Even though he’d been gaming in some fashion for close to half his life—and professionally for the last year—Tomas Cordona still got butterflies before each competition. If sports mega-starts in the NFL, MLB, NBA, and WMBA could, why not him?

Fans were settled in their seats—hundreds of them if Tomas Cordona had his estimates right. Gamers were in positions. And the lights were about to dim.

“This is Zach’s last tournament,” Tomas reminded himself, thinking of his team’s unofficial captain Zach Reynolds, who had announced two weeks earlier that he was calling it quits—at least professionally. At 29, soon to turn 30, Zach was right on schedule for hanging up his video game controllers. At 22, Tomas still had some time to go—heck, he was just starting out professionally—but he had a hunch that his next 7 or 8 years would pass by pretty quick.

It was hard to imagine life after gaming (“LAG”). What would it look like?

Tomas had talked to Zach about his plans for LAG. He knew that like 49% of adult gamers, Zach would still play video games on a regular basis—but the daily regimen would become a thing of the past.

As an ex pro-gamer, though, what would Zach do for a living?

First of all, Zach was a known quantity in the esports world—not quite the Tony Hawk of his sport, he was still popular with fans and industry insiders. Surely, endorsement opportunities would be plentiful for gamer-related tech, apparel, and even the games himself.

Would Tomas ever reach the level of Zach’s popularity? He certainly hoped so, and with any luck maybe he’d surpass it. But if he didn’t, what did life hold for the pro-gamer when he or she had retired, beyond product endorsing? He knew that top professional gamers in the world earned north of $200,000 a year, participating in an average of 30 tournaments per annum. That wasn’t chump change, at least not in Tomas’s mind.

Tomas also knew that some of the top fields for retired gamers or for gamers who preferred a different lifestyle than that enjoyed by esports competitors, were as video game testers, creators of gaming guides and how to videos, and reviewing games and related tech.

Of those options, video game tester was the most appealing to Tomas. He could keep playing games—which was the best part of being professional gamer—and still get paid to do it. But at an hourly rate of $12, give or take, he’d be hard-pressed to make ends meet or continuing to live the life to which he was now accustomed. That’s where he saw his degree in new media coming into play (which would undoubtedly thrill his parents!). He could put those talents to work creating his own gaming guides and how-to videos, and perhaps he’d launch a Youtube channel (or whatever platform was in vogue by the time her retired) to review games and gear.

Put that all together, plus a few endorsements, and he might actually be able to make a living . . . and make his Mom and Dad happy in the process!

Tomas smiled. The time for reflection was over.

The lights dimmed. The fans roared. Players engaged.

GAME ON!

For those who like happy endings, let’s take a look at what happened next for our esports team members:

• Team Otherworld won the tourney!
• Zach signed a lucrative endorsement deal the next day.
• Tomas was named unofficial team captain within the week.
• Mr. Park named Rachel Torres as the newest Team Otherworld member.
• And each team member got notified that their custom CORE Gaming Backpacks and accessories from Mobile Edge were set to ship in the fall!