You can now get paid for Minecraft achievements: US university offers gamers scholarships of up to $15,000

It seems the phrase «stop playing and study instead» is rapidly becoming outdated. In the US, an unusual way to attract applicants has been introduced: the University of Silicon Valley (USV) has launched the Max Achievement Scholarship programme, under which students can receive up to $15,000 a year for achievements in video games.

The main condition is to prove that the gaming accomplishments really belong to you.

The Minecraft category has attracted the most attention. To qualify for the maximum payout, applicants must earn all 115+ achievements (advancements) in the game. The university believes that such a result demonstrates well-developed systems thinking, persistence, an investigative approach and the ability to solve complex problems.

However, Minecraft is far from the only game on the list. Scholarships can also be awarded for significant achievements in:

Dark Souls Trilogy — all achievements in all three games;

Stardew Valley — the «Perfection» achievement (100% completion);

Genshin Impact — completing all Archon quests and raising at least eight characters to Friendship Level 10;

World of Warcraft;

RuneScape;

Final Fantasy XIV;

Terraria;

Hades;

Factorio;

Sekiro;

Celeste;

Hollow Knight;

No Man's Sky;

Valheim and other titles.

In total, the programme covers more than two dozen popular games across different genres, from RPGs to strategy games and simulators.

How it works

The amount awarded depends on the difficulty of the completed gaming challenges.

There are two main categories:

Mastery Tier — up to $2,500 per trimester;

Legendary Tier — up to $5,000 per trimester, totalling up to $15,000 a year.

But gaming achievements alone are not enough.

Applicants must:

be admitted to the University of Silicon Valley;

provide an official profile or proof of achievements (Steam, PlayStation Network, Xbox, HoYolab, RuneMetrics and other services);

write a 500–750-word essay about what games have taught them and how the skills they have acquired will help with their studies.

Why the university pays people to play games

USV explains the initiative by pointing out that modern games develop qualities that are in demand in engineering, programming and IT.

According to the university, completing difficult gaming challenges requires:

systems thinking;

long-term planning;

resource analysis;

the ability to learn from mistakes;

strong discipline;

persistence in achieving a goal.

That is why the university believes that significant gaming achievements can be just as strong an indicator of a prospective student's potential as traditional academic competitions or project contests.

People are already debating it online

The news quickly spread through gaming communities. Many Reddit users admitted that they had unexpectedly discovered they were eligible to apply for such a scholarship thanks to hundreds of hours spent in RuneScape, Destiny 2 or Genshin Impact. Others questioned the university's prestige and noted that prospective students should carefully review its educational programmes and accreditation before applying.

Whatever the case, the very existence of such a programme shows that attitudes towards video games are gradually changing. Something that was considered purely entertainment until recently is increasingly being seen as a way to develop skills that may be useful not only in the virtual world but also in a future career.