How to Become a Twitch Streamer in Singapore: Average Equipment Costs & Salary (2022)

Do you have what it takes to be a livestreaming, internet sensation? We uncover the startup costs and potential earnings of an average Twitch streamer in Singapore.

In a relatively traditional yet modern society like Singapore, sometimes it feels like we’re stuck at a crossroads… career-wise anyway. Our perspectives of what’s considered a successful job are slowly but surely shifting, especially in terms of high-paying roles.

Gone are the days when conventional occupations like data analytics and software engineering are the only options for earning a five-figure pay. Nowadays, people have become innovative in transforming their passions into alternative careers.

For instance, the streaming business has picked up traction tremendously in the past few years – evolving into an impressive S$2.6 billion revenue industry with 2.78 million concurrent viewers at any given time.

If you enjoy entertaining, interacting, and documenting some aspect of your lifestyle to others – be it gaming or vlogging – here’s why becoming a Twitch streamer might be your calling.

• What is a Twitch Streamer
• Becoming a Twitch Streamer
• Average salary of a Twitch Streamer

Disclaimer: The prices and item recommendations below are general suggestions. SingSaver bears no endorsement or affiliation with the products and brands listed. Please conduct more research personally for the products you are interested in. 

Overview: Average costs of equipment needed and salary of a Twitch Streamer in Singapore 2022

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What do you need to become a Twitch streamer?

To start streaming your favourite gameplay, commentary, or lifestyle content, you’ll need a decent set of equipment to get you started. Thus, the type of equipment you prioritise varies slightly depending on the type of streaming content. 

For instance, lifestyle or IRL (in real life) livestreamers who film content surrounding their everyday lives or fun IRL activities wouldn’t need massive gaming set-ups. Rather, they’ll probably prioritise buying a reliable and high-definition camera. 

Conversely, gaming livestreamers would definitely need a proper console or PC set-up consisting of a powerful CPU, GPU, memory card, and storage among other things. Basically, there are more hardware logistics involved for gamers.

But in general, the standard equipment needed is more or less the same to get a basic streaming set-up going.

For example, every Twitch streamer will need to use a streaming software like OBS Studio or Streamlabs. 

A streaming software is basically software or program that helps convert live video input into digital format via encoding for livestreaming. It usually also comes with nifty stream themes and overlays as well as multi-stream function to cater to your customised streaming needs. 

And the good news is, that they’re usually free unless you want to upgrade to their premium version! If not, the features offered in their free versions are usually enough.

For gamers

Overall, gamer livestreamers would definitely require equipment on the higher cost end of this spectrum — just because of the nature of the tech.

You’ll need a decent gaming laptop or PC set-up, a webcam and/or camera, gaming keyboard and mouse, headphones, microphone, game capture card, stream deck, LED lights, and perhaps even a green screen.

1. Laptop or PC

While not all of these pieces of equipment are necessary for a stellar stream session, each item certainly adds value to your streaming experience.

For example, general hardware recommendations today are a minimum of GTX 1070 GPU with 4.5/4 GB of VRAM and an Intel i5-9600 CPU and above to run your favourite titles in 2022.

Of course, to achieve the most seamless gameplay and recording sessions, some professional gaming streamers treat their gaming set-up as an all-out expense. They won’t hesitate to invest in higher-tier, quality PC components to build their dream set-up from scratch. 

But then again, some of the greatest gaming “Let’s Play” content creators (like Pewdiepie) started from the most basic equipment — so let success stories like his be your inspiration. You really don’t have to be rigged out from the get-go.

Basic gaming laptop: Acer Nitro 5 (From S$1,298)
Basic PC set-up: Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 (From S$1,260)

See also: Best Gaming Laptops in Singapore For Every Budget (2022)

2. Gaming keyboard & mouse

This is another fairly important piece of equipment you shouldn’t scrimp out on if you don’t want to blame your subpar Kill-Death ratio on latency lag. 

A good gaming keyboard is typically...

• Wired (for stronger connectivity)
• Preferred key switches (brown, blue, or red basics) and keycaps 
• Ergonomics (to hinder carpal tunnel syndrome)
• RGB backlight (for typing visibility and aesthetics)
• Battery life (for long gaming hours), and
• Enjoyable user experience

Meanwhile, a good gaming mouse is slightly more straightforward in consideration. Some key factors include mouse size, dots per linear inch (DPI) for mouse sensitivity, and accessory buttons to name a few.

Oh, and don’t forget to throw in a mousepad for grittier surface sensitivity if your table is too smooth.

Basic keyboard: Redragon Fizz K617 (S$48)
Basic mouse: Original Razer Mouse DeathAdder Essential (From S$12.80)

3. Gaming headphones & mic

Even if you’re not an audiophile, your gaming audio quality can make or break your immersion. Whether it’s competitive play or a solo run, you need a good set of headphones to hear your in-game surroundings well.

💡 Fun fact: The true gamer nerds out there will know how important being able to hear the enemy team’s footsteps around you in competitive play is. In a lot of cases, it determines who eliminates the other first.

Owning a decent microphone also goes a long way in enhancing your interactions with your Twitch chat/audience. 

Basic gaming headphones: Razer Kraken Gaming Headset 2019 / Ultimate: Ultimate(S$55.77 or S$84.31)
Basic microphone: Razer Seiren Mini (S$79.90)

4. Stream deck

For that extra spice, a stream deck comes in useful more than you think. It’s every streamer’s right-hand (not literally) companion to control all sorts of customised functions for more integrative streaming. 

It plugs directly into your computer via USB and loads via dedicated software. After setting it up, you’re free to program the buttons and commands to your liking such as muting your mic, ending a call, game shortcuts, switching camera and scene inputs, moderating fast-moving chats, and more.

You can purchase the Elgato Stream Deck MiniElgato Stream Deck Mini for S$111.55.

5. Webcam

Last but not least, we highly recommend every budding gaming streamer opt for a good-quality webcam. Unless you intend to remain anonymous, then that’s another story.

💡 Pro-tip: You can refer to successful anonymous streamers like Corpse and more formerly, Dream on how they concealed their identity over the years.

But why would an external webcam be better than an embedded webcam (like in a laptop)? In general, the former has major advantages over the latter such as autofocus, field of view, light filtering, built-in mic, and fewer overheating issues.

In order to capture your reactions in crispy HD quality, find webcams with 3840 x 2160 pixel/4K resolution and at least 60 FPS frame rates to match your gameplay.

Basic webcam: Logitech Webcam C920 Pro (From S$79.90)

Want to save some coins while building your dream set-up? Just like when choosing the best gear for your livestream, we’ve helped you eliminate your options in choosing the best cashback credit cards for your needs!