Professional athletes are gazed upon by a majority of our generation’s population. On the other hand, professional gamers are a laughing stock. How could “gaming” be a profession? Gaming is not that difficult to do, right? Picking up a console to play a game is fun, but gaming, as a profession or lifestyle, is anything but fun. The journey to becoming a professional gamer involves an abundant amount of devotion.

Professional players sacrifice their social life by spending up to twelve hours, or more, a day practicing and analyzing gameplay. That means that they rarely have time to interact with people, including their family. It also means that studying and education is put aside.

Players need sponsors to obtain the financial stability to game as a profession. Obtaining and maintaining a sponsor is a difficult task. Sponsors have high expectations of the players they decide to support. If a player is not meeting their expectations, sponsors have the power to withdraw and, potentially, end an individual’s career.  

The lifespan of a professional player can be very short, possibly about a few weeks. According to shmoop.com, “500… people from around the world make a living… out of millions of players.” As if becoming recognized was not hard enough, professional gaming is incredibly stressful and competitive.

There have been instances where players have used drugs to enhance their performance and even instances in which players have become injured during gameplay. Professional players are subjected to physical tests by their coaches and managers to ensure that they are mentally prepared for competitions.

Professional gaming is not only a hobby; it is a lifestyle. The amount of devotion required takes away the fun and entertainment of gaming. Gaming can be fun, but that does not mean it is an easy profession. It is important to take the challenges into consideration before following the profession.

– Fernando Soto