You can invest in publicly traded video-game companies or gaming-focused ETFs through an online brokerage that offers access to the relevant security and exchange. First decide whether you want the concentrated exposure of an individual company or a fund holding several companies; then check the investment, broker costs, order rules, and any fractional-share limits before placing a trade. This is educational information, not individualized investment advice.
Choose between a gaming stock and a gaming ETF
A gaming stock is a share in one publicly traded company. Its performance depends on that issuer, which might publish or develop games, distribute them, provide gaming services, or operate in an esports-related business. The label “video game company” does not tell you how much of a company’s business actually comes from gaming, so review its filings and business segments.
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A gaming ETF holds a collection of securities under a stated investment objective. That can spread exposure across multiple issuers, but it does not make the investment broadly diversified: a thematic fund remains focused on its mandate and may still have meaningful exposure to a small number of companies or shared industry risks. Read the fund’s current prospectus and holdings rather than choosing by ticker alone.
Funds also differ in how they select investments. For example, the April 30, 2026 SEC-filed summary prospectus describes Roundhill Video Games ETF (NERD) as actively managed, while the April 1, 2026 Global X Video Games & Esports ETF (HERO) seeks results that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to an index. These are examples, not recommendations or a complete list of available funds. NERD summary prospectus; HERO summary prospectus.
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Research the investment and its costs
For an individual company
Review the company’s latest official filings, business exposure, and risks. Consider how its products and services fit within gaming and whether the company’s prospects depend heavily on particular releases, intellectual property, or other business lines. A stock represents exposure to that one issuer, not to the gaming industry as a whole.
For a gaming ETF
Check the fund’s objective, whether it is actively managed or index-linked, its selection approach, current holdings, and prospectus risks. Compare actual gaming-business exposure, issuer concentration, liquidity, and costs rather than ranking funds by one figure.
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The cited 2026 summary prospectuses report an annual management fee of 0.50% for NERD and 0.50% for HERO. Those figures describe each fund’s management fee, not an investor’s total cost. Brokerage or other intermediary charges may apply, and ETF investors can also incur bid-ask spread costs. An ETF’s market price can be above or below its net asset value (NAV), the per-share value of its underlying assets. Review the current disclosures before investing: NERD summary prospectus, HERO summary prospectus, and the SEC’s ETF bulletin.
Check that your brokerage can handle the trade
Before funding an account or entering an order, confirm that the brokerage serves your jurisdiction and supports the security and exchange. Availability, eligibility, and account features vary by firm; no single broker’s offering establishes what every brokerage provides. Review its disclosures for account, transaction, currency-conversion, and regulatory fees that may apply. A broker’s getting-started and trading guidance can illustrate the types of procedures to check, but its rules apply to that firm: Fidelity’s getting-started and trading FAQ.
Place an order deliberately
- Open and fund an eligible account. Follow your brokerage’s current account-opening and funding instructions, and check whether the account can trade the security you selected.
- Look up the exact security. Confirm the company or fund name and ticker in the broker’s trading interface. For an ETF, review its current prospectus and holdings before proceeding.
- Select an order type. Market and limit orders are common types described in brokerage materials. A market order prioritizes execution at the available market price; a limit order sets the highest price you are willing to pay for a buy order, though it may not execute. Follow the broker’s current instructions and consider the spread and trading costs.
- Review the order preview. Check the security, share or dollar amount, order type, estimated cost, and any disclosed charges. Submit only if the preview matches what you intend to buy.
- Check the resulting position. After execution, use the broker’s account view and trade confirmation to verify what was purchased and at what price.
For ETFs, investors buy and sell shares on an exchange through a broker. The price paid in a secondary-market trade may differ from NAV, and the bid-ask spread can affect the result. The fund’s prospectus and brokerage order preview are useful places to check the relevant costs and execution details.
Understand fractional-share limits
Fractional investing can let an investor buy less than one full share, but it is not available for every security at every brokerage. The SEC staff bulletin defines a fractional share as owning less than one full share of a stock or other security. Its illustration of investing $100 in a stock priced at $1,000 to buy 0.1 share is hypothetical, not a current quote or recommendation. The bulletin represents SEC staff views and says it has no legal force or effect. SEC Investor Bulletin on fractional-share investing.
Before relying on fractional shares, ask the brokerage whether your chosen stock or ETF is eligible and check the rules for minimum investments, order types, execution timing, after-hours trading, fees, transfers, corporate actions, and voting rights. The SEC and FINRA explain that these terms depend on the firm; see FINRA’s fractional-share guidance.
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Gaming investments can be affected by intense competition, products becoming obsolete rapidly, and companies’ dependence on patent and intellectual-property protection. A fund adds risks tied to its holdings and mandate; the Roundhill prospectus also describes issuer concentration, limited-liquidity-provider risks, trading away from NAV, spreads, and brokerage costs. These are disclosed risks, not predictions. Roundhill Video Games ETF prospectus.
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Revisit an individual company’s filings when its business or risks change, and review a fund’s prospectus, holdings, expenses, and risk disclosures as they are updated. Frequent small trades can add costs and spreads that impair results; the Roundhill prospectus specifically warns about that effect. Reviewing an investment does not require trading it.
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