Video Games Dos & Don'ts

We know we have a lot of partners who love and want to post videos relating to games, so we wanted to share some tips to help you monetise gaming content.

As always, you should ensure that you have all the necessary rights to use all content in a video commercially before you submit it for monetisation. Video game content may be monetised depending on the commercial-use rights granted to you by the licences of video game publishers. Here are some tips:

• Check the video game publisher’s licence agreement (Terms of Use, EULA etc). Some publishers allow you to use all video game content for commercial use and state that in the licence agreement.
• Get written permission. Some publishers may allow you to monetise videos containing their game content if you reach out and ask.
• Videos showing software user interface may only be monetised if you've signed a contract with the publisher or paid a licensing fee.
• If you do have the appropriate licence, submit your documentation to YouTube in a timely manner. If you do not have the appropriate licence from a video game publisher, your videos must contain minimal use of video game or software user interface and be as informative and educational as possible - commentary must follow the live action shown step by step.
• Use your video metadata wisely! Use relevant, accurate titles, tags and descriptions for your videos.
• Make sure your dialogue is family friendly, so fans of all ages can enjoy your video.

A final reminder: Simply buying or playing a video game does not grant you the copyright or permission to monetise. To earn revenue from videos from the game, you need commercial rights.

For additional information about monetising video game content, as well as what YouTube requires in the documentation you submit, please refer to the Help Centre.