Gaming evolved from being a hobby or a pastime into a lifestyle. It has become a way to establish friendships, showcase skills, and start a career to earn money. This sparked the rise of gaming videos on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, wherein a streaming culture has emerged, connecting people who enjoy the same worlds. In Q2 2025, both platforms are the top two in the gaming livestreaming market, with 54% and 24% market share, respectively. This means that there are countless channels out there doing walkthroughs, let’s plays, reaction videos, reviews, and streams every day.
At the same time, sharing your gaming experiences through gaming videos with an audience can be a great way to express yourself and your creativity, all while playing the games you love. For the most successful content creators, making gaming videos can also be very lucrative, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. With so many creators online, it is hard to determine how you can shine through the noise.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to get started and give yourself an edge, so you can get filming and find your followers.
Types of Gaming Videos & Content Ideas
If you are uncertain of what kind of gaming videos to make, there is no need to worry. We got you covered! Here are some popular formats and ideas that already have established audiences:
- Challenge Videos
- Highlights & Montages
- Let’s Plays
- Livestreams
- Reviews
- Short-Form Clips
- Speedruns
- Walkthroughs & Tutorials
Tip: Try first the one that fits your personality, style, and choice of games. It makes it a lot easier to break into the game.
Essential Equipment for Making Gaming Videos
The first step to starting a successful gaming channel is to have the right equipment. But, if you’re not too tech-savvy, it can be dizzying to Google all the equipment you’ll need to get started.
- What’s a boom stand, and do you really need one?
- Should you cover your room in noise-canceling fabric if you want to record anything?
- How do you record gameplay footage anyway?
- How do you edit it?
Very quickly, things can get pretty complex. But don’t panic! What you really need to get started is:
A Laptop Or Computer
It might go without saying, but in order to record gameplay and video footage, as well as to upload your content to YouTube, you’ll need a computer or laptop with a stable internet connection. Your footage can take up a lot of storage space, and you should have a computer that can handle using multiple devices at once. If your computer can handle filming in 1080p, even better.
If you need a better laptop to make your gaming videos, I recommend the Razer Blade 16 (2025). As for desktop computers, the Corsair Vengeance i7600 is a great option.
A Webcam, or a Camera
This is technically optional; not all gaming channels actually film themselves playing. Sometimes, just the audio, gameplay footage, and maybe an animated sprite can work well without ever having to perform live for a camera.
With that said, if you plan on streaming or filming yourself, a camera or webcam is a staple of successful streamers. The most popular webcam for streamers is the Logitech C920 (budget-friendly) or the Elgato Facecam MK.2 (best overall).
A Microphone
Audiences are largely willing to accept an entertaining video even if the video quality isn’t professional grade. But poor audio is always noticeable and can leave the wrong impression on your content. If you can get a high-end microphone with a filter, you’ll breeze past this problem and will be taken much more seriously as a content creator. Among the most popular microphones used by gamers, the Amazon Basics USB Condenser Microphone (budget-friendly) and the Shure MV6 USB Gaming Microphone (best overall) are the top picks.
Recording Software and A Game Capture Card
What is a gaming video without gameplay footage? Well, not much. To record your gameplay, you can use recording software for PC or a game capture card if you’re playing on consoles.
As far as capture cards go, the AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro (budget-friendly) and the Elgato Game Capture Neo (best overall) are the perfect options for modern consoles.
However, another strong option is the Avermedia Live Streamer 311 bundle. This set comes with everything: a mic, Avermedia’s own capture card, a webcam, and access to ReCentral (Avermedia’s recording software).
Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention OBS. OBS is free recording software and is widely relied upon by the streaming community. OBS is easy to use, has a lot of personalization options, and even lets you create instant replays during your stream. It’s a perfect screen recorder for any gaming channel.
Video Editing Software
So you have your gameplay footage all filmed and ready to go. You’ve recorded a few reaction shots of yourself, and the sound quality is great–that’s great! But none of that matters until it’s all put together, and to do that, you’ll need to use video editing software.
Adobe Premiere has been around for many years, and for good reason. It’s a professional editing software with a lot of support offered for beginners. However, it comes with a price tag of $22.99 per month for the annual billed monthly plan.
However, if you’re looking for something free, avoid programs like Wondershare Filmora. It’s a relatively new player in the scene and is great for software editing, but the free trial will put watermarks on your videos.
These five are the basics of what you need to get started, but there is a lot more equipment out there that helps improve the quality of your videos. For example, having some film-quality lighting will help your videos stand out from the crowd. Green screen software is a quick way to add professional-looking backgrounds and cool effects to your videos. But these can be expensive and will take some practice to use.
Best Practices For Gaming Videos
On YouTube, Twitch, and all of social media, this is always a big concern. You can create fantastic content, but why isn’t anyone watching or sharing it? At the end of the day, it’s up to your audience. There is no magic wand you can wave to make your gaming videos go viral, but there are some things you CAN do.
Know Your Niche
It may seem practical to focus on only popular or trending video games or topics, as they’re more likely to get views in the short term. However, long-term, it’s better that you work on the topics that you can put your genuine passion towards. It’s a competitive industry; there are millions of gaming channels out there, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to stand out.
Maybe you only review games fans have sent you. Or you could specialize in terrible horror games on Steam. Or it could be that giving an authentic viewpoint on gaming news and your own charisma is enough to attract an audience.
Whatever it is, getting those subscribers will only happen if you make your own niche, not if you follow what everyone else is doing. If your current brand isn’t working, you can always change it. But be careful, audiences find it easier to latch onto a content creator who stays consistent, rather than one who changes their style regularly based on what’s trending.
Know Your Audience
Also, it’s important to try to figure out who your audience is. If your gaming videos are about speedrunning 2D Nintendo games, awesome! But it means you have to market your videos towards people who like speedrunning and retro games, not necessarily to gamers who watch Fortnite tournaments.
There may be some crossover between the two markets, but it’s better to cater to the fans you know are interested. It’s ok to have an audience that starts out small; try to get a read on what they like, and do it well. This doesn’t mean dwelling on the negative comments and taking every criticism to heart, but engaging with your fans on some level is a great way to get more of them.
Be Consistent With Uploading Your Videos
The internet is fast-paced, and its memory is short. If you only upload a few times a year, your channel may never get the large following you want. Your gaming videos should come out on a consistent schedule so that your subscribed audience can come to expect and anticipate them.
Here is a useful tip: the best time to upload to YouTube is early afternoons on weekdays, and in the morning on weekends.
It helps to have content ready to go at least once a week and upload it during those windows to ensure you get the most views right away. If you’re just starting out, it’s better to have several weeks’ worth of content filmed and edited BEFORE you start uploading. That way, you’ll be sure you have something for your audience ready while you’re filming future content. It’s a lot less stressful that way.
Create An Intro and An Outro
Creating an intro for your show is essentially a requirement. In the first 15 seconds, you’ll want to make a good impression. Youtubers making gaming videos just for fun don’t have to have an intro or outro, but a professional gaming channel almost always will. It emphasizes to your audience that your content isn’t just a one-off entertaining video, but a brand. There are many ways to do it, too. The go-to style here is animated motion titles and text.
An animated intro can set the tone of your content, build hype for an episode, and show newcomers that you have put some real work into your videos. Likewise, a good outro can keep your viewers watching to the very end, and can get your audience from one video to another through a call to action.
In short, both how you start a gaming video, as well as how you finish, will determine the lasting impression you leave on your viewers.
Make Custom Thumbnails And Titles
A thumbnail is the first thing a potential viewer will see of your video, and how interesting it looks will determine whether or not they click it.
When creating a thumbnail, it’s important to remember that half of the people using YouTube do so through a mobile device. Any text you use should be large, images eye-catching, and descriptive of the best part of the video. Also, make sure you keep the thumbnails stylistically similar enough that your followers can tell each video belongs to the same channel.
As far as titles are concerned, it’s best to hint at the content of the video without spoiling it. A title such as “I dropped and broke my new system” and an image of the broken system tell the whole story, so why watch the video? But a title like “I made a TERRIBLE mistake!” only hints at the story, and the capitalized word is more eye-catching.
All of this is a skill that takes some practice to master. But making great custom thumbnails and titles will help you make sure as many people click on your videos as possible.
Tagging Your Videos
Before someone can click on your video, they need to find it. Tags are keywords attached to your videos that allow viewers to search for them. However, with so many gaming videos and using so many tags, it can be a struggle to find which tags would give you the best results.
The best advice is to make the first tag the most important and relevant to your video, and then add the rest based on the order of importance.
YouTube and Twitch are very competitive, but if you follow these instructions, your tags should help bring potential subscribers right to your videos.
Video Length
How long should you make your gaming videos? The answer largely depends on the type of video you are making. You have about a minute to make sure someone who clicks on your video will actually watch it. So generally, a shorter video should aim for around two minutes in length.
However, YouTube and Twitch tend to reward content creators based on how long audiences watch their content. For this reason, a video between 10 and 15 minutes is the goal you want to aim for. Try not to actively waste time to reach this threshold, as your audience will likely notice, begin to get bored, and leave early.
Lastly, keep in mind that the longer the video, the more time it will take to produce and edit it. Plan your filming days and the release schedule of your videos accordingly.
Promoting Your Channel
As with many jobs, social media has completely changed how content creators have to work. To promote your gaming videos, it’s a good idea to have a regular social media presence.
Having an active Facebook and Twitter account allows you to regularly engage with your fans, keep them up to date about your latest gaming videos, attract newcomers, and report if something happens that will cause a delay in your usual scheduling.
Don’t forget to also promote your social media in your gaming videos as well. That way, you’ll get more interaction on both social media and your actual gaming videos.
Most importantly, you should make a habit of doing a call to action at the end of your videos. In a call to action, you ask your audience to subscribe to your channel, to like and comment, or to engage with your content in some way. Why do this? Because an audience is much more likely to engage with a video after a content creator they trust asks them to.
Quick-Start Checklist
I know it is a lot to take, so here is a checklist to help you organize everything and ensure that you do not miss a thing.
- [ ] Decide on your video format and content idea
- [ ] Prepare your equipment, including the computer, mic, webcam, lighting, and more.
- [ ] Install recording and editing software
- [ ] Set up and test your recording setup
- [ ] Record your gameplay, along with the desired add-on, such as a commentary
- [ ] Edit your video for clarity and engagement
- [ ] Make a striking custom thumbnail and an interesting title
- [ ] Make videos and upload content on a regular schedule
- [ ] Market your video on social media and other available platforms
- [ ] Engage with your audiences and keep learning
Ready to Make Your First Gaming Video?
When the struggle hits, remember that every successful creator began at the bottom with one upload. I mean, the world’s biggest YouTube star, Mr. Beast, started making videos about himself playing Minecraft in 2012. Now, he has over 450 million subscribers. It proves that making gaming videos about your favorite video games can be a dream job.
With these tools and tricks on your side, and a bit of practice, you are well on your way to creating a successful gaming channel. Whether your gaming channel succeeds or not will depend on your charisma, passion, and dedication.
Have fun, stay consistent, and let your passion shine through.
