We asked famous YouTubers what it's actually like to play video games for a living - here are all the perks and drawbacks that come with the job

When asked how his life has changed since he achieved internet fame, Fischbach admitted, "Fundamentally, [my life is] not that different than the life I was living before, as I'm still spending the vast majority of my time at home in front of a computer," Fischbach told us.

He did say, though, that playing games on YouTube has changed his general perspective.

"Your horizons expand tremendously when you realize that millions of people are watching what you make," he said. "It's created a very strong sense of purpose for me and pushes me to constantly improve myself to meet ever-growing expectations."

In the same way that the occasional musical artist is discovered from relative anonymity while many more wait in the wings for their shot at the big time, there is an endless list of gamers who won't make it big, and it's not always for lack of trying.

The constant demand for new and well-produced video content is one of the most prevalent challenges across all branches of digital media, and is especially difficult for independent content creators, who do much of their filming and editing on their own.

When asked about his daily routine, a VR streamer with more than 140 thousand subscribers who goes by the scree name "Nagzz21" described a hectic schedule that prioritizes much of his time to spending time with his audience:

Some channels and personalities must rely on backing from separate groups or larger companies, like Rooster Teeth, the Austin-based digital media company that makes animated shows, feature-length films and supports a whole array of YouTube channels dedicated to video gameplay.

“Not having enough time in the day to do everything you want to do can be really frustrating" says Lindsay Jones, a voice actor and cast member at Rooster Teeth's flagship gameplay channel, "Achievement Hunter."

"As a creative figurehead, you want to try and achieve your dreams and make all your ideas come into fruition, but it’s physically impossible to do so.”

Mark Fischbach, who is backed by Disney, agreed: "The greatest challenge is the never-ending demand for fresh, new content. The world is consuming entertainment on an exponentially increasing scale and there's no end to the hunger for more."

"But for the record I work 12 hours a day 7 days a week on average. I don't do vacations," he added.

“One of the big things that I’ve had to learn is accepting that it’s never going to be exactly what you want it to be," said Lindsay Jones, of Achievement Hunter. "But I find that you’re usually going to be pleasantly surprised anyway, especially when you allow yourself to collaborate with people who are there to support you and want to see your dream come to life as well."

In a phone call with Business Insider, Jones said she and her castmates often struggle to predict what sorts of videos — which games to play on camera, particularly — are going to be of interest to their audience, and the games featured in their most successful videos are often not the big name triple-A games.

For example, she says, one of Achievement Hunter's most viewed videos to date is a two-hour, 45-minute, unedited marathon of four cast members playing an online version of the classic card game UNO. At the time of publication, so-called "Uno: The Movie" clocks in at 4.3 million views.

There are only so many games and ways to play them, and one of the biggest concerns among gaming content creators is the constant need to "one-up" their previous works and make videos that are continuously bigger and better than before.

"You have to keep churning out bigger and better things lest you fall behind in the perpetual race to stay relevant," Fischbach said.

"With these platforms, viewers want something new, or things to be exciting at all times," Nagzz21 agreed. "Keeping up that trend becomes tiresome and sometimes near impossible."

It's no secret that the video-game industry, from streaming to esports to development of the games themselves, still struggles with the treatment of women.

YouTube and Twitch, where most professional gamers host the majority of their content, have both made well-meaning (although not always practical) efforts to curb harassment. Just last week, Twitch rolled out a new anti-harassment policy, which tasks the streamer with the responsibility of discouraging abuse in their live chat rooms, and includes a vague dress code that requires streamers to "wear attire that would be publicly appropriate for the context, location, and activity they are broadcasting."

“I can’t tell you how many comments sections I’ve seen, where I’m with my male counterparts in the video and nothing is said about their physical appearance, but it’s just railing and railing and railing on my size or how good my hair looks or whether I have makeup on," said Jones.

“Especially when you’re a woman dealing with video game play production," she added. "Man, you better know your stuff, and way more than everyone else. Everyone will quiz you on every little detail from a game to make sure you’re a true fan, and not a 'poser' or a 'fake gamer girl.'"

Until recently, Jones said, “it seemed like it was almost an accepted thing, that if you’re a woman in production, you just have to know that people are going to be misogynistic and that sucks, deal with it. But now, there’s so many people coming forward and saying 'Why are we dealing with this?' and working to make a change and it’s really exciting.”

Jones says she would love to see the corporate powers that be, within YouTube itself, leading the charge toward an online space that is more inclusive and more protective of its creators.

"The biggest misconception I've seen is that people seem to assume gaming YouTubers or streamers are lazy or have an easy job," Fischbach said. "The only person I have anything to prove to is myself so I'll just keep working hard at something I thoroughly enjoy."

"There are so many women who come to me and say they’re so excited to finally see a woman in a gameplay video," Jones said, describing her experience with the misconceptions around the ever-growing female presence in gaming content. "And I’m honored by that, but I say ‘Oh actually there are tons of women doing this. There are thousands of women out there. Let me give you a list."

According to Jones and many others, the immediate and constant feedback loop created by social media is what makes this career path so unique. It allows the audience to connect, or at least feel connected, with the creators on a personal level.

“It’s so much more intimate than a lot of other fan bases, where the characters or creators are so far away," said Jones.

One of the series Jones regularly appears in with her Achievement Hunter castmates is dedicated to opening fan mail on camera.

"People who watch my content do have the ability to reach me directly, and I do think that is a unique thing that is very recent and doesn't happen with a lot of other major productions," she said. "Back in the day, I could never reach out to Britney Spears in any real and substantial way, but now you can. You can tweet at her and be like 'Hey, what's up?'"

"Nothing was more satisfying than being able to bring this small group entertainment, and allow them to take a break from the stresses of every day life, that we all endure, with a few laughs," he recalled.

"That was my paycheck at first: the ability to provide content for those who wanted or needed a laugh. That continues on today, except my audience is now much bigger. But it is the same concept, and still the same rewarding feeling as I had in the past."

“There is so much positive response to our work. Getting to meet people at conventions, seeing them cosplay as our characters, having people send me fan fiction that they wrote… The fan base becomes more like a family than anything else," Jones said.

"I'm doing something I love and very few people ever get to say that," Fischbach said.

"It was never about the money, and still isn't nor will it ever be," Nagzz21 said. "I am now however blessed to be able to do this for a living, and I wake up every day grateful and will never take it for granted."