The Games Industry in Germany 2025 (game - Verband der deutschen Games-Branche)

Summary

• Around 900 development and publishing companies form the core market of the German games industry in mid-2025, and with games-specific service providers the extended core market comprises around 1,200 companies.p.5
• 3% of companies generate about 78% of industry revenue, while 80% together achieve only around 2%.p.5
• 88% of revenue is generated by companies with a foreign parent group, up from 65% in 2018.p.5
• Total employees in the extended core market rose from 12,300 to 14,800 between 2018 and 2024, around 20% more.p.6
• Average industry salaries of 53,251 EUR are around 14% below the 62,235 EUR average for all full-time employees in Germany.p.6

Key insights

1. The number of core market companies fell by about 5% between 2024 and mid-2025 for the first time.p.11
2. Around 80% of companies were founded since 2010, and the average company age is 9.3 years.p.12
3. The share of Unternehmergesellschaft (UG) companies rose from 14% in 2018 to 22% in 2024.p.14
4. Games development accounts for 44% of revenue, or 1.64 billion EUR, and has grown 148% since 2018.p.20
5. More than three quarters of revenue is generated abroad, with the EU accounting for over 60%.p.22
6. Consumers in Germany spent around 5.5 billion EUR on games in 2024, of which German developments hold a market share of 5.5%, or 300 million EUR.p.23
7. 44% of surveyed companies recorded losses in 2024, after 21% in 2018 and around 31% in 2015.p.24
8. Personnel costs make up 58% of total costs, and marketing costs account for 22%.p.25
9. 51% of companies expect rising revenue for their own business in 2025/26, but only 23% expect a positive revenue development for the German games industry as a whole.p.26
10. Employees with a non-German citizenship make up 35% of staff in 2024.p.34