Chinese gamers do the work for you

Oh, for Pete’s sake, is there anything we won’t outsource these days?

Today’s New York Times looks at China’s growing gaming outsourcing industry, where lazy gamers worldwide can pay their brethren to level up their characters for them.

Called gold farmers, the gamers work 12-hour shifts and earn real-world money for winning virtual battles and moving their client’s character up through the ranks of an online game. Once the character has adequate skills and equipment, it’s returned to the owner, or if created from scratch, sold.

“For 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, my colleagues and I are killing monsters,” said a 23-year-old gamer who works here in this makeshift factory and goes by the online code name Wandering. “I make about $250 a month, which is pretty good compared with the other jobs I’ve had. And I can play games all day.”

Where do we sign up?

Via The New York Times