I’m always writing about making money in the “real world” but I am not foolish enough to think that this is a priority for everyone. Even if it is a priority, you are still allowed hobbies and downtime, and I know that in 2020, gaming is more popular than ever due to the fact that so many of us are stuck at home and our “real world” social lives are very much on hold. Gaming is a form of escape and whether you like simple puzzle games like Candy Crash Saga, or full MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role playing games) there is something for you.
Some of these games involve earning and spending lots of money in the online world and so I’ve put together some top tips for some of the most popular games out there where you boost your earnings and enjoy your gaming more, but without putting your hand in your “real world” pocket!
How to make money in GTA Online
GTA is undoubtedly one of the most well known and popular games around. One of the key things to remember is to watch the tutorial at the beginning of the game, even if you are familiar with GTA and how it works. If you don’t, it can cause issues later on.
Make sure to complete tasks as quickly as you can and this will help your RP (reputation) in the game. This will mean you get access to more weapons and missions.
Once you are suitably established in the game, more money making opportunities will come along. Here’s some of our favourites.
- If you have an office building and a warehouse, you can easily earn back your outgoings by using the property for vehicle and special cargo. Air freight is a less lucrativer version of this too.
- For passive income in the game, get a bunker and start a gunrunning or motorcycle club. Nightclubs are the less lucrative version of this.
- If you have friends playing the game, then heists can be a really profitable way of getting money quickly. You will also need to have reached the relevant skills levels but if you meet the criteria, work as a team and this will boost the bank!
- VIP work is a good way to earn extra bucks if you have started a company as a VIP or CEO. It is a great way to fill time between other missions and tasks.
How to make money on GTA 5
GTA 5 is another part of the Grand Theft Auto universe. In GTA you can make money in lots of ways but according to regular gamers and forums the best way to quickly make money in this game is through your stocks. Like in the real world, you want to buy low and sell high to maximise your profit. Some people are using manual save points to invest, then go back and check on their investment. If it has not paid off, then just reload the game from the save point meaning you haven’t lost money.
Other ways of making money but on a smaller scale include robberies (including armoured trucks, stores, and ATMs), street races, heists. Sabotage or assassination missions for Lester can also prove to be quite lucrative.
How to make money on Anno 1404 and 1800
Whether you prefer Anno 1404 or 1800 (and here isn’t the place to debate that as I don’t want to upset anyone), this is a fun game which is a lot less violent than the games mentioned above. In the Anno series you are making money by completing tasks, in Anno 1404 the key is to build lots of houses. In Anno 1800, you want to build houses as well, but you can also maximise your income by buying and selling ships (Archibald pays large amounts of money so try and sell to him).
You can also make large amounts of money by taxing the people who live in your area. Remember to keep building, keep trading, complete quests and attract more people to your area. These will all mean that your income adds up. Another top hint from regular gamers is consistency. If your income is fluctuating, then it may be that you keep running out of items. It isn’t the end of the world if it fluctuates, as long as your overall worth is increasing, but it is worth bearing in mind and monitoring the situation. If income goes down, that can lead to a population or happiness level drop, which will mean the tax income goes down too.
How to make money on Black Desert Online (BDO)
There are loads of ways of making money in Black Desert Online (BDO), however one of the most profitable is the Imperial Crafting Delivery. It can be a ltitle tricky to get the hang of, and you can be limited by the amount of crates accepted per game day, but it can turn a big profit.
Other ways to turn a profit in BDO include heating and melting of weapons. You just need to melt the Rosar axes down, which will give you melted iron shards and trace of memories. You can turn a reasonable amount of profit using this method.
Grinding is another way of turning a profit, and can be done whilst away from the game if you set it up before you go. Using the produce window, use the materials and foods in the inventory and select grinding. Depending on your weight limit you can then leave this running for some time, and earn yourself some online passive income. You can then sell the items in the marketplace or use it for cooking up some of the recipes. Top profit can be achieved from grinding potatoes into potato flour.
Don’t forget that your workers can make you lots of money too. Invest in some nodes, and then get some workers and let the profits role in. This method involves the least amount of effort so it is perfect for busy gamers.
How to make money in Runescape and Old School Runescape (OSRS)
If you are a fan of spending time in Gielinor, then you aren’t alone – there are over 200 million accounts on this fame, and at one point was the world’s largest and most regularly updated MMORPG. Whether you are prefer Runescape or the Old School Runescape (OSRS) versions, there are loads and
There are loads of ways of making money, and whilst the rates in the Grand Exchange do fluctuate, and depending on the amount of game play you do, some of the best ways to maximise your profit include:
- Mining (in particular Rune or Pure Essence – once you have finished the Rune Mysteries Quest)
- Smithing
- Spinning Flax (members only)
- Fishing
- Woodcutting
- Gathering leather
- Trading and merchanting in the Grand Exchange
Unsurprisingly in such a popular and regularly updated game, there are hundreds of top methods of making money quickly, and this post could not possibly list them all, but there are plenty of forums online with support from other players and help.
How to make money on Red Dead Redemption 2 Online (RDR2)
Getting gold bars is a big part of making money in Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2). Due to them being worth such a decent amount of money, they aren’t usually particularly easy to get, and often involve a task or solving a problem.
Other ways of making money in RDR2 include general game play (there are lots of missions to do which will pay you) as well as ensuring that you loot everything and everyone you possibly can! These items should then be sold via fence stores rather a normal shop as they won’t deal with illegal goods or proceeds in crime.
As well as all the other quests, maps, and tasks, you can also make money by becoming a bounty hunter. These will earn you more money if you bring them back alive rather than dead and can bring a reasonable amount of income so are worth looking out for on the noticeboards in the Sheriff’s office or in the Post Office.
Last but not least, you can make money in RDR2 by gambling. It’s small stakes (certainly to start with) and you will start with poker so you need to know how to play that, but it can be a fun way of trying to earn some extra cash.
How to make money in Sims 4 and SimCity
There are loads of well known cheats to earn money in Sims 4 in particular, none of which we share here, because we are all about earning money legitimately (in the real work and our gaming ones), but some of the best ways to maximise your income in Sims 4 are:
- Your career – having a job and earning a decent income per hour/working more hours is a great way to increase your income.
- Don’t want to work for someone else in the games world as well as the real one? Start a business! Some of the popular ones are retail, restaurants and even medical clinics.
- Gardening – Gardening in Sims 4 can be really lucrative, as long as you don’t let your plants die and focus on the plants which will make you the most amount of money.
- Fishing – the bigger fish will come later on, once you have upped your skill levels, but this can be a good and cheap way of making some extra money as long as you remember to sell on your catch.
- Other fun ways to make money include other hobbies such as playing musical instruments, stand up comedy, video gaming and writing a book!
How to make money in Stardew Valley
In Stardew Valley, crops are going to be how you get going on your money making journey. You will soon learn which crops will make you the most money and can them focus on them. You will also realise that as the seasons change,the most popular crops will change and you may need to mix up what you focus on growing throughout the year.
Plant your seeds in a tidy manner – you will possibly squeeze more crops into the same space, and this can mean you are more likely to get a giant crop as a bonus.
After you’ve got going with your crops, focus on wood rather than livestock. You can even store it away if you have the space. This will in turn help you to unlock other things such as new buildings and other items that will become available on your farm.
Other top ways of making money include:
- Exploring the mines which will be unlocked in your first spring
- Fishing – this can be quite difficult to get the hang of in the early days, but once you know what you are doing you can put a line out quickly and get fish a lot easier, as well as bigger fish too. After you reach fishing level 3 you can get crab pots which you can fill up with bait and just leave. This can be a great little passive income earner.
- Processing your crops into other products can be time consuming, but it will massively increase your profits from your crops and is worth getting into.
How to make money in Cities Skylines
One of the biggest mistakes players make in Cities Skylines is to focus on building everything and anything, which can massively drain your money and even cause debts. Set your taxes to between 10-12% and take things slow (too low and you won’t be earning enough, too high and you will make the residents unhappy).
Other great ways of managing money in Cities: Skylines are:
- Reaching each city milestone will earn you a nice bonus, so work towards those where possible.
- Don’t add services unless they are really needed or requested as they can drain you financially.
- Don’t forget to keep an eye on your budget and adjust it regularly.
- Remember to switch off buidings which are not in use – this will save you on the running costs.
- Buses are much more profitable than trains, so focus on your bus network for transport, certainly in the early days.
How to make money in Crossout
Farming and selling scrap will be one of the biggest profit makers for you in Crossout. Also you will need to make sure you complete your daily tasks and missions. You may also want to get into playing the market. Making items at the workbench and selling them on is also a great little money maker in Crossout.
How to make money in Elite Dangerous
Profitable missions can be one of the best ways to make lots of money in Elite Dangerous, certainly in the early days. Check out the bulletin board for all the latest available missions.
Other popular ways to make money in Elite Dangerous are:
- Becoming a bounty hunter – use a kill warrant scanner and hunt them down (just don’t bite off more than you can chew in the early days)
- Trading – look for items at low cost, and sell at a profit
- Exploration may not be as lucrative as you might hope, but if you fancy getting out and exploring, get a discovery scanner and fuel scoop and set out on your way. You can then sell the data that you have to a station which is at least 20 lightyears from where you recorded it.
- Mining asteroids is a popular way of making money in Elite Dangerous, but it won’t make you rich quickly. It can also take a bit of practice to get used to scanning and mining the ore, but with regular practice you will soon get the hang of it. Just remember to expand your cargo area before going wild.
How to make money in Europa Universalis 4 (EU4)
It is a common complaint that it is difficult to make money in Europa Universalis 4 (EU4) particularly in the early days. This game is more of a long game, but once you get more confident at the money making methods and get stuck into the game, it can be super rewarding.
Start off with trading. This too can be tricky to get used to, but you will soon get the hang of it. You need to conquer trade nodes, build trade buildings, invest in trade ideas and try things out to see what works best for you.
Building vast navies and armies will cost a small fortune in maintenance, so don’t get too carried away. You can also make some good money in peace deals.
EU4 is definitely one of the hardest games to explain to people new to the game, and there isn’t enough space to go into it in this post. For full explanations about trade nodes and all things trade related in EU4 we would suggest you get on to forums, wikis and YouTube.
How to make money in Fable 3
By far and away the most profitable activity in with property. You will start off making money blacksmithing, but once you can move onto property your financial horizsons will be opened. You can then sell the buildings on, or rent them out, which ever works for your property portfolio, just remember to keep the prices set to a maximum.
You can then tail off your blacksmithing activity later on, or carry on, depending on what works for you. You can then expand to buying towns and the mansions on Millfield.
The buildings you own will deteriorate over time, and you need to remember to keep on top of the maintenance to ensure your long term income.
You can also make money in Fable 3 by:
- Stealing (get shop keepers drunk to make it easier)
- Trading (buying items from traders on the cheap and sell back to them at a profit)
- Trophy mounting – this involves upgrading a home until you get a trophy, selling the home, and then stealing the trophy back!
How to make money in Witcher 3
The main way you will make money if you play Witcher 3 is by selling things. This can involve looting and killing everythihng you come across, and then selling items on for profit. Different merchants will pay different amounts for different goods so make sure you aren’t selling your items too cheap, and definitely don’t sell all your goods to the same merchant as you will be losing out big time.
Other ways of making money in WItcher 3 include:
- Soving people’s problems – if you are the only one one who can solve or fix them, you can end up in serious demand and make lots of money.
- Visit the Smugglers’ Caches – particularly around Skellige, these are floating resources that you can and steal from. These can be super lucrative and make a big different to your finances.
- Sell old books and documents that you no longer need
- Whilst not a method of making money, just like in the real world, living frugally and saving money where possible can be a great way to affect positive change to your finances. This can include not upgrading items when you don’t need to, and craftimg rather than buying items where possible.
How to make money on FIFA 14
Buying and selling players is a massive method of money making in FIFA 14. You can even haggle on the prices, especially if a big team is looking at buying your players. You don’t have to take their first offer so get creative in your negotiations. You can also get players on pre-contracts so make sure you do that where the rules allow (players must be over 23 and have less than 6 months left on their contracts).
Obviously doing well in competitions, seasons and tournaments can also be really lucrative and so you can earn just by playing matches. Extra money can be earnt by playing the Team of The Week (TOTW) so look out for those possible fixtures.
How to make money on Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Like most MMORPGs, you can make a lot of money in Kingdom Come: Deliverance by selling and trading your goods. You can get these goods when you kill others. Maximise how much you can transport and trade by buying a new saddle complete with saddle bags as this will allow you to transport more.
Remember to haggle with merchants and traders as this can make you some good savings, just remember to keep an eye on their disposition as you don’t want to end up with them getting angry.
Killing bandits is another way of making money in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. You will just come abross bandits whilst travelling around and you don’t need to hunt them out!
Repairing your items can save you money, look for grindstones and repair items. The more damaged the items are, the more it will cost you, so regularly repair your items to save money and prevent having to replace them altogether.
Completing quests aren’t necessarily the most lucrative use of your time, but they can add up your money and skills. THey are more lucrative if you complete them quickly.
Other popular ways to make money Kingdom Come: Deliverance include:
- Poaching
- Gambling at tavens (in particular the dice game)
- Playing Chumps (an arrow shooting game)
- Hunting (just make sure to sell the meat before it can go off)
How to make money on Mount and Blade Warband?
Fighting in tournaments and even gambling on the result can be very lucrative. Trading items for profit can also make you some money, especially if you work out what will get you the most profit. Other top ways to make money include:
- Owning a town
- Plundering other towns whilst out doung mercenary work
- Owning a castle (as long as you don’t have too many troops there
- Owning a whole village
Basically – you make money from businesses and property so just keep chipping away at building them up.
How to make money on No Man’s Sky
Look out for freighter missions as these can earn you some big bucks in No Man’s Sky. All other missions can also bring in the cash too.
Looting is also lucrative, in particular eggs (Humming and Whispering eggs). You also need to make sure you keep an eye on your technology, upgrading certain items and selling on items you don’t need which may be in demand.
Harvesting and collecting minerals can also get serious profits. Look out for valuable ones, as well as ones which are useful as a commodity or used for tools.
How to make money on Prison Architect
The higher the level of security at your prison, th emore money you will earn per prisoner. Workshop production also brings in cash, but don’t set it up too early as without setting up your forestry and having a good supply of logs you will not be making a profit. Hiring an accountant will also help as you can get into debt if you hire them. If need be, fire other staff in order to hire them, and then you can re-hire them.
You can also sell prisons an this can be a good way of increasing your overall worth.
Grants can also make a boost to the money, however make sure you only accept ones which you can meet the criteria of – if you already meet the criteria, you can claim the money instantly.
How to make money on Skyrim
There are loads of ways to make money in Skyrim, some of which involve potions, but there are plenty of others too. Here are our favourite ones:
- Get married – you can earn 100 gold per day whilst married, so it’s a bit of a no-brainer!
- Pickpocketing, theiving and looting can also all be great ways to top up your income (just remember that stolen items can only be sold to certain traders)
- Killing dragons and selling their bones and scales can net a big payday.
- Alchemy – making potions is one of the top ways of making money in Skyrim, you can also then pair potions with other tasks for example to increase your profit. There are thousands of ingredient combinations so this can take a while to master but alchemy is a key skill in Skyrim.
How to make money on Tropico 5
Ranches will be super profitable for you in Tropico 5, as well as logging. Plantations (the new name for farms) can also get you some good income, but you require better soil quality and so this can sometimes go against you. You will end up moving towards industry (including exports), building a population with housing and moving further on to tourism as the game play continues. What you can do will depend on what era you are playing in though so bear that in mind.
What else?
This post is just a summary of the top or most popular ways of making money in these popular games. WHat have we missed? What other games do you want featured? let us know in the comments below!
