It’s not a matter of why boosters do what they do. The money to be made from boosting players in competitive video games such as League of Legends and Overwatch can be enticing.
For example, when asked why he boosts, competitive EUNE League of Legends player Chausa, eloquently said: “I can earn way more doing this then having a regular job.”
Being part of a larger boosting platform or collective can make it easier to manage to boost as well. Chausa adds: “A few years ago, I used to just boost friends and could barely find work. Now that an organization finally picked me up, I just get matched up with players who need boosts.”
He claims that he can focus on going to university while still being able to get some side income at the same time.
“It’s way easier than it used to be. If I am having a busy week, I can just not do any requests. If I have some time and need some cash, then I just pick up the next request.”
All the responsibility goes onto these large boosting organizations so that the boosters themselves can do what they do best; increase the customer’s rank.
He also claims to have earnt more than £850 a month boosting while “not even working that hard”.
But is boosting players really a viable job for some people? Can it replace the more standard hourly wage job that most young adults partake in?
“If your good enough”, another well-known Overwatch player from the same organization commented anonymously. “But don’t think that just because you’re the best of your friends that you can boost. You need to be seriously talented”.
He claims that unless you are exceptionally talented at the game, you have no chance of being considered for a job as a booster.
“Sometimes, it’s not even enough to be Top 500. You have to be good at getting people through the sh*t ranks too, and that’s an entirely different skillset.”
A lack of coordination and team reliance at lower levels of play may make even good players unfit for the role of a booster. You need to know how to truly carry a team.
“If you have what it takes, it can be a great source of money. But you better believe me when I say it can be frustrating. People usually want to rank up so that they can escape this Elo hell disaster. I live in it.”
This also player claims he must maintain a high rank on his main account just so the organization he works for lets him continue boosting.
This mysterious organization gives them a seemingly endless supply of boosting requests. I dug deeper and asked the owner of boost.gg for his thoughts on being on a booster.
“There’s good things and bad things about the role. If you think you can sit back and ‘get paid to play video games’, then you have the wrong idea. However, these players have a valuable skill that can finally get them a decent living”
He continues, “In any other profession, if you’re in the top 0.00001% of people, you’re making bank. But for these players, their amazing skillset is a waste without boosting.”
The owner claims that a lot of the boosters that come to him are players who didn’t make it to their dream of becoming pro in their respective video games. E-Sports can be luring career path for a lot of players, however, the number of people that get a chance at that is very low.
“Boosting gives talented players another chance. It might not be a full occupation like being an E-Sports professional, but at least it may give them the resources they need to get to the next step in their lives.”
On the surface, boosting seems to be a viable source of income for a few talented individuals.
I was born and raised in the Rochester, New York. I was a bookseller before shifting to children’s publishing where I worked at a literary development company, a creative writing website for teens, and as a book reviewer of children’s and young adult novels. I have a great interest in understanding our youth and their interactions with technology.
