19-year-old who makes $10,000 a month from his video game side hustle: 'I never knew that writing could make me' so much money

The video game world was awash with money in the early 2000s. New investors had flooded the market, chasing exponentially profitable blockbusters made by non-unionized hobbyists working with budgets less than the cost of craft services for a Harry Potter movie—take Grand Theft Auto III (2001), made for 5 million USD, which grossed over 250 million ... See more

A prime example is Fortnite, whose massive 350M+ player base represents nearly the same in-game population as the United States… 85% of whom purchase in-game upgrades, skins, and other downloadable content to the tune of $3.7 Billion /yr in sales.

Gaming is a hits-driven business, where the biggest productions cost hundreds of millions of dollars and need to find a way to recoup their sizable investments. As a result, the companies behind these massive games look for as many ways as possible to mitigate risk, either by copying popular trends (like the battle royale craze of the late 2010s) o... See more

As Jack’s followers grew, largely due to the popularity of his NPC series, his opportunities expanded, including an invitation by TikTok to participate in the TikTok Creator Fund, which pays out on a per-view basis on his videos. As Jack’s viewership has grown, this has become a steady source of income, but can fluctuate greatly due to the uncertai... See more