Online content creation has become big business, whether that content is silly videos on TikTok or professionally produced video game streams on platforms such as Twitch or Xbox Live. Three Katy area video gamers, Veronica Anderson, Alek Farren and Devon Hatton, are working on tapping into the content creation market professionally.

“A lot of people don’t realize that it takes hard work to do this,” Hatton said. “And it takes a really good support system – your community becomes your support; your friends become your support, and the people that are entertained by you become your support.”

Hatton, Anderson and Farren – who go by the online names Panduhdon, WhosVron and Farrenheights, respectively – are all professional streamers to some extent. Hatton works at it as a part-time job while Anderson and Farren are full-time content creators. While all three focus on video games, cooking videos, question-and-answer livestreams and other content is peppered across their channels as well. While they haven’t had the big breaks like super-streamer Richard Tyler Blevins – also known as Ninja on his streaming channels – who has reportedly made millions of dollars, all three have garnered sponsorships with local gaming boutique, Allegiant Gaming. Farren and Anderson have also gotten sponsorships from the gaming drink GFuel, which is popular among streamers. Meanwhile, Hatton streams part-time after his job working with developmentally disabled students.

All three said there’s no magic formula to make it as a professional streamer with enough income to live on through streaming.

“It can be hit or miss, but it can be a combination of grinding and putting in the work and luck because you can grind and put in the work for five years, 10 years and never hit, you know,” Farren said. “Or you could grind for five years, then finally, you get a raid from a big streamer (and it) can change your life overnight.”

Farren was a safety superintendent in the petrochemical industry before the pandemic but was laid off last April after the oil market destabilized due to the pandemic. He had a bit of a safety net and took a leap of faith to try streaming full time rather than just as a hobby. Anderson took similar steps and moved from New England to become Farren’s roommate and began streaming full time herself.

While the streamers did not want to talk about their incomes because it is a private matter, CNBC reports that the average full-time streamer can earn between $3,000 and $5,000 a month. However, all three Allegiant-sponsored streamers said it’s still a full 40-hour a week job, albeit a fun one. It is a career that takes social media marketing skills, dedication to putting out content regularly, computer skills and initial investment in a gaming rig that must be maintained and upgraded regularly. A gaming computer can run anywhere from the high hundreds of dollars to well over $5,000 – just for the PC itself. HD monitors, lighting and other accessories add several hundred dollars on top of that – part of the reason sponsorships are important for gamers.

The industry has a culture that streamers have to plan for, the three said. Many streaming platforms have live chats appearing next to the main portion of the video. That chat channel must be moderated and maintained for various reasons, including profanity, racism, and sexism, they said. However, digital tools help monitor and eliminate those items from being seen, they said.

Features like bots – automated programs that monitor the chat – can be set up to look for phrases that are undesired by the streamer, Hatton said. With those, Hatton, who is Black, and Anderson can filter for racist or sexist commentary in their feeds. This helps them curate the environments they want viewers to experience. Streamers can also set up friends as moderators for chat feeds so any inappropriate comments that slip through automated filters can be addressed. This lets streamers focus on the games they’re playing and their audiences, Hatton said.

Anderson said she appreciates chat monitoring features because they make her feel safer online.

“It’s the kind of things like, ‘get back in the kitchen – why are you playing (“Call of Duty”),’” Anderson said, “… I’m not going to drop every single (slur) but if there’s any word in the book that you would think they’d call a female, it definitely gets thrown at you.”

However, despite the need to curate the experiences of both themselves and their viewers, all three streamers said that, with the right preparation, it was worth jumping into the streaming industry.

“Whether you realize it or not, it’s like riding a bike,” Hatton said. “You keep going out riding, you keep going on rides. Of course, it’s going to be slightly sketchy in the beginning, but after you’ve gone on so many rides on this bike, you get really good at it and you perfect it.”