Get Paid to Play Games! Best Ways to Make Real Money in 2024

Ready to turn your gaming passion into cold, hard cash? From apps that pay you to play to full-time careers in game testing and more, you can make real money playing games.

In this post I’ll share some of my favourite apps that pay you to play mobile games, and also talk about several other options to make money gaming.

Game on – let’s get paid to play! 🎮 💸

Apps and sites that pay you to play games

The easiest way to start making money playing games is with one of the many apps and websites that pay you to download new games onto your mobile device and work through the levels. 

Be aware that you will not make much money with these. You have to play a long time to reach the top cash rewards. Based on reviews, you can realistically expect your earnings to work out as between £1-£5 per hour.

That said, it’s a fun and easy way to make money in your free time!  

If you enjoy playing new mobile games anyway, you may as well earn money doing it.

Even playing an hour a day while on the train or watching TV can add up into decent rewards over a month.

Here are the best game apps and sites that pay you to play:

FreeCash

FreeCash is a GPT (Get Paid To) site with a whole lot of ways to earn extra money. They have a HUGE games section. At the time of writing, they had 1053 paid gaming offers on their site and the highest paid offer pays out a whopping $1,056.00!

Obviously with over 1,000 gaming offers, there are a whole load of different games and there’s something for everyone!

From hard-hitting action games to simple puzzle games and everything in between, you will definitely find something fun here, whether you’re a serious gamer or casual player.

The higher offers generally pay out in stages. So even if you can’t complete all the levels for the top reward, you will still get paid something for your efforts.

You would usually have to play for several weeks and reach the top levels to claim the top rewards.

On the other end of the scale, loads of apps pay a few cents each just by downloading and playing for a couple of minutes.

There are a couple of things I like about Freecash. One is that you can filter by Android, iOS devices or desktop games. So whatever your preferred platform, you can easily find the best games for you.

The other advantage to FreeCash is that you can easily raise a support ticket in your profile area if an offer hasn’t tracked correctly. I still recommend taking screenshots of any milestones in your game, just in case.

The payout threshold is low, and you can request your payment as PayPal cash, Amazon gift cards, cryptocurrencies or lots more besides.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is one of the best known money making sites. It’s a site where you can earn free gift cards in your spare time with surveys, offers, cashback, and more. It has a decent section to make money playing games. 

It has lots of popular games, such as Farmville and Monopoly Go, so you don’t need to be a hard-core gamer to take part.

The downside of Swagbucks is that it rewards you in SB (SwagBucks) which you then cash out as gift cards or PayPal money. This makes it harder to know how much you’re actually earning in real money.

OhMyDosh!

OhMyDosh is one of my favourite Get-Paid-To sites because it pays quickly and fairly.

They don’t specialise in gaming offers, but there are always a few that come and go. At the time of writing there were two offers, each paying £1. For one of these offers, you literally just have to download a browser – just a couple of minutes’ work!

Inbox Pounds

Inbox Pounds is similar to Swagbucks. It has lots of different ways to earn money, including a decent amount of games.

For example, at the time of writing you could earn up to £83.50 playing Monopoly Go! To reach the top reward, you would have to reach board 101 within 30 days, but there are other rewards to claim along the way.

One warning about Inbox Pounds is that I noticed that you need to make a deposit or in-app purchase for some of the games, in order to qualify for the rewards. I would recommend steering clear of these and sticking to the free games only!

You can actually select ‘100% FREE Offers’ at the top of the page to make sure you don’t see paid games.

Mistplay (Android only)

Mistplay is an app that is just for making money playing mobile games. 

You simply need to download games apps and play! You earn ‘gems’ for activities such as downloading, playing for certain time periods, and completing levels.

You can cash out your gems to PayPal or as gift cards for Amazon or other retailers.

This is one of the simpler apps to make money playing games because you can earn gems just for playing, without necessarily having to reach high levels.

There are lots of those simple games like Candy Crush and Solitaire so it’s great if you enjoy playing these kinds of fun games to pass the time. But again, you won’t get rich from these games alone!

Unfortunately, Mistplay is currently available for Android devices only. Download it in the Google play store.

JustPlay (Android only)

JustPlay is another Android app similar to Mistplay. The variety of games is not as good as Mistplay, but they still have lots of fun casual games that are good to pass the time.

The best part of JustPlay is that the payment threshold is very low – £2 for PayPal and just 5p for Amazon vouchers!

However, many users complain that the conversion rate of points to real money is unclear and the reward amounts can seem quite random.

Tips to make money with games apps

• Avoid in-app purchases – most games are designed to make you spend money. Be careful not to spend anything and cancel out all your hard work!
• Avoid gambling games and casino apps – again, these are designed to get you to spend money and they can be very addictive 
• Avoid pay-to-play games such as Solitaire Cash – this is advertised heavily everywhere at the moment but you have to deposit before you play in the hopes of winning money back. That’s basically just gambling. (Unless you are super high level and have a real chance of winning – then you can look at gaming tournaments. More on this below!)
• Withdraw as soon as you reach the payment threshold – if an app closes down or disappears there’s no protection for your money,.
• For games where you have to reach a certain level: to progress quicker, search for ‘completion guides’ for the game. You can often find these on Reddit.

Other ways to make money playing games

If you are ready to go beyond simple mobile games and make some serious extra cash out of gaming, here are some ideas to consider:

Twitch streamer

Twitch is the ultimate platform for gamers-turned-entertainers. This is where you stream yourself playing games, and earn money from your followers.

And you don’t even need to be huge on Twitch to start earning a decent second income. According to StreamYard, you could make up to $200 per month even with just 5 to 10 viewers.

The main ways to earn money on Twitch are with ‘Bits’/Cheers and subscriptions.

Bits are Twitch’s virtual currency, bought with real money by viewers. Viewers can then use Bits to ‘Cheer’ in the chat to show appreciation during your stream. The more Bits, the bigger the cheer, and it’s displayed for everyone to see. It’s like a virtual round of applause. 

Streamers get to keep 80% of 1 U.S. cent per Bit used.

The other way to make money on Twitch is with subscriptions. Viewers can subscribe to your channel by paying a monthly fee. Subscribers get benefits like ad-free viewing, exclusive emotes, and a sense of being part of an exclusive club. As a streamer, you earn a share of the subscription fee. 

Subscriptions are generally the best way to make money because you get paid every month. The more subscribers you have, the more stable and predictable your income becomes.

Once you hit certain milestones, you will unlock the Affiliate and Partner programs. These levels bring in additional revenue streams, including ad revenue and exclusive emotes for your subscribers.

You can also explore sponsorships, merchandise, and affiliate marketing to turbocharge your Twitch income. 

Gaming content creator

Maybe the live-streaming aspect of Twitch isn’t for you, but there are still ways to make money using your love and knowledge of video games.

You can build a channel for gaming content on YouTube, TikTok or other social media platforms. Or if written content is your thing, start a blog. 

The hardest part is getting your first followers. But as you get bigger, there are loads of options to monetise.

Once your YouTube channel has 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in a year, you start getting paid a share of ad revenue.

You can also make money as a gaming influencer with sponsored content, selling merch, and dropping affiliate links to your favourite games and products. Affiliate links are where you get a commission when somebody clicks through your link to make a purchase.

Compete in gaming tournaments

Competing in gaming tournaments is one of the best ways to earn real money from gaming – but it goes without saying, you need to be GOOD. 

There are cash tournaments for various games, letting you show off your skill level and earn real cash prizes. 

When you are just getting started in the world of competitive gaming, try one of the pay-to-win gaming apps such as Skillz, GSN Casino or WorldWinner. 

These apps let you compete against other gamers from all over the world. You will generally need to pay entry fees for each cash tournament, so don’t enter unless you believe you have a strong chance – otherwise you’re just gambling.

Once you’ve reached elite level, you can enter pro gaming tournaments. These are often live events that can be watched by thousands in a stadium and millions online!

The prizes can be BIG – including money, sponsorships, and even pro contracts.

To join, in goes without saying that you need to practice and get really good at your chosen video game. Many professional gamers started this way, gaining recognition and even sponsorships. Tournaments aren’t just about the prize money; they also help you build a name in the gaming world and connect with other gamers.

To start, check for upcoming video game tournaments online or in your area. Being part of gaming communities and esports platforms can give you info on how to enter and what you can win. 

Games tester

Game developers need people to play through their new games and check for bugs or give feedback. That could be you!

Believe it or not, games testing can actually be a skilled full-time job, paying from £24,000 up to £50,000 per year. To get into this field, it helps to have some programming knowledge and relevant qualifications such as in computing or games design.

If you are looking for more of a side hustle, there are websites and apps that pay casual users with no experience.

Here are some to look at. The following sites specialise in games:

These next sites recruit UX testers for all kinds of websites and apps, and they sometimes have games too:

Gaming tutor

Sounds insane, but gaming can be such big business that people will actually pay cold hard cash to get better at it.

You can tutor in various games, from popular titles to specific genres. Whether it’s teaching strategies, improving aim, or mastering in-game tactics, you share your expertise to help others level up. 

Some tutoring happens one-on-one, while others might involve small groups. And it mostly happens online – so it’s an easy and flexible part-time job that you can fit around your life.

To start tutoring, you obviously need to be good at the games you want to teach. You set your rates, and as you build a good reputation, you may find more students coming your way.

Gaming/esports tutors can earn anything from £5 to £40 per hour.

Here are a few websites to find work as a gaming tutor:

Working as a gaming tutor is not just about making money; it’s also about sharing your passion and helping others enjoy gaming as much as you do.

So, if you’re skilled in a game and enjoy helping others, being a gaming tutor could be a fun and rewarding way to turn your hobby into a job.

Do you play games for money? Do you have any recommended sites or apps? Please share them in the comments if you do!