Compared to the early days of competitive gaming and online streaming, there's a lot of money in video games these days. By the time Feb. 19 rolled around, Rockstar's massive Red Dead Redemption 2 sold an astonishing 23 million copies worldwide after earning $725 million in its first weekend.
But a lot of cash in the industry also goes to players as well as the games, with Forbes reporting that the highest-paid players took in over $120 million in 2019.
In a list breaking down the biggest earners in gaming last year, streamers and competitive gamers brought in an astonishing amount of money. Unsurprisingly, popular Twitch-streamer turned Mixer-streamer and Drake's former Fortnite teammate Ninja, real name Tyler Blevins, made the top spot on the list with $17 million in 2019. Close behind in second place is PewDiePie, who made $15 million and also previously landed in the list of highest-earning YouTubers.
Elsewhere on this list is Minecraft vlogger Preston Arsement with $14 million, and streamer and YouTuber Markiplier with the same number. Considering that Ninja, who made deals with Red Bull and Microsoft in 2019, only brought in $100,000 in compeitive gaming wins last year, the list is devoid of strictly pro gamers. As Forbes mentions, the majority of the list is more compromised of influencers than eSports figures.
Check out the full list below.
1. Ninja (Tyler Blevins) - $17 million
2. PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) - $15 million
3. Preston Arsement - $14 million
4. Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) - $14 million
5. Shroud (Michael Grzesiek) - $12.5 million
6. DanTDM (Daniel Middleton) - $12 million
7. VanossGaming (Evan Fong) - $11.5 million
8. Jacksepticeye (Sean McLouglin) - $11 million
9. TimTheTatman (Timothy Betar) - $8 million
10. Nickmercs (Nick Kolcheff) - $6 million
