How much can you make in the virtual economy?

Updated: 29 October 2021

In 1998, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman predicted, “By 2005, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s.” A recent report from L’Atelier BNP Paribas shows just how wrong he was.

In fact, entirely new economies have emerged—and they’re proving to be exceptionally lucrative. As covered in the tech outlet Decrypt, analysis from L’Atelier BNP Paribas found that the virtual economy—the one that exists in online games and digital worlds—is now generating $66.2 billion, roughly equal to Bulgaria’s GDP. 

People making over six figures in the virtual economy aren’t exactly the norm, but they’re not borderline-mythical exceptions, either. Can this growth continue, spurred by a user base of over 2.5 billion people? And what jobs offer the best ways to get a piece of the pie? Read the full article to find out.