Earlier this week, on Fiverr.com, I selected Biu's "Basic" package which, in exchange for $5, granted me her company for five Overwatch games. In her profile's image, a helicopter selfie, Biu is wearing a t-shirt with Zelda's Link and sticking out her tongue. "If you want a good healer," her gig page reads, "I'm a Mercy main." A few hours later, my new, paid Overwatch companion and I queued up for a Quick Play match.
Biu, 25, is a student in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For extra cash, she charges for her time playing Overwatch, typically as a healer. She and four other women I interviewed or paid to play Overwatch with me supplement their income by putting a price on sharpened skills, good-humored commentary or, in Overwatch terms, "pocket" healing. It's an increasingly popular gig. There are more than 200 listings on Fiverr for paid Overwatchcompanions. Dozens of those listings are fronted by pictures of women. Companions charge for graduated packages ranging from $5 to $15 for five, ten or fifteen games.
