Last month we sent one of our interns off on an assignment. That assignment: See if it’s possible to test video games and actually make money. Well off went our summer intern, Charlie, to see if he could make a little extra cash as a video game tester online.
We gave Charlie the intern a little bit of cash to spend just in case any of the sites he went to research had sign up fees. To our surprise, only a few had signup fees and Charlie brought back most of his money. However, the first thing Charlie said when giving his presentation to us was that the 100% free sites were scams. In total, Charlie signed up for 15 video game testing sites. Only 8 of those were free. Now, we’re definitely not saying that the paid sites are all gems. Only 5 of the sites actually worked out. But all 5 that did work were pay sites.
So Charlie signed up for 15 video game testing sites and went on his way. Within about 5 days, we saw mail coming into the office for Charlie, including a couple of packages with what Charlie later confirmed as “test” games. We have to admit, Charlie impressed us. We saw packages from Bungie, EA, and Activision amongst others. Personally, I never thought Charlie would get anywhere with this assignment.
So it was apparent that Charlie was actually playing a few demos and helping out a few familiar studios. But the real question still lingered: Was he making any money from all of this? Well Charlie happily reported his first paycheck to us just 21 days after he started the assignment. I can’t post on here exactly which company paid Charlie, or what bad ass FPS modern war game Charlie played… but he made exactly $63.11 after tax. Not bad for a 20 year old kid who just sat around playing games for three weeks.
So the verdict is obvious: It actually is possible to make money testing video games. But it’s not just that simple. You have to know which programs to sign up for in the first place. Additionally, it helps to have a few other things handy. Lucky for you, Charlie wrote up a small guide to help you out. Here are Charlie the Intern’s tips to actually making money testing video games:
Section 1: The Essentials
You’re going to need a professional looking email address, a phone number, and a resume. Dump the childish email handles you’ve had since 7th grade and register a professional, mature email (try your first initial and your last name at a respectable email site). Also, make sure you have a phone number to fill out on the contact forms. Don’t use a home phone number if you’re at college. They actually do call you to interview you on the phone. And as dumb as it sounds, get a gaming resume together. It wasn’t required by any of the studios, but they were impressed when I actually had one.
Section 2: The Approach
Be ready to spend some time on this. It’s not as easy as it sounds. You’re going to have to actually interview over the phone and provide some tax information. Be ready for that. You don’t want to appear disorganized and frantic. Be professional throughout the whole process!
Section 3: The Sites
So here it is, Charlie’s the Intern’s list of sites to get started testing video games:
Only4Gamers.com – This site had the best system. They give you absolutely everything you need to get started. This was by far the best site when it boiled down to it. If I were ever going to try it again, I’d definitely use them for my resources. The contact lists were phonomenal.
GameTesterGuide.net – This site had a pretty good guide, but was less professional than the first one. The information was definitely useful, but it was a bit disorganized. It may have been more helpful, but this one cost a few bucks more. In the end I made more than enough money to cover my cost and still make a profit.
GamerTestingGround.com – This site was also pretty good. It had some good information as well as a HUGE contact list. If you’re confident with your interviewing skills, this might be the one for you. It really sticks to the specialized information about the actual gaming industry. This guy has to have worked with nearly every developer and studio out there. I only gave it the third best ranking here because it lacked some of the other resources on more general skills compared to the other sites.
The Conclusion
As Charlie has proven, it’s definitely possible to make some money on this stuff. You simply have to know who to contact, how to present yourself, and how to seem professional and competent. If you can do the last two, one of the above mentioned sites will give you the information you need to get started.
Oh, and exactly how much did Charlie make during his 31 day assignment? $312.88.