In 2025, the monitor screen for many Ukrainian gamers has turned from a place for entertainment into a battlefield, where everyone has a chance to turn their passion for video games into a stable source of income. A few years ago, the enjoyment of games was for many the final chord in the world of gaming, but now the situation has changed. Gaming platforms, blockchain projects, e-sports and streaming have become real business tools for millions of people around the world, and Ukraine has not remained aloof from this trend.
However, there are many doubts about the profitability of gaming. What risks await those who decided to invest time and energy in this turbulent market? From cryptocurrencies to e-sports tournaments, earning opportunities have multiplied, but behind every new trend there are many challenges. Let’s consider how Ukrainian gamers adapt to new realities and what awaits those who decide to monetize their hobby in 2025.
Games as a way of earning
Today, the world of earning money from games is gaining momentum, and gamers have access to innovative ways of monetization that expand the horizons not only for professionals, but also for those who are just starting out.
In 2025, numbers speak louder than words. At the beginning of the year, 7.3 million unique wallets entered Web3 games every day. Yes, this is not a mistake – a growth of 386% compared to 2024. That is, market didn’t just survive the Tap-to-Earn period, but took off like an altcoin on steroids. The industry’s expected annual revenue is $22 billion. As you can see, this is no longer a sandbox for crypto enthusiasts, but a full-fledged economy that grabs hold of traditional gaming platforms. And while gamers in Steam buy skins for $10, in Web3 players generate assets that are really worth something.
The situation in the market of Web3 applications is also interesting. AI-DApps took 28%—beating out even games at 26%. Artificial intelligence replaces pixels, and now you don’t play the game, but it plays with you.
Now among the trends that set the tone is AI + Gameplay. Game characters have become smarter than some of the commenters on Discord. Algorithms adapt to the player’s style, NPCs are no longer cardboard figures. Games like Real VR Fishing have attracted a million players, and this is not just entertainment, but a new type of leisure with cryptocurrency filling. The game process is becoming increasingly socialized. Here everything is built on interaction. You play – you earn. You comment – you earn. You have influence – you monetize it through tokenized communities. Difficult, but it works.
However, it is worth understanding that serious problems are hidden under the shine of tokens:
- 75.5% of games did not make it to the second season. The Web3 market is brutal: without a community, a stable economy and game design – relegation at the first turn.
- Newbies drown in cryptolabyrinths: wallets, swaps, gas, safes.
- And there are still regulators who are just watching, but sooner or later they will come in, and it is not a fact that with good intentions.
How gamers build careers online
Online gaming has turned into a full-fledged industry, where the game is only the tip of the iceberg. Under it, you can see different forms of earnings. The very concept of “modern gamer” is gradually changing. Now it’s not just someone running through virtual worlds in search of victory. This is, first of all, a content creator, a businessman and a potential e-sportsman. Earning from games is becoming more and more diverse: streaming, eSports, trading of in-game items and blockchain games have become the main areas that are actively developing in the modern world. So let’s consider each of these methods in more detail:
- streaming: a show for millions
Streaming technologies have changed the way gamers interact with audiences. Platforms like Twitch, YouTube, as well as new services, allow not only to play, but also to create real shows. Instead of just enjoying the game process, you can now earn income from advertising, donations and sponsorship contracts. But there is also a big problem — competition. Becoming a popular streamer without unique content or a significant audience is incredibly difficult. Only the best will be able to make a tangible profit from this channel.
- eSports: not only a hobby, but also a career
Ukrainian gamers are increasingly gaining popularity in the global e-sports arenas. Tournaments from games such as Dota 2, CS2 or League of Legends have become real mega-holidays, where victory brings millions of dollars. Successful players not only receive prizes, but also sign profitable contracts with teams and sponsors. But this path must be taken seriously: the professional level in eSports requires daily training and incredible concentration.
- virtual economies: trade as a profession
Earnings on in-game items became an equally interesting direction. Games like World of Warcraft or Path of Exile allow players to create and sell rare artifacts for real money. Virtual economies have become not just a game, but a real market, where trading and buying and selling items is not only a source of additional income, but also the main business for some gamers.
- blockchain games: a new era of earning
Blockchain games became another innovation. They combine gaming and cryptocurrencies, opening new horizons for monetization. Players can not only earn virtual assets, but also convert them into real money. Projects such as Axie Infinity or The Sandbox have already proven that blockchain games can bring significant profits. But they also have high barriers to entry, which can be a barrier for newcomers.
- mobile games: earning in your pocket
Mobile games should not be neglected. Especially popular Tap-to-Earn projects that allow you to earn money by performing simple actions on your smartphone. They have become a kind of trend, when you can simply click on the screen and receive cryptocurrency. However, within a few months, the boom of these games went into decline. This is explained by the fact that the popularity quickly faded due to the monotony of the gameplay and the low level of profitability. The trend certainly brought a lot of hype, but most players never managed to earn significant amounts.
History of game business development
The history of monetized games is a journey from hobby to business, from pixelated romance to strict market rules. It all started almost innocently: the players just enjoyed the process. But as soon as the first prize pools and trading of in-game items entered the game, a new predatory interest in earning immediately appeared. At the turn of the 2000s, the first forms of gaming earnings were born — the shadow economy of MMORPGs. In World of Warcraft, gold farmers sold in-game currency for real money, and players from China became workers in virtual mines. It was a wild west — chaotic, unofficial, but profitable. Next came games with open markets. Steam with the in-game store for Dota 2 and CS:GO launched a real trading fever. Knives, skins, capsules — everything has little value, and often sky-high. This was no longer about a “game for fun”. A full-fledged auction appeared, where the winners were not always the best players, but those who bought on time and sold even more on time. Esports has turned a game into a profession. The first major tournaments, like an electric shock, changed the idea of a gamer: now it is not just a lazy person on the couch, but an athlete of a new generation. Ukraine is not far behind here – the names of Ukrainian e-sportsmen sound on the world stage no worse than top football players.
In the 2020s, gaming got into crypto currency. Axie Infinity has become a symbol of a new trend: you play – earn tokens – withdraw in dollars. The idea is attractive, the implementation is not always. The majority of similar projects lived by the principle of “summer hype, fall — collapse.” But the hype worked: gaming officially entered the territory of Web3.
Then came Tap-to-Earn. The most simplified mobile games, where earning is literally a few clicks on the screen. The success of Notcoin or similar is short but loud. Such projects quickly burned out, because they gave nothing but an automated routine with a ghostly hope of reward. From the history of cryptogaming, it is worth mentioning CryptoKitties, which appeared back in 2017. This is the first game that allowed you to buy, sell and breed NFT cats. The cost of individual copies reached thousands of dollars. However, the real boom came with the appearance of applications such as STEPN (where you can earn cryptocurrency while doing physical exercises) or Notcoin (Tap-to-Earn game where players tapped on coins and earned tokens). But, as practice has shown, interest in these games, despite their popularity, quickly disappeared, which demonstrates the need to change the concept in order to keep the attention of players.
Among the main reasons for the decline in interest in Tap-to-Earn games is excessive simplicity and lack of meaningful gameplay. Such games have become banal, and instead of providing real value, they have only fueled cryptocurrency speculation. And while such games brought attention to cryptogaming, their impact was short-lived. It’s more and more like a firework that flared up brightly but quickly died down.
In 2025, it’s hard to say whether Tap-to-Earn games are worth investing in. Technology is constantly changing, and some projects can transform, adding more gameplay value. However, if we compare the prospects, eSports and streaming remain the more stable and profitable direction.
How the world earns from gaming and where is Ukraine’s place here
Earnings from games abroad have long since come out of the underground. In the United States, South Korea, Japan, China, and even in Latin America, gamers file a tax return on income from streaming or NFT sales. In the world, money in games is no longer a joke. This is an industry with a turnover of hundreds of billions of dollars. And while developed markets have been living in the “play and earn” paradigm for several years now, Ukraine is just entering the game at serious stakes.
In 2024, according to Newzoo, more than 42% of gamers in the US monetized their activities from participating in tournaments to creating content and working with in-game assets. In Asia, the situation is even brighter: the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia have become the leaders in terms of the number of players in crypto games. All this thanks to a combination of cheap labor, flexible regulation and the digital flexibility of the young population.
Platforms Twitch, Kick, YouTube turned into a full-time job, where people buy cameras for $ 1000, hire moderators and organize marathons for advertising contracts and donations. In South Korea or the USA, streamers are public figures, not “boys from the room”.
In developed countries, blockchain games have gone through three phases:
- euphoria;
- disappointment;
- integration.
The first projects, such as Axie Infinity, caused a sensation. In South America, especially in Argentina and Venezuela, tens of thousands of people have made money solely through blockchain gaming. But the bubble burst quickly. Only those who either managed to withdraw tokens or integrated into the infrastructure remained.
Today, the new generation of Web3 games looks more restrained. They no longer promise to “earn money for an apartment”, but offer real gameplay with additional monetization. Players in the West treat this as an investment of time. Not without risk, of course, but with potential.
Ukraine is just entering the phase of deep understanding that gaming is one of the tools of economic survival, cultural influence and export. After 2022, the demand for freelance opportunities, particularly in the digital sector, has increased dramatically, and gaming is one of them. Requests for streamers, NFT players, and boosters began to appear en masse in Telegram chats, Discord servers, and even OLX. However, the infrastructure is still weak. It is much more difficult for a Ukrainian gamer to enter the market where they pay: language barrier, low level of access to equipment, unstable Internet connection. All these are real limitations that prevent full integration into the global market.
And there is also a problem with monetization. PayPal does not work, cryptocurrency withdrawals are difficult for beginners, and affiliate programs such as Twitch Affiliate are not always stable. This creates a paradox: it seems that there are many opportunities, but it is difficult to get to them. The global gaming market has already shown that earning from the game is not a hobbyist’s trick, but a new form of employment. Countries that adapted the legislation in time and created an environment for the development of gaming as a business are already receiving income from it at the level of a small IT sector.
For Ukraine, this is a window of opportunity. We have everything: talented players, good ideas, active youth. But active actions are needed: legislative support for digital freelancing, access to payment services, basic gamer education. Because while the world lives on streaming, we are still thinking about whether it is worth buying a microphone.
Earnings from games in 2025 has moved from the category of fantasy to a real possibility. But, as in any business, everything is accompanied by risks. Games can be profitable, but for this you need to have the right strategy, be ready for competition and constantly adapt to new technologies. If you are ready to work, learn, experiment and take risks, then the world of the gaming industry offers many chances to achieve financial success.
Earning from games is not just a matter of success, but the result of serious work in conditions of constant change and high competition. Gamers who have been able to adapt to new conditions are already making millions. But be prepared for the fact that on the way to success you will have to go through many levels, full of not only victories, but also defeats.
