Gaming is no longer just for short-term entertainment. It has grown into an industry worth billions of dollars. There are professional gamers who make millions each year by playing their favorite games.
With the ever-growing rise of gaming culture comes the opportunity to market new and innovative products. You too can hop on this bandwagon by using gaming affiliate programs. Stay tuned to dig in further!
What Is a Gaming Affiliate Program?
An affiliate program is a form of referral marketing where you promote third-party products on your platforms in return for a commission. This serves as an ideal passive source of income. You just need to sow the seeds, water the plant, and then reap the benefits.
A major chunk of your hard work is put into the initial stages of the affiliate business. Here are the steps you would need to take to set up your affiliate marketing program:
Choose a Gaming Affiliate Program
This is the first and trickiest part of starting your affiliate journey. There are hundreds of affiliate programs to choose from, each dealing in a different niche, with different commission rates and cookie periods.
We’ve assorted a list of the most rewarding gaming affiliate programs to choose from (we’ll dive into those later in this post).
Placing Affiliate Links on Your Website
Once you’ve successfully enrolled in an affiliate program, the next step is to place the product links on your websites or blogs. Whenever a visitor clicks on these links and completes a purchase, you’ll earn a commission.
Therefore, your focus should be on increasing your website traffic and ultimately your conversion rates. You should be on the lookout to grab the attention of larger gamer audiences.
You can adopt methods such as SEO optimization and generating backlinks. You can also seek the professional help of experts to help your website rank on search engines.
READ MORE: How to Write Content for Affiliate Marketing: The Complete Guide
Reap Your Commissions
Once you’ve set up your website with the help of various affiliate marketing materials, you’re all set to reap the commissions. Most affiliate programs allow you to track your earnings and enable multiple modes of withdrawals.
You’ll only be able to withdraw when you hit the minimum payout amount. However, that shouldn’t be a steep task, given your conversation rates will hover anywhere around 2-3%.
Why Choose the Gaming Niche
When it comes to products, there are hundreds of niches, such as furniture, clothing, electronics, travel, and more. Choosing among them can be a tedious task. However, certain factors weigh in the favor of the gaming niche when it comes to affiliate marketing.
READ MORE: How to Choose a Niche for Affiliate Marketing: Our Step-By-Step Guide for Success
Huge Market
Gaming is now among the top 5 industries around the world. There are millions of gamers making their living out of digital games, and thousands of businesses serving their ever-growing demand.
With technology on the rise, this market is all set to expand to an unimaginable extent in the coming decades. With the gaming niche, your customer base is one of the largest in the world.
Premium Product Costs
There are several sub-niches within the gaming industry, such as GPUs, keyboards, headphones, gaming PCs, gaming chairs, gaming controllers, and other gaming equipment. Some companies make millions each year by dealing in just one of these products.
Considering the premium nature of gaming products, the average product cost is generally around $200 or more. Even a decent pair of headphones could cost $200. When the product cost is high, you’ll always earn a decent commission – even with low rates.
How to Choose the Right Gaming Affiliate Program
There are a plethora of gaming brands that have their own affiliate programs. However, there are a variety of factors that you’ll have to consider before choosing an affiliate partner.
You must decide on the sub-niche you want to deal in, such as digital games, console games, casual games, or other gaming items, such as accessories, controllers, gaming backpacks, chairs, and so on.
You should also consider the market value of the brand whose products you want to promote. Products of a well-reputed and famous brand will be easier to sell compared to new and upcoming brands.
The rate of commission offered is also an important factor. However, this should be seen in conjunction with the average price of the product. A low rate for products that are highly priced is equivalent to a high commission rate on cheap products.
Finally, you should also consider factors such as the cookie period, frequency of payouts, modes of payment, and other such determinants.
Top 21 Gaming Affiliate Programs
Here’s a list of the top 21 gaming affiliate programs that you can choose from. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. You’ll have to weigh each program against your requirements and choose the one that best suits your needs.
1. Nvidia Affiliate Program
Nvidia is a name that needs no introduction when it comes to the gaming industry. It’s a go-to option for many hardcore gamers when it comes to quality Graphics Processing Units, which are at the heart of the gaming structure. Nvidia deals in a product that’s vital, and at the same time is a well-renowned brand – and this adds up well for affiliate marketers.
Nvidia has an affiliate program that’s free to join. While the commission rate of 2% might not sound like much to some, bear in mind the market share that the company enjoys. With trustworthy products, you won’t have to put in much effort promoting them. Simply place the affiliate links on your blog or website and work to increase your traffic.
With a cookie duration of 45 days, your visitors will have plenty of time to make up their minds. Also, everything from order, shipment, and billing are handled by Nvidia itself, so you won’t have to worry about logistics.
2. Final Mouse Affiliate Program
What gamers always look for is a good mouse for gaming, and that’s what this company solely focuses on – quality gaming mouses. This might not sound like a big deal to some, but all the gamers out there know the benefit of a compatible mouse.
Final Mouse is a premium brand that manufactures limited edition mouse devices, available only for a limited period. This is what adds to the brand value of their business, and affiliate marketers can take advantage of this value.
Much like Nvidia, Final Mouse also deals in a niche product that pretty much sells itself. It reduces the efforts you’d need to put in to sell the product as an affiliate marketer.
With its affiliate program, you can expect a commission of 25% per sale. This, combined with the 30-day cookie duration, makes this affiliate program a lucrative option. The affiliate program is managed by Refersion Marketplace, so you’ll need to sign up with them to be able to sell Final Mouse products.
3. Modded Zone Gaming Affiliate Program
This is yet another company that deals in a different niche within the gaming industry. As a hardcore gamer, it’s not easy to find the right controller. There are hundreds of options out there, and choosing one that fits your needs can be a tedious job.
Modded Zone provides gaming controller modification services to gamers, giving gamers the ideal controller that they’re looking for. They provide rapid-fire installations and a wide range of other add-ons. They also have a range of gaming chairs to choose from.
The Modded Zone Affiliate Program provides an ideal balance between commission rates and cookie-period. The commission rate of 10% coupled with a cookie duration of 90 days makes it a very balanced choice for marketers. The average value of sales on the platform is $150.
Therefore, you can make $15 for every completed sale. Your visitors would also have 90 days from the first click to finish a purchase. This gives you ample room for generating affiliate income.
4. Bose Affiliate Program
Another accessory that a hardcore gamer is always on the lookout for is some quality gaming headphones, and what better brand than Bose to bet your money on? With their quality products such as noise-canceling headphones and speakers, they’ve captured a sizable portion of the market.
Although the affiliate commission rate ranges from 2 to 3%, the average value of products makes up for it. On a $300 product sale, you can earn a commission of $6-$9. Bose’s brand name helps affiliate marketers execute more sales than some high-paying affiliate programs, thus making up for it in absolute terms. Bose’s affiliate program is managed by CJ Affiliate, which in itself is a trusted name in the affiliate arena.
A cookie duration of 30 days complements the kind of products offered, and with decent traffic and average conversion rates, you could be making a considerable amount of money in a few months.
5. Acer
Acer is a brand that deals in a wide variety of products, such as desktops, laptops, monitors, and the like. These are some of the most important gaming components, as they dictate the quality of the display and the overall gaming experience. Thus, gamers are always keen to get their hands on a quality display unit, and Acer might be just the brand they need.
With its affiliate program offering a commission of 4% on every successful sale, it also becomes a viable option for affiliate marketers. As these products are priced anywhere above $500, you can earn a commission of at least $20 on every completed sale.
However, the only downside of this affiliate marketing program is its 14-day cookie policy. This shortens the decision-making window for your visitors and affects your conversion rates. If your website or blog generates some heavy traffic though, this shouldn’t affect your commission earnings in the long run.
6. Astro Gaming
Astro Gaming is a premium marketplace for professional gamers. They deal in accessories such as gaming controllers, headphones, and apparel. One can bank on the quality of their products.
Astro Gaming also offers an affiliate program that’s managed by Avantlink. Commission rates of 5% are higher than many other well-known brands in the same niche. What adds up to your benefit is its 180-day cookie period.
This is a huge bonus to new affiliate marketers who don’t have sizable traffic yet. So, even with low traffic, you can boost your conversion rates.
7. Leprestore Gaming Affiliate Program
There are hundreds of games that center around characters. As you start progressing, the character(s) also boost up with better powers and abilities. But what if you didn’t have to spend hours of gaming to get the perfect boosted character for your gaming missions?
This is what Leprestore does. It provides boosting services for games such as Destiny 2, Wow Classic, and Apex Legends. As crazy as this may sound, this is a very profitable niche within the gaming industry.
With Leprestore’s gaming affiliate program, you can advertise their services on your website and earn commissions up to 15% on every successful sale. You also get the advantage of a cookie duration of 90 days.
One might argue about the narrowness of the niche, which is limited to only a few games, but millions of gamers play these games every day, so you shouldn’t fall behind in your commission earnings in absolute terms.
8. Zygor Guides Gaming Affiliate Program
World of Warcraft has more than 4.5 million players worldwide. As interesting as this game is, gamers want to level up quickly while enjoying the experience at the same time. Here’s where Zygor Guides come into the picture.
They provide this rather interesting service of providing in-game guides while keeping the gaming experience intact. They also offer an affiliate marketing program with a commission rate of a whopping 50%. This means that you can make almost $43 for every completed sale.
This is huge enough to overshadow several sales of some other affiliate programs. Also, a huge market coupled with a 60-day cookie period means that there’s ample room for you to increase your conversion rates.
9. Kinguin
This innovative platform allows individual gamers to buy and sell unused game keys, independent of a third party. The prices are much lower than on some other platforms. However, Kinguin also has one of the most innovative and rewarding gaming affiliate programs.
The commission works in three tiers. If a person completes a purchase from your affiliate link, you earn 5% of the sales value. Now, if the buyer chooses to enroll himself as an affiliate marketer with Kinguin, you would earn a commission of 0.75% on each sale executed through him. This is known as the second tier.
If the buyer also recruits affiliate marketers for Kinguin, you can earn 0.25% of all his future sales.
Another striking feature of this affiliate program is that there’s no cookie period. So, if a visitor clicks on your link and completes the sale at a later stage, you’ll still earn the designated commission.
Kinguin also offers an influencer program for those people who have a substantial following on social media (more than ten thousand followers). Once enrolled, you can earn a commission as high as 10% on each sale made.
10. Microsoft Gaming Affiliate Program
Microsoft is a giant when it comes to computers and accessories. They’re also the proud manufacturer of the Xbox. They’re credited for the boom of the gaming industry with their revolutionary gaming accessories, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to sell one of the best gaming products available.
The Microsoft affiliate program’s commission structure is a bit different from others. The commission depends on the kind of product you’re promoting.
Below are the commission rates:
- 2% for Xbox gaming consoles & accessories, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Live Gold
- 7% for Xbox games (whether owned by Microsoft or third parties)
You can also promote non-gaming products such as PCs & accessories at a commission of 1%, apps at 2%, and movies and TV shows at a commission of 7%, providing you with an expanded niche.
The program offers a 14-day cookie period, and its customer support is like no other program out there. You also get the benefit of brand value. This makes Microsoft’s affiliate program very rewarding for marketers.
11. Logitech Affiliate Program
Logitech is a brand that deals in computer mouses, keyboards, gaming peripherals, and other accessories, such as joysticks, headsets, and speakers. The Logitech Affiliate program offers a commission ranging from 4% to 10%. With an average order value of $125, you could earn at least $5 on each completed sale.
It also provides a cookie period of 30 days, which is the standard industry average. Apart from gaming-related products, you could also sell other electronics and gaming accessories.
You can use this affiliate program in conjunction with some other niche-oriented program. This can act as a perfect add-on to your earnings if you already have decent traffic on your websites.
12. Twitch Affiliate Program
How do gamers make money just by playing their favorite games? Well, they just don’t just play these games, they also live-stream them – and this is where the money comes from. Choosing an appropriate streaming platform with decent viewership becomes inevitable for gamers. Here’s where Twitch comes in.
This is one of the most popular and widely-used streaming platforms for gamers. There are millions of viewers on the platform, which gives them leverage over others.
The streamers must fulfill the following criteria to be eligible for enrolling in the Twitch Affiliate Network:
- They must have at least 50 followers.
- They must have at least 500 minutes of broadcast over 7 unique broadcast days in the last 30 days.
- They must have 3 or more concurrent views on average.
Once accepted, there are multiple ways you can earn with Twitch:
- You can earn by accepting subscriptions from your viewers.
- Streamers can also sell Bits on their stream. These are digital goods that enable viewers to cheer during a stream.
- Finally, commissions can also be earned at a rate of 5% through promoting Twitch games.
13. WarGaming Affiliate Program
WarGaming.net is the company behind popular games such as World of Tanks and World of Warships. Although these video games are free to play, you can upgrade to a paid premium version of the games for a better experience.
However, this program isn’t for beginners. You must have at least 30,000 new visitors every month on your website, or 10,000 subscribers (if you own a gaming blog). So, only experienced marketers with decent traffic will be able to benefit from this program.
Apart from the conventional affiliate program, WarGaming.net also offers a referral program with a 3% commission rate (on the referral payout) on all future sales. With a payout of almost $500,000 in 2019 alone, WarGaming.net allows marketers to boost their commission income.
14. Green Man Gaming
Green Man Gaming is a company that sells a variety of online games, from small indie video games to high-quality and expensive ones. It also has one of the most rewarding gaming affiliate programs available.
You can earn a commission of 5% for every new buyer referred to. You can also earn up to 2% on each recurring purchase made by the same buyer.
Green Man Gaming also has a standard influencer program that’s open to all. Apart from this, you can also join its premium influencer program. However, you won’t be able to work with other gaming affiliate programs once you’ve enrolled for the premium influencer program.
You’ll also need to have at least 50,000 subscribers on Youtube or 250 concurrent views on Twitch to qualify for this program. If you’re already an established affiliate marketer, this video gaming affiliate program can be added as a perfect step-up for your growth.
15. Gamestop
Much like Green Man, Gamestop is also an online platform for buying and selling games. Instead of a blanket commission on all sales, it provides a 1% commission on digital games and 5% on pre-owned keys. However, its cookie duration of only one day might be this gaming affiliate program’s biggest disadvantage.
While this is competitive when compared to Amazon, Gamestop focuses on only a specific niche of products, whereas Amazon is the holy grail of all types of products that one can imagine. Thus, a one-day cookie duration works well with Amazon.
However, if you’re an existing Amazon affiliate marketer with a decent traffic and conversion rate, you can consider switching to Gamestop due to the specialization it provides. The commission is higher on used games, which make up a major chunk of the gaming market.
16. Razor Affiliate Program
Razor is a brand that deals in a range of products such as desktops, monitors, gaming hardware, keyboards, gaming gear, consoles, gaming peripherals, gaming chairs, and more!
They’re well-known in the gaming circuit for their uniquely-designed and high-performing products. They also manufacture an energy drink for gamers called Respawn.
Their commission structure is a mixture of percentage-based and fixed rates of commission, with the average rate being 10%. You can also earn a flat commission of $5 on the sale of Razor systems and mobiles. They also adhere to the industry average of a 30-day cookie period.
Considering the premium-priced products that Razor offers, you can earn a sizable commission on each sale made. For example, a standard Razor gaming PC costs somewhere around $1,500, and with a commission rate of 10%, you can make $150 for each sale. This is considerably more than most other affiliate programs around.
17. Alienware Affiliate Program
Alienware is the most sought-after brand by hardcore gamers. This was the first company that took the initiative of making gaming more portable. As a result, they launched some of the most powerful gaming laptops available on the market.
With the Alienware affiliate program, marketers get the benefits of a reputed brand name. This won’t require much promotion from your end, as the brand sells itself.
Although the commission of 3% might not sound like a lot, their products are priced higher than the industry average owing to their capability to outperform any other contemporary gaming device.
So, even with a moderate commission rate, you can end up making a lot of money with one of the best gaming affiliate programs out there. They also provide a 90-day cookie period, which is more than most competitors.
18. INTO THE AM Affiliate Program
INTO THE AM is a clothing brand that’s loved by gamers and non-gamers alike. They design costumes for games such as Assassin’s Creed, God of War, World of Warcraft, and Smite.
They also design modern funky-style T-shirts for sportsmen and gamers. As an added bonus, their products are eco-friendly. Its affiliate program offers a commission of 10% on every successful sale.
Their affiliate program is managed by the Refersion marketplace, so you’ll have to sign up with Refersion to be able to sell their products. They also offer a cookie period of 30 days, which is more than what some clothing brands offer.
This program can be a good add-on to your business if you already have decent traffic. However, beginners might find it difficult to make this work due to the extremely narrow niche.
19. Killer Guides Affiliate Program
The passion for gaming has provided an opportunity for brands such as Killer Guides to emerge. They create well-researched strategies and guides for games such as World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, and Second Life. This enables gamers to progress more quickly while respecting the games’ policies.
Their affiliate program is one of the most highly-paid gaming affiliate programs around. You can earn a commission as high as 40% on every completed sale.
The only issue that marketers might face is the narrow niche of the brand, so you might want to add it as a complement to some other affiliate program.
20. Secret Lab Affiliate Program
As the number of hardcore gamers has increased over the years, so has the demand for gaming chairs. These are specially-designed chairs suited for long hours of sitting. Secret Lab is one such brand that deals in quality gaming chairs.
The commission rate of 12% offered by this video game affiliate program is comparatively more than what other gaming affiliate programs offer. However, the cookie period of only 7 days can be disappointing for many marketers, and especially beginners.
Also, the products are priced at an affordable rate, which doesn’t necessarily serve marketers well, as it reduces the commission earned per sale. However, this is ideal for those marketers who are looking to build a website fully-focused on gaming products.
As the brand focuses solely on gaming chairs, you can rest assured about its quality, so this program can also be used in conjunction with some other gaming affiliate programs on our list.
21. Epic Games Affiliate Program
Epic Games is the name behind one of the most popular games out there – Fortnite. Apart from this, they also have a wide range of other games, including third-party games, available on their platform. If you wish to sell games online, this can be a perfect choice.
Apart from a commission of 5%, they also offer a bonus every time a buyer makes an in-game purchase. This makes sure your earnings don’t stop with the end of a sale. They also offer a cookie period of 14 days, which is enough to materialize a sale, considering the sub-niche.
Final Thoughts
People are always on the lookout for a passive source of income, and this is where affiliate marketing and gaming affiliate programs have made a place in the modern marketing world. The gestation period depends on the niche you choose and the amount of effort you’re willing to put in.
Increasing traffic on your website is the most important determinant of your success. Even the most ideal affiliate partner might prove to be futile without traffic.
You can always request the assistance of professionals like Brandbuilders.io who can be a guiding light through your affiliate marketing business journey.
