Gaming channels, present since almost the beginning of YouTube, are still popular today. Legendary YouTube gamers like Markiplier, Pewdiepie, and MrBeast get millions of subscribers and views, and people love to daydream about one day starting a career like theirs. You could start a gaming channel, too!
To start a YouTube Gaming Channel, choose a game to focus on and get the right gear. Post useful tutorials, hacks, walkthroughs, reviews, and consistently post to ensure a steady stream of content. If a gamer just wants to play every day, they might consider live streaming instead.
The basics of starting a gaming channel can go deeper, but those are the building blocks! For more information, keep reading below.
Getting Started with Your YouTube Channel
What got you into gaming? Many people in our modern world got into gaming by watching somebody else play. This might have been a parent, a sibling, a friend, or even a YouTube Gamer! If you want to make some money and make your name as a YouTube Gamer, you’ll want to start by following some core tips.
First and foremost, you need to know that this will take a while. YouTube requires more than 4,000 Public Watch Hours in the last 12 months of your channel, as well as 1,000 or more subscribers before you can start making money. This will take work and patience, but it is achievable!
Next, you’ll want to decide what to do with your channel. Gamers who are already very successful can make “Let’s Play” style videos and get thousands of views, but a beginning gamer will want to work with things that will get you the views needed to build your channel.
Make the YouTube Algorithm Your Friend
The YouTube algorithm might seem harsh or a little unfair when it brings up popular results first, but think about why you use it. When a viewer wants to find fun, helpful, current content, the algorithm recommends what they need! To work with the algorithm, you need to show it that you are what searchers need.
Fresh, regularly posted content is an important part of working with the algorithm. It wants to find results from channels that are active, so it can keep results modern and suggest more videos from your channel later. Nice, right? This means that once a viewer has watched or liked one of your videos, they’re more likely to see another one of your videos recommended to them.
The name of your video is another key factor. New channels will get more views if they’re posting helpful results, like gaming walkthroughs or instructional videos. Posting a video about “How to Plant Beets in Minecraft” might sound boring, but it will pop up in search results more quickly than a playthrough.
Make Your Brand
If you want to be a big YouTube gamer someday, you’ll want to be recognizable. Making a consistent icon or intro/outro is a big help with this. An intro/outro with credits also helps you acknowledge the help you receive and reminds viewers of your name. It seems like a small thing, but watch some videos from other big gamers and you’ll see what they’re doing.
Many of you might have a favorite intro stuck in your head after reading this! That’s a great example of it working.
Get the Right Gear
The correct gear is important for any hobby, and gaming is no exception. These are some things that you might want to consider before you start a YouTube channel. Set yourself up for success!
| The Gear | What It’s For | Examples of Products |
| Video Editing Software | -Pausing the video -Adding audio -Adding arrows/visual aids -Adding an intro/outro -Cutting and editing the recording | –Adobe Premiere Pro is a popular option with a monthly subscription offered |
| A High-Quality Microphone | -Avoiding a scratchy voice -Making your audio sound clear -Avoiding background noise | –Here’s a full article of microphones you can choose from! |
| Screen Capturing Software | -Recording the gameplay -There is no replacement for this -You can’t make a channel without it! | –This changes based on your tech, but you have many free options |
| A Webcam or Digital Camera | -Recording yourself as you play -Viewers usually like to see the gamer’s face during a video | -Here’s a #1 best seller |
| Lighting | -Making a good, clear video -Preventing screen glare -Looking Professional | -This Best Seller clips onto your computer! |
| Greenscreen | -Removing background distractions -Projecting a background appropriate for high-quality videos | –Here’s a classic example from Amazon |
| A Way to Play Games | -Nobody can start a gaming channel without a way to play the games! | -Hopefully, you’ll have this already! You can use a PC, Switch, Gameboy, or whatever you’d like as long as you can record it. |
Choosing a Game
Resist the temptation to jump around as a beginner! Unless you’re making a channel based around reviews, you’re most likely to get a following if you stick to a theme and build from there.
Most successful new gaming channels keep a strong focus! You can even base the name of your channel off of it. Becoming known as “that Legend of Zelda channel” is a gaming badge of honor. Wear it with pride.
With this in mind, choose a game that you’ll enjoy playing for a while. If you hate the game and are only choosing it to get popular, you might get stuck playing that game you hate for a long, long time. Don’t do that to yourself! Have fun while building your channel, and try out some options before you get serious.
Some options you could choose from include:
- Minecraft
- Any Legend of Zelda game
- Five Nights at Freddy’s
- Stardew Valley
- Animal Crossing
- Borderlands
- Terraria
- The Sims
- Dead by Daylight
- And many, many more!
You might want to consider playing more niche games that won’t give you a lot of competition. If you love small indie games, play small indie games. Remember, you’re looking into this because you love gaming! You want your audience to feel that when you play.
Livestreaming
If you start grinding out videos and find out you’re not enjoying any of it, that’s alright! Maybe the editing and recording part of gaming isn’t for you. If you just want to play and you’re decently charismatic, you might find a better platform while live streaming. Twitch is a popular platform used by many gamers who want to invite people to watch them play.
If you read through this article and decided that you’re up for the challenge of becoming a YouTube Gamer, congratulations! We look forward to seeing your channel grow.
