10 Highest Paid Gamers Who Made Over $120 Million in 2019
Victory is not everything! Phenomenon Fortnite Tyler "Ninja" Blevins made $17 million last year, enough for the top spot in the rankings, but the 28-year-old pro won less than $100 competing. In fact, Ninja didn't even qualify for the world's first World Cup in Fortnite , which took place at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York last July, or its $3 million grand prize. (This money was won by 16-year-old Kyle "Buga» Giersdorf, Pennsylvania).
This is because top players are more powerful than elite athletes. They make their millions using their huge online subscriptions for support, payment and sponsorship. Ninja has 2,8 million subscribers on Mixer, Microsoft's nascent gaming platform, which is estimated to Forbes , will spend $30 million over three years after poaching it from rival Twitch last August. The blue-haired gamer has another 22,7 million YouTube subscribers and 14,9 million Instagram followers. Overall, the top ten players have a total of 270 million YouTube, Twitch and Mixer subscribers and earned $121 million last year. None of them made the list alone.
Next step? Mainstream celebrity Ninja who has been a professional gamer in one form or another since Halo 3 in 2009, is in full swing. His makeup has graced soft drink cans thanks to an agreement with Red Bull. Adidas has Ninja shoes. Last year he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon , The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and performed as a guest vocalist on Fox The masked singer . From the graphic novel to his signature headband, ninja merchandise is available at Walmart and Target.
And Ninja is just one of hundreds of Internet artists capitalizing on the growing influence of streaming and gaming culture, whose brands including Monster Energy, Postmates and State Farm are starving to reach an elusive millennial audience; eMarketer estimates that in 2019 sponsorship and advertising spend in games alone will be $3,3 billion.
The biggest streamers support this revenue by collecting it directly from their subscribers, who can "tip" them with direct one-time payments or pay for a premium subscription that players share through platforms like Amazon Twitch and Mixer. At his peak, Blevins was earning over $500 a month, sharing the $000 premium royalties paid by Twitch.
#1 Ninja (Tyler Blevins)
Revenues: $17 million
Best Gamer was everywhere in 2019, from cans of Red Bull at grocery stores to bedding at Walmart and starring in NFL commercials. While his viewership has dwindled, his influence has grown, with support from Adidas, Red Bull and lingerie designer PSD. His exclusive deal with Microsoft is helping change live streaming. And the good times seem to go on This month creator Fortnite Epic Games has released an in-game avatar (skin) for ninjathat fans can play.
#2 PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg)
Revenue: $15 million
Felix Kjellberg, YouTube Lead Specialist, announced that after another tumultuous year, he would be taking a hiatus from the site. Last September, he pledged $50 to the Anti-Defamation League to "get past" his anti-Semitic controversy, then unexpectedly canceled the donation after an outcry from his fans. Kjellberg remains as popular as ever, however, with a staggering 000 billion views in 2019.
# 3 Preston (Preston Arcement)
Revenue: $14 million
Being popular by player Minecraft and vlogger, Preston also brings in seven figures by posting their own versions each year. Minecraft with in-game costs. When he started his Prestonplayz channel almost 10 years ago, Arcement was making gaming videos and playing Call of Duty and Minecraft. He now creates vlog-style content aimed at children, such as videos and pranks, and has renamed the channel "Preston".
#4 Markiplier (Mark Fischbach)
Revenue: $14 million
He created the series humorous, overreacting to terrible video games such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and released a "Choose Your Own Adventure" movie on YouTube last fall called "Heist with Markiplier" . Fischbach first joined YouTube on March 6, 2012, creating a channel under the username "Markiplier", and uploaded his first video on April 4, 2012.
# 5 Shroud (Michael Grzesek)
Revenue: $12,5 million
Lack of affection to one game made Michael Grzesek a favorite among major game publishers such as Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard. The former pro also has an extensive clothing line with the gaming brand Jinx. Since August 1, 2014, the player of the American team Cloud9 в Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. August 15, 2017 Grzesiek withdrew from active participation in Cloud9 , but remained in the reserve of the organization . Since then, he has devoted himself entirely to hosting live broadcasts on Twitch , mainly with BattleUngles PlayerUnknown and other games Battle Royale . In April 2018, he officially announced the departure of Cloud9 and his retirement from the professional scene. Counter-Strike
#6 DanTDM (Danielle Middleton)
Revenue: $12 million
Daniel Middleton - worldwide sensation thanks to his popular videos Minecraft with 22,4 million subscribers. In 2019, he went on tour for an interactive film called "Competition" .
In 2017, he starred in a web series called " DanTDM creates a big stage" featuring other artists and social media actors. The episode premiered on April 7, 2017 exclusively for YouTube Red , a YouTube subscription service.
#7 VanossGaming (Evan Fong)
Revenue: $11,5 million
В 2019 year Phong's comedic passages attracted 24,9 million subscribers and 1,6 billion viewers on YouTube. For some time he became famous for starring as a monster hunter in Paranormal Action Squad, 2016 premium animated series on the same platform.
#8 Jacksepticeye (Sean McLaughlin)
Revenue: $11 million
McLoughlin with 23,2 million followers is the most popular YouTuber in Ireland, uploading videos for various games. In late 2018, he founded a clothing brand with YouTube gamer Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach.
McLaughlin uploads content once a day to his YouTube channel, usually a Let's Play or vlog style video. McLaughlin stated that an inclusive community is an important part of the Jackepticai channel, stating that "one of the main things I wanted to do on YouTube is keep people together"
#9 TimTheTatman (Timothy Betar)
Revenue: $8 million
Comedy, good-natured broadcasts Fortnite Timothy Betara have made it a favorite among brands from Reese to Bud Light. He also broadcasts and is a commentator for NFL football games on Twitch Thursdays. At the end of the year, he signed an exclusive streaming deal with the platform.
During E3 2018 Epic Games hosted their first ever Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am, which paired celebrities with professional gamers to raise money for charity. Betar teamed up with Mack wilds for this event.
Gamers' Choice Award debuted in December 2018. Live special on CBS aired as Betar won the award for Fan Favorite Male Streamer/Gamer of the Year.
Betar and gamer Ninja appear in commercials NFL 100 during Super Bowl LIII with Peyton Manning , Juju Smith-Shuster и Marshawn Lynch . Both were invited to Super Bowl LIII in partnership with the NFL. On February 2, 2020, Betar could be seen on a tractor during the "NFL 100" commercial during Super Bowl 54.
#10 Nickmercs (Nick Kolcheff)
Revenue: $6 million
Nick Kolcheff made a name for himself while playing in Fortnite with a controller considered more complex than using a keyboard and mouse. This helped him become the tenth most popular streamer in 2019 according to StreamElements and Arsenal.gg. Twitch took notice by signing him to a two-year, $2 million exclusive deal.