’t the only queer character in the series. Ola (Patricia Allison) and Lilly (Tanya Reynolds) share a lovely romantic relationship in seasons two and three, and the show spends ample time delving into the diverse trans experiences of Cal (Dua Saleh), Abbi (Anthony Lexa) and Roman (Felix Mufti). This series shows its teen fans that being a member of the LGBTQ+ community is a normal, happy part of life.

17. Take My Wife (2016-2018)

Created intentionally to avoid the “Bury Your Gays” trope, Take My Wife tells the story of two married lesbian standup comics named Rhea (River Butcher) and Cameron (Cameron Esposito). “If you watch a lot of television and you don’t know what could happen to lesbians if they don’t die, this is a show about that,” Esposito shares in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I promise you, no lesbians die in this show.”

The series, created by queer women and women of color, focuses on a primarily happy lesbian couple and their lives leading up to their wedding as they host hilarious underground comedy shows. Rhea struggles with the fact that her partner is the more professionally successful of the two, but that’s about as tragic as the series gets. The show’s characters skip past the coming-out stage and straight into the throes of living life as openly queer women. Take My Wife highlights diverse queer experiences, like those of queer women of color and butch lesbians. 

Fans get to watch as a hilarious, content lesbian couple works through the ups and downs of everyday life in this heartwarming show. Take My Wife brings joy to the queer community with its on-point jokes about relatable LGBTQ+ issues and its message that queer women’s stories aren’t one monolith. 

18. The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula (2016-2021)

The famous horror entertainers and drag artists, the Boulet Brothers, host this spooky reality TV drag competition. Eleven drag artists compete for the top spot of the World’s Next Drag Supermonster, with a whopping $100,000 grand prize each season. In each episode, the drag artists undergo a series of contests that test their dancing talents, makeup artistry, fashion sense, and overall performance. Of course, each challenge has a horror element to keep things spooky. 

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula is all about having fun, being creative, and not being afraid to show off a weird side. It also ties in an element of horror, especially with the extermination challenges. When contestants get stuck in the bottom two, they must compete in a terrifying or disgusting task like skydiving or chowing down on cow intestines to make it into the next episode. 

19. The Dragon Prince (2018-)

The Dragon Prince follows two human princes named Callum (Jack De Sena) and Ezran (Sasha Rojen), who team up with an elf named Rayla (Paula Burrows) to return the secret egg of the dragon price back home to the magical land of Xadia. But with humans, elves, and other magical creatures in their way, they must be clever to save the egg and, with it, the world. 

The show builds queerness into its very fabric. In a fantasy world, nobody needs homophobia, and the creators of The Dragon Prince understand that. When Princess Janai of the sunfire elves (Rena Anakwe) falls in love with the princes’ human aunt, Amaya (Sheila Ferguson), their communities are concerned. But that’s not because the women are in a gay relationship. The problem is that one is an elf in line to become queen, and the other is a human. 

Other queer characters fit seamlessly into the show’s plot, like the young queen of Duran’s late parents, a royal lesbian couple. We’re introduced to a new character in season four: Terry (Benjamin Callins). He’s the trans boyfriend of the increasingly evil mage Claudia (Racquel Belmonte). When Terry comes out to the central villain of the series and Claudia’s father, Lord Viren (Jason Simpson), this evil character accepts Terry, no questions asked. 

That’s just the world they live in: one without homophobia. It’s a much-needed relief because LGBTQ+ people deal with homophobia in our real lives. When we get to watch a TV series that takes place in a world where people don’t get discriminated against for their sexuality or gender identity, it makes for a fantastic escape. 

20. The Owl House (2020-2023)

When a bright, charismatic teenager named Luz (Sarah-Nicole Robles) happens upon a mysterious portal, she tumbles through it and into a magical world of witches, monsters, and mysteries. There, Luz meets an outlaw witch named Eda (Wendie Malick) and her small but ferocious demon companion, King (Alex Hirsch). Trapped in the magical world, Luz tries to find a new way to get home while she falls in love with the world she stumbled into in this family-friendly fantasy series. 

As Luz acclimates to her new environment, she discovers a school for witches and enrolls despite being human. There, she meets a few friends and a bully named Amity (Mae Whitman), who soon changes her ways and becomes Luz’s girlfriend. The Owl House is another series where homophobia does not exist in its fictional universe. Amity’s parents and friends are more concerned that her crush is human than another woman. Plus, Eda has a relationship with Disney’s first nonbinary character, Raine Whispers (Avi Roque), and no one bats an eye at Raine’s gender identity. 

Watching Luz and Amity’s adorable crushes blossom into a passionate teen romance makes hearts sing. Young members of the LGBTQ+ community will feel euphoric watching characters they can relate to on screen and on Disney, no less. 

21. With Love (2021-)

With Love centers on the lives of Latinx siblings Lily (Emeraude Toubia) and Jorge Jr. (Mark Indelicato) as they search for romance. Each episode takes place on a different holiday, like New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, and Día de Los Muertos. With Love breaks new ground because it places Latinx experiences at the story’s forefront while embracing LGBTQ+ romance between an openly gay Jorge and his boyfriend, Henry (Vincent Rodriguez III).

Henry and Jorge engage in conflicts typical of any modern couple. “There are complexities in all relationships, not just because it is two cis gay men or a heterosexual couple. It is not about the gender or orientation of the character. Relationships are hard and complex and varied,” Indelicato tells Philadelphia Gay News in an interview about the series. Watching the two men fall in love with one another is a treat for any queer viewer who craves romantic LGBTQ+ joy on screen. 

22. Yellowjackets (2021-)

This tense survival thriller takes place in 1996 when a high school girls’ soccer team’s plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness on their way to nationals, leaving them stranded in an endless forest for nineteen months. The series also flashed forward twenty-five years to the present as the survivors of the plane crash cope with the traumas left behind by the horrors they endured in the wild. 

Based on that premise, Yellowjackets seems like a show devoid of happiness. While that’s often the case for the girls stranded in the wilderness and the women reeling from their teenage tragedy, this series features fleeting moments of joy that emerge in moments of intimacy. Taissa (Tawny Cypress / Jasmin Savoy Brown), a success-driven lawyer running for state senate in the present plotline, shares a home with her loving wife, Simone (Rukiya Bernard), and their young son. To Taissa, her relationship with Simone represents a perfect life that she uses to push away the terrors of her past. 

While trapped in the dense forests of Canada, Taissa and her fellow teammate, Van (Liv Hewson), begin a romantic relationship that becomes a much-needed escape from their dreadful circumstances. Because they have each other, Taissa and Van remain driven to escape the wilderness and survive. The darkness in the series is much more bearable to watch when we also get glimpses of hope and joy through the power of a beautiful queer romance. 

I was recently faced with the ultimate financial decision: Buying a new car. The intrigue and feeling of buying a brand-new vehicle is very exciting. However, the excitement starts to wear off after the fresh car smell is gone and you have made four to five auto payments.

Some people ask, “Did I just make a financial mistake?”

With 121,000 miles on a car valued at $2,000 yet needing $3,000 worth of repairs, our decision was clear: we needed a new vehicle. But we needed to figure out where to start. We contacted a trusted financial advisor about potentially getting a brand-new car. His advice was an emphatic two-letter word: no.

He repeated, “No, never buy brand-new cars.”

Why Should I Choose a Used Car?

After housing expenses, transportation expenses are second in monthly budgets. From auto payments to insurance, gas to maintenance, cars will average the average American over $12,000 a year.

While some aspects of transportation expenses are less controllable, the one controllable automobile expense is your monthly car payment.

Ultimately, the buyer (you) decides to take on monthly car payments and what size those payments are. So if the average adult is spending nearly as much on their car every year as they are on their home, here is a financial nugget: cars are a financial liability, not an investment. 

On average, a brand-new car costs around $750 per month. Yet, that same new car will depreciate so fast that in five years, when it is finally paid off, it will only be worth 37% of the initial purchase price.

The solution is simple: buy used, and here are seven reasons why. 

Cars Depreciate at a Rate of 20% A Year

A brand-new car depreciates at a rate of 20% per year on average. In fact, the second you drive it off the lot, it has already depreciated 11%.

That’s like saying you bought a laptop at BestBuy for $1,000, and when you decided to return it the next day, they say it is only worth $890.

Imagine if all things depreciated as fast as a car – Your $300,000 home is worth $277,000 the day after you moved in. At the end of the first year of homeownership, your home is worth $240,000.

Most would be freaking out if they knew their house lost 20% of its value in one year. But for car ownership, it’s something we accept without second thought.

Car Payment Can Hurt Your Debt-To-Income Ratio

Your debt-to-income ratio refers to the money you pay monthly towards debt in monthly payments, compared to your gross income. To figure out your debt-to-income ratio, add all monthly debt payments (auto, student loans, credit card, mortgage, personal loans) and divide that number by your gross income.

For example, If you gross $4,000 monthly and have $2,000 in payments, your debt-to-income ratio would be 50%.

Buying a car can significantly impact your debt-to-income ratio, and this is important if you’re trying to buy a house because if your debt-to-income ratio is higher than 43%, you will have a tough time getting a qualified mortgage.

Or, as mortgage loan consultant Brian Scott put it, “buying a new car can potentially keep you from qualifying.”

Cash Is King

A new car can significantly hinder your debt-to-income ratio. And if you have never heard of your debt-to-income ratio, chances are you will. The average person with a car payment will spend almost $750 per month or roughly $9,000 annually on their car payment. $9,000 is a large amount of money that could be going to something that pays you instead of something that depreciates.

You can save more, pay off debt (like student loans), or invest in retirement by not having a huge monthly auto expense.

The monthly car payment sabotages your cash flow. More freed-up cash in your monthly budget gives you options and financial security is all about choices. Our household vehicle costs are a combined $320 a month – fuel & insurance – which is only about 4% of our monthly budget.

Cash flow is more important than driving a brand-new vehicle. There are better options than buying a new car, like refinancing a car or downsizing. Always explore those first.

A New Car Is Not an Investment

Contrary to what many think and are told from a young age, a car is not an investment. Sure, a paid-off car does count in the asset column, according to the IRS, but other than that, cars are not true assets.

Read any book about finances; people with solid financial portfolios do not view their cars as assets– they view them as liabilities. The experts consider cars as a necessary expense to get from point A to point B.

Why is a car a liability?

For starters, the depreciation factor. An asset produces and grows (think investments); it does not depreciate. A liability decreases in value, such as a car. In addition to depreciation expenses, vehicle owners should also expect to budget $150 monthly for yearly car maintenance and tires. 

Car Companies Want You To Have Payments

A simple trick to all personal finance situations: think the opposite of what you’re being told.

The laptop warranty you “really need to have” is a warranty you probably don’t need. Using the same logic, car companies use car payments to help buyers think they can “Afford new cars.”

By getting you to focus on monthly payments stretched out to 60 and 72-month loan terms, they can get you to a point where you can afford that new car.

But do the math – making a car payment for 5-6 years is a long time. And remember, by year five, your car is worth 60% less than the purchase price. The only one benefiting from your new car purchase is the dealership. And maybe the loan providers. 

Used Cars Are Simply More Affordable (By About 40%+)

When you buy a certified pre-owned car, you’re not only walking away with an almost brand-new car but saving close to 50%.

Most lease terms for cars last 24-36 months, which means a few things:

1. Leased vehicles have low miles
2. Routine maintenance is almost always performed
3. They are generally low mileage but like new

So when you go to buy a used car, you’re getting a steal, and you let the previous owner or lease eat the 40% depreciation if you buy two years used.

Personal Note: When we decided to buy a used 2016 Altima, the original purchase price was $27,000. We spend less than half, even with taxes and tags.

You’ll Overspend With Your New Car Purchase

The biggest issue with buying brand-new cars is that most people don’t understand what a reasonable price is for a brand-new vehicle.

Car companies will use sales tactics like leasing cars and long loan terms to get customers to buy new cars – even if they can’t really afford it. While buying a house means you use a budget and get preapproved, in most cases, buying a car isn’t so stringent.

In order to prevent overspending on a car, new or used, always follow the 25% gross income rule when it comes to car buying.

When buying a car, to make sure it is within your budget, be sure to follow these steps:

1. Take your gross income and divide by four to figure out 25% of your gross income
2. Buy a car that’s value is no more than 25% of your gross income

For example, if you make $50,000 per year, your car’s value should be no more than $12,500.

In most cases, this means you’re looking in the used car lot.

Dealers Usually Have A Lot of Hidden Costs

When purchasing a new car, buyers don’t realize that there are often hidden costs in addition to the price on the sticker. This can can significantly inflate the overall price. These fees come in the form of dealership fees, extended warranties, documentation fees, destination charges, and advertising fees and optional add-ons.

These costs may seem minor individually, but they can quickly add up and buyers will leave the dealership paying more than they originally intended to.

Sometimes, these fees can provided added protection and convenience, but buyers should remember that they come with their own costs that should be carefully considered before purchase.

Insurance Premiums

One of the often-overlooked aspects of buying a new car is the impact it can have on insurance premiums. Very often, buyers get caught up in the shiny new wheels, and then get hit later with the higher insurance costs once it’s too late.

New cars typically have higher insurance premiums compared to used vehicles due to their higher value. That’s because insurers often calculate premiums based on factors such as the car’s purchase price, repair costs, and safety features. And since new cars are more expensive to repair or replace in the event of an accident, insurers may charge higher premiums to offset the potential financial risk.

Limited Bargaining Power

When buying a new car, buyers may find themselves with limited bargaining power due to the high demand for new vehicles and the dealership’s pricing strategies.

Dealerships often set prices for new cars close to or at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), leaving little room for negotiation. Unlike used cars, which may have more flexibility in pricing, new cars are in demand, especially for popular models or limited editions.

As a result, buyers may have less leverage to negotiate discounts, incentives, or favorable financing terms, leading to a higher overall purchase price.

When Should You Buy a Used Car?

Most financial experts recommend buying used vehicles around the two-year mark.

By buying pre-owned, you wind up saving 40%; you can still get a nice car and cut your payments in half. If you catch a Labor Day deal, you get to save even more – see Edmunds, KBB, or CarGurus.

A simple way to guide you in buying your car is this: your car should never cost more than half of your net annual income. For example, if you take home $40,000 a year, a vehicle that costs $20,000 is way too expensive.

Other items to consider when buying a car are the costs associated with:

• Maintenance costs
• Annual fuel expenses
• Insurance costs
• Personal property taxes

Sometimes, a car payment is, in fact, manageable. However, when coupled with all the other associated expenses, it can become unmanageable and impact your savings rate.

Just Don’t Buy a Car Brand New

Whenever I see this on Facebook, I want to scream, “Just purchased my dream car; hard work really does pay off!”

The only thing worse than the statement is the 136 likes and 23 comments, saying things like, “Awesome job” and “Keep up the hard work!”

Keeping up the hard work was what I had to do to afford my brand-new truck, which I should have never bought. I constantly did odd jobs and counted pennies so that I wouldn’t feel stressed about my $400+ truck payment.

Not to mention, going from no monthly auto payments to now paying for a truck, taxes, more fuel, and more insurance cost me close to $800 a month!

I quickly came to my senses, and nine months into my truck ownership, I quickly got rid of it and settled for a used sedan. David Bach, a self-made millionaire and financial author, said, “Buying a brand new car is the single worst financial mistake you can make.”

So the best piece of advice I can give you when it comes to buying cars is to buy used. Do things differently now so you can live like no one else later!