Nickmercs Net Worth 2024 (& Earnings!)

The Early Life and Career Beginnings of Popular Twitch Streamer Nickmercs

Before he became one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, Nick ‘Nickmercs‘ Kolcheff had already made a name for himself in the world of competitive gaming. Born on November 21, 1990 in Detroit, Michigan, Nickmercs got his start as a professional Gears of War player in the late 2000s.

His skill and aggressive style of play quickly earned him respect within the Gears community. He participated in several high stakes MLG tournaments, winning three of them and pocketing over $100,000 in prize money. This competitive success laid the foundation for his eventual career as an influencer and full-time streamer.

The Transition to Streaming and Exponential Growth on Twitch

After competing at events like MLG Columbus 2009 and MLG Anaheim 2010, Nickmercs saw an opportunity to grow his personal brand in the emerging world of video game live streaming. He started streaming on Justin.tv, the predecessor to Twitch, in 2010 while still actively competing in Gears tournaments.

Though he had built up a following from his pro Gears days, growth was modest in the first few years. By 2013 he had migrated to Twitch and rebranded his channel as NICKMERCS.

The major inflection point came in 2018 when popular esports personality and 100 Thieves founder Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag brought Nickmercs on board as a content creator. In the first month with 100T his viewership immediately jumped 5x from around 1,000 to over 5,000 average live viewers per stream.

Just half a year later he hit an all-time high of 61,000 concurrent viewers while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Today he consistently pulls over 30,000 live viewers playing titles like Fortnite and Warzone.

This launched a period hypergrowth right as battle royale games were taking over the streaming landscape. As the graph below illustrates, NICKMERCS‘ viewership skyrocketed by 1000% over the span of just 2 years. This exponential growth track record reflects his unique appeal to fans as both an elite gamer and entertaining streamer.

Graph shows NICKMERCS‘ Twitch follower count over time. Data via TwitchTracker.com

In 2022 Nickmercs passed 8 million followers, ranking him among the top 20 most followed channels on Twitch. For context, that puts him well ahead of other top Call of Duty streamers like CouRageJD, TeeP and Vikkstar123 in terms of popularity on the platform.

This massive viewership also translates to a significant income from full-time streaming. Later sections will detail exactly how Nickmercs monetizes his influence across Twitch subscriptions, advertisements, sponsorships, merchandise and more.

Joining Esports Powerhouse FaZe Clan and Cementing Star Status

On April 30th, 2019 Nickmercs announced the next major move of his streaming career – signing with perennial esports giants FaZe Clan. At the time FaZe was making an aggressive push to lock down some of the top talent in streaming and content creation.

Adding Nickmercs gave them an ultra popular Call of Duty personality with a history deeply rooted in competitive console esports. Reports estimated his initial multi-year FaZe contract valued around $1 million.

In the three years since joining FaZe, Nickmercs has solidified his standing near the apex of gaming entertainment. He continues pulling huge numbers on Twitch despite rivals like Facebook Gaming trying to lure him away with massive contract offers.

The FaZe brand and his own MFAM community have kept him loyal to the platform that helped elevate him into a streaming icon.

NICKMERCS remains one of the most viewed Call of Duty: Warzone streamers 3 years into his career with FaZe

Breaking Down Nickmercs‘ Sources of Income

Nickmercs accumulated his millions in career earnings not just through competitive winnings and salaries, but by transforming into a multifaceted gaming/lifestyle influencer. Let‘s analyze his income across the major business channels he utilizes to cash in on his fame.

Twitch Subscription Revenue

As a Twitch Partner, Nickmercs earns a split of the subscription fee when fans purchase a monthly subscription to his channel. Twitch partners typically earn 50% of each sub cost, equivalent to $2.50 per subscriber per month.

NICKMERCS currently has approximately 60,000 paid subscribers, per online estimates. At the $2.50 rate that is $150,000 per month or $1.8 million per year in recurring subscription income.

As a top-tier partner he likely also unlocks increased revenue share rates. For example, on the first 10,000 paid subs he may earn 60%, or $3 per sub. Using that math his monthly sub revenue could top $210,000.

Additionally, a % of subscribers opt to purchase higher priced tier 2 and tier 3 monthly subscriptions at $10 and $25 pricing levels. Factoring in a mix of standard and premium tier subs could push his monthly sub income even higher to an estimated $250k+.

Twitch Advertising and Bit Revenue

In addition to subscriptions, Twitch Partners earn money from advertisements played during streams and from fans Cheering with purchasable Twitch Bits.

As one of Twitch‘s largest partners, Nickmercs likely has very favorable revenue shares on ads and Bits. He probably earns $3 to $4 per 1,000 video ad impressions and keeps at least 60% of any Bits spent on his channel.

Conservative estimates peg his combined monthly ad and Bits earnings between $30,000 to $100,000 per month.

YouTube Advertising Earnings

Nickmercs also maintains a popular YouTube channel with 6.37 million subscribers, ranking him among the top 3% of creators on the platform. His YouTube following allows him to earn considerable income through channel advertisements.

YouTube advertising rates vary based on factors like video genre, seasonality and audience demographic. However popular gaming creators typically earn $2 to $5 per 1,000 video views from monetized ads running against their content.

Across the approximately 300 million lifetime views on his channel, NickLikely brings in between $25k and $50k monthly from YouTube ads.

NICKMERCS YouTube channel overview. Data via SocialBlade YouTube stat tracker.

Merchandise Sales

Nickmercs and FaZe Clan operate an online merchandise store selling tee shirts, jerseys, hoodies and other items stylized with iconography and slogans from his brand.

Revenue is likely shared between Nickmercs and FaZe on any merchandise bearing their respective logos and imagery. Total annual merchandise sales likely fall in the range of $250k based on number of items available and pricing.

Sponsorships and Paid Promotions

The single largest source of income for Nickmercs likely comes from the various brand sponsorships and promotions orchestrated by him and FaZe Clan.

Blue chip sponsors like GameFuel, SCUF Gaming and Monster Energy pay for recurring sponsorship packages involving branded graphics/overlays during his streams, appearances in YouTube videos, social media endorsements, etc.

Individual promotional streams are also big money makers. Game publishers will pay Nickmercs handsomely to exclusively stream titles like Call of Duty and Fortnite for a fixed period to maximize exposure and drive game sales.

His tremendous reach and engagement across over 8 million followers makes him an incredibly valuable marketing asset for brands trying to authentically tap into the gaming community.

Factoring in his social media influence and premium CPM rates for gaming content and audiences, his total annual sponsorship earnings realistically range from $800k up to $1.2 million.

Combining the income streams above, a conservative estimate of Nickmercs‘ annual earnings lands right around $5 million. At the upper bound factoring in higher sub splits, YouTube views and tiered sponsorships, his yearly income could reach $7 to $8 million.

Nickmercs Net Worth and Wealth Breakdown

Pulling together the earnings analysis with historical approximations, we can effectively profile the progression of Nickmercs‘ net worth over time.

The Early Days

During his early streaming and Gears pro days (2010 – 2015), Nickmercs established decent financial footing with between $100k to $250k in total earnings plus tournament winnings.

Entering the Mainstream

By 2018, his breakout success on Twitch and addition to 100 Thieves quickly grew his net worth over the million dollar mark.

Finding Another Gear

The FaZe Clan contract in 2019 added an immediate 8 figure check, vastly accelerating his wealth building. Annual earnings have ranged between $3 million to $8 million since reaching mainstream popularity.

Estimated growth of Nickmercs Net Worth over time

Per the trajectory above, reputable outlets estimate his current net worth between $10 million to $15 million at just 32 years old. Expect that number to keep rising thanks to his staying power atop the streaming world.

Key Reasons Why Nickmercs Is Built for Long-Term Success

Very few internet personalities demonstrate the consistency and longevity that Nickmercs has within the volatile gaming industry.

His elite level skills allow him to remain competitive and entertaining across newly released titles. Combined with the strong personal brand and community built around #MFAM, he‘s built a platform to withstand shifting trends.

Even beyond individual game successes, the core demographics of his audience skew towards the valuable 18-35 year old bracket. Not only does this provide higher income per viewer, but it gives him staying power to retain fans over decades rather than months or years like many viral streamers.

Table below illustrating his competitive advantages:

These differentiating factors explain why giants like Facebook Gaming still cannot manage to poach him from Twitch, and also why blue chip sponsors like Monster Energy prioritize his endorsement.

As streaming enters its second decade, expect Nickmercs to only solidify his status as an icon through the continued growth of his viewership, brand and net worth.