Their kind of work does come with its own challenges, even if they don’t include the same challenges you’re used to thinking about.
You can't be serious. Streaming yourself in a hot tub playing with an inflatable ball is a job? Then it's softcore porn, at best. These people are paid to be literally playing video games.
They are being paid to be entertainers. A majority of people streaming don't get any noticable viewership even though they "play video games" every day. The people getting paid are entertaining (to some segment of the population), and put on a show while they play video games or sit in a hot tub. Video games and the hot tub are just the backdrop to the entertainment.
If feel like a quick experiment, I suggest one try watching a 2 viewer stream for 30 minutes, followed by a top stream for 30 minutes. I would wager that time will move quite slowly waiting for 30. minutes while watching the 2 viewer streamer playing the same video game as the top streamer. And while you might not totally enjoy streaming in general, I would guess that watching the top streamer will be a lot easier to endure a 30 minute watch.
Should entertainers, actors, and athletes be paid so much? That is a whole other topic, but I see no reason to separate out streamers from any of these other types of positions that are paid to entertain us.
You might not find the star athlete of some sports team interesting or worth watching, but millions of other people in your area do find it worth their time and money. Same with streamers.
I quite dislike the twitch subscription and beg for donation model.
If you're not doing it for your own enjoyment, it quickly becomes a job, just like ... porn.
Besides, you're glossing over all the interaction with the audience which is very much the work part.
Let me introduce you to QA game tester, a full time job that pays you to play video games. A regulated job in many countries.
Let me also introduce you to the concept that you, being on HN, are likely “paid to be on the computer all day”. Not much of a job if you ask me.
My marketing assistant is literally paid to spend time on Instagram.
And that’s not even to mention our resident dang, who’s just paid to be on HN.
It's a mix of being entertaining personality and providing a show to the viewer.
That's kinda like saying "how's TV host a job, the guy just sits on the chair and talks".
You probably don't have the skills to do this - as the article shows, even the vast majority of streamers can't make it work, let alone non streamers.
This isn't an argument that applies to softcore porn streamers, that's a different kind of work altogether. The dynamics of watching a good player to be entertained is different to that of lonely guys donating to someone attractive.
Then get into SW engineering.
Or if they are mostly playing, they're probably one of the best in the world at the game.
Compared to software dev as an example - a very mentally taxing job, what comparable challenges do twitch streamers have?
That can be anything from "just" playing the game well and commenting on what is happening, why you're doing this or that etc, thru roleplaying (in games that allow that) to essentially using gaming as background for a bit of comedy
Something akin to TV host.... with no guests to bounce the jokes off, and having to do production themselves, for hours at end. And figuring out what people like and how to promote yourself.
Large: dealing with managing large amounts of social relationships of a community which, let's just say, likes pushing a lot of fringe demands and just a lot of demands in general. Also having to be 'online' almost all hours, until the point you're big enough to ignore it and take the hit.
That's about it. Small streamers don't have communities big enough to have to worry about everything yet, even if they might. Large streamers have the means to be more akin to bosses of small teams than lone workers, offloading minor tasks and instead handling finances (which many still don't, at most having an editor). Large streamers (500+) are far more 'ingrained' than most commenters give it credit for: as long as your quality doesn't drop, you can coast by on what is a very free and easy job, selling out a few times a year. It's getting there that is the problem.
And for about any of the points mentioned, you could find a parallel with startups, bosses, freelancers, independent contractors, managers, etc. It's more the combination that is unique than anything else.
Over the longer term you also have the additional problem that you need to keep that audience. What if you're really good at a certain card game that is popular in 2014 and gain a large audience - but then they make changes to it, you get terribly burnt out on it, and would like to do something else, but whenever you do, your viewer count drops massively. Or maybe the successor to a game comes out and turns out poorly, and viewer count for both drops massively afterwards due to a loss of popularity? Your niche can disappear overnight.
Sure, if you make it to the top 0.5%, you'll be quite comfortable. If you don't, you'll be living somewhat precariously unless you do it purely as a hobby and treat your 10 regular viewers as a friend group.
I tried streaming the game of Go purely for fun for a few weeks. It was an interesting experience. Some very nice interactions with a handful of viewers who tuned in, but also one case of backseating (viewers trying to play the game for you), and the difficulty of concentrating on two different things going on at the same time. I found it demanding.
I know of a streamer who got "big" (enough to earn a living) by playing factorio. At some point he burnt out on the game and tried different things but his audience didn't really care for that and income broke down substantially, so it wasn't sustainable anymore. So he continued playing factorio without actually enjoying that so that he could make a living for his family. Just like a "real" job.
The take that it's an easy job seems very weird to me. If it's so easy, why don't you quit your job and start streaming instead?
If you're a nobody with average skills, see you in a few years with sub 10 viewers, maybe. A nobody with some particular skills, still going to take a while. Exploiting a niche as a particularly charismatic nobody, you'll break through maybe in a few months. Happen to strike rich with a few clips, there is your momentum to make it happen. The vast, vast majority falls in the first category.
Oh, you're already a somebody (500+)? Yeah just play the meta, sellout a few times a year and do what you want mostly. At that point you can do the bare minimum and make it work, as long as you don't self-destruct entirely. Or actually try and make it even more difficult for newer streamers while working to 7 figures. Bonus points, all the positivity will reinforce you to do special things. Almost any problem has a solution in the form of hiring a third party, drowning it out or ignoring it at this point.
Looking at the top makes it seem like the easiest job ever, and to a degree, that is true. Looking at it from the bottom, even retail seems better.