Making Money From Game Servers
Many people have long wished to be able make money from their computer and/or servers. It is like listening to music when you realize that you can both invest time and money in a project while also enjoying the experience.
So you may be very interested to read this mammoth sized report on Making Money From Game Servers written by the team here at CompareGameHosting. In this document we have researched and prepared an easy to use guide that covers many aspects of the game server hosting world and the opportunities contained in it.
Many of the ideas discussed on this page are simple in theory. They require little imagination and hard work to bring to life. Some ideas require more than a few hours of work. However, if something is hard or takes a lot time to complete it will bring higher rewards.
This guide was written to make it easy for even non-techy people to understand the concepts. However, we can only simplify the subject. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comment section.
This Making Money From Game Servers report tries to start off with the simplest ideas first and work its way up to the more intense ones later. We will continue to add any new practices we come across as we go along. Keep checking back!
What's On This Page
1. Running A Game Server For Donations 2. Server Advertising for In-Game/MOTD Running A Game Server With Premium Content/Features 4. Selling Real World Products Branded To Support A Server Access to Mini Games and Side Content Charges YouTube & Twitch Sponsorship/Advertising 7. Premium Player Training Server 8. Offering Game Server Hosting Services
Running A Game Server For Donations
Possibly the most simplest and easiest method to comprehend on this list is the idea of running a game server and asking for donations to keep it running. This practice is simple, and you would only need to:
- Set up a game server - Get people to join your game server and keep coming back - Collect donations using PayPal or dedicated donation tracking platforms
So as long as you know how to set up a game server (easy when you have a hosting provider do most of the work for you) and get people playing on it you are set.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive Example
Using Counter Strike: Global Offensive as an example, you would go to our price list page and choose a well priced server with a reputable company. Next, you will need the game to start and you will need to set up your rules/settings. You can also choose maps that you are familiar with.
Once the game is running, you should promote it everywhere possible. Facebook, Twitter and other social medias are good options.
Once you have players that are playing regularly, you can add donation button to the game. PayPal is the easiest way to collect these payments. However, Patreon is a more modern and easier way to track and lock features. Patreon is great as you can lock certain features and content to people who pledge a certain amount each month, ensuring that its not just a one off payment but a constant income each month.
In Game/MOD Advertising On Server
The next simplest method of making money on a game server is to advertise to the players with banners provided by partners who pay per view. In game advertising is an old practice. Most popular multiplayer games have private servers.
Advertisers are always looking for new ways to promote their brand, as the gaming industry is hugely lucrative. Advertisers will be promoting the latest games, services, such boosting and training, via banner ads that relate to your server players.
Example of a Squad
Using the example of the game Squad, we can break this down into the following steps.
- Create a game server (see our list of Squad game server providers) - Drum up interest in the online world and get players onto your server - Find partners that will pay you based on time (the easiest way to manage) or by CPM (paid by the number of impressions their advert has received) either manually or through sites like MOTDgd
Running A Game Server With Premium Content/Features
If you have more of an entrepreneurial/creative flare you could take on the more time consuming but potentially higher rewarding task of creating premium content. Gamers are always on the lookout for new content, especially if they like a game concept but have played through the existing content to death.
If you can create in-game skins and maps (probably the easiest), then you can make something that is highly sought after for a long time. Another way to do this is to create a tie-up with a brand, which will allow you free access to the creations you have made. However, it is basically an advertisement. This is exemplified by Little Big Planet, which sponsored players to create levels branded for companies like Honda. In these levels, you drive a car that can be uploaded for other players to enjoy. If you owned your own game server and offered this service you could control and charge for this.
Minecraft Example
Minecraft is the most popular video game to use this type of monetising. Server owners create a demand for certain skins and items in the game and then sell them via a shop. All this is done using mods such Buycraft.
This is a good idea. Microsoft has very clear rules about what you can and cannot do with it. Premium "skins can be charged for, provided you don't charge for powerups or other items that increase their effectiveness.
Laid out simply, you would do the following to create a game server with premium content:
Start renting a server through one of our reputable partners. Gain a following by creating a great space to be and play with other people (best to act as a fair rule keeper and then promote and promote! Buycraft makes it easy to set up your server so you can create game skins and find designers on sites like Fiverr.
Support A Server With Branded Real World Product Products
Similar to the last making money from game servers method but with more freedom, you could create real world branded items like clothing and gaming accessories. Selling branded content is not as easy as selling in game skins. It may take some hard work. Finding a supplier that will do most work for you will help get started. You can then focus on what is best: keeping the server active and the flow of customers coming.
A drop shipping partner like InkThreadable could take your logo/designs in image form and then link to your Shopify account to create an instant branded clothing shop. The only problem with this method is that as you outsource more and more of the work to other companies your margin of profit drops.
Ark Survival Evolved Exemplary
So for the massively popular multiplayer game Ark Survival Evolved you could easily build up a popular server as the game is a lot newer than say CSGO and build a store around it. The hardest part about creating demand for your game and brand is the most difficult.
- Find a game server hosting provider for Ark using our list of companies here - Promote your game server online and in YouTube videos to get it bursting at the seems with players - Create and optimise a brand around your server to make it individual, this may involve you more than the server itself and YouTube will massively be your friend here - Design some awesome clothing then use drop shipping methods as discussed earlier to fulfil your orders, Amazon even offers a service to do this (although hard to get involved with currently due to them manually auditing new members)
Access to Mini Games & Other Side Content: Charging
Usually requiring mods and maybe some coding to make work, Charging Access To Mini Games & Side Content could be a very lucrative addition to your game server. This is the legal way to charge for Minecraft access. It's a way to circumvent the ban on charging people to join your server. By making the main server free but then charging for mine-games and side "worlds" you could use the main server as a way to get free footfall onto your rented server while pushing for access to locked worlds.
You can find many examples of great Minecraft mini-games on the official forum.
Side Content Minecraft Example
This method is only for Minecraft, so it will be used as an example.
- Find a game server provider using our price list as mentioned before - Create an awesome world that players would potentially want to see more of - Add mini-games and locked content using mods that would appeal to your players and lock them away - Now take PayPal payments or Patreon subscriptions to gain access to these locked areas
YouTube & Twitch Sponsorship/Advertising
As you may be aware, people out there are getting rich from YouTube and Twitch with many personalities seeing multi-million dollar yearly incomes solely from it.
PewdiePie (and NeebsGaming) make huge amounts of money simply by playing games and displaying the footage (edited properly of course!) on video channels. Advertisers then part money with those platforms to appear alongside this content as it attracts the kind of people they want seeing their brand.
This method of making money from game servers is lower down on our list due to the time it takes and the work involved without any reward. This practice should be the most lucrative on this list if you are able to keep going with content production.
Scrap Mechanic example
A fantastic sandbox game that is still in development is Scrap Mechanic, its open world nature has made it a great platform to build on. NeebsGaming has had great success setting themselves challenges in Scrap Mechanic, then tackling them individually and recording them together for humorous webisodes.
YouTube has rewarded them with video advertising sharing, which has likely earned them a lot of cash, judging from the income of other YouTube personalities.
This could be done in the following manner:
- Find a group of friends or other players passionate about the game you play and who want to be part of a YouTube series - Record a bunch of videos of funny/interesting in game activities - Upload these to YouTube or other video platforms with thumbnails that stand out and then promote - As people watch your episodes you can use the comments section to engage with them and learn what works and what doesn't. This information can be used to refine your videos and continuously improve them.
Premium Player Training Server
This method is only really relevant to the better gamers out there. Offering a Premium Player Training Server is like offering a tailored boot camp to players that will help them get better at a game.
Many players want to be the best. With e-sports growing in popularity and offering more expensive prizes and awards, the demand for the best is increasing. If you have a skill that can be transferred in game, you might charge an hourly fee or create an automated system that you charge access to.
Rust Training Example
Rust is a very popular game right now and keeps players coming back to it again and again. This game requires players to be able to build bases and fight for survival. game servers an a lot of fun Veteran players gain more knowledge making them a sort-of in-game Bear Grylls.
If you posses knowledge that would be beneficial to new players then you too could create a server that is password protected and then advertise online that you will train players for an hourly fee.
- Rent and setup a password protected server using the Rust server hosting price list we maintain - Set up some simulated scenarios on your server that show how players would typically build bases and plant decoy enemies and NPC (or even hired players to help) - Advertise on sites like Fiverr or Rust forums that you are offering this service to players who want to increase their skill
Offering Game Server Hosting Services
The hardest and most technologically demanding way of Making Money From Game Servers is by offering game server hosting services to players.
We have seen many game host companies fail and succeed over the years. We (the guys behind CompareGameHosting), had one ourselves before we started this site. This gives us a good understanding of the work and challenges involved. Setting up a game server hosting company is no easy task but if you have a love for maintaining servers and dealing with gamers then you may have the skills needed.
Finding customers is the other half of the puzzle. A good knowledge of SEO and marketing is essential to survive. Getting a listing on our site would be the easy route but being a new company with no history will get you no where with us until you have proven yourself. We receive new hosting companies every day, so our sign up process can be very tedious and time-consuming.
Another problem with the business is the risk. Fastpoint Gaming has shown us how fragile it can be. As do most online businesses, they relied heavily on PayPal to manage subscriptions. However they lost a lot of money due to Ark server problems early on and had to cancel a lot of them.
A well-run gaming hosting company can generate profit margins as high as 75% (before tax), so the money is not wasted. Our experience shows that the problem is in the marketing budget. We believe that SEO efforts are key to success.
Summary
Well if you read the whole making money from game servers report then hats off to you! We hope you enjoyed reading this and learnt a thing or two form our wisdom on the subject. We would love to hear about your successes. We would love to hear about your experiences with wasting time and money.