Gaming Industry

The Gaming Industry in Germany | © GTAI

The German Gaming Industry

Our Fact Sheet shows that Germany is home to 26 million active gamers and Europe's largest gaming market.

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Gaming and related services are a major industry in Germany with revenues considerably higher than those of the film industry. In-game purchases have overtaken the simple purchase of single games in recent years. The revenues from online services also show strong growth and have more than doubled in the last few years. Casual gaming, social gaming, and free-to-play MMO (massively multi-player online) games are driving this growth. The rising number of smartphones in Germany has resulted in increasing demand for mobile games – opening up completely new customer groups.

• Germany has the most internet users in Europe, creating significant potential for business.
• More than 49 million Germans play video games online, on smartphones, TVs, consoles, and handhelds.
• In 2021, the German gaming market generated total turnover of EUR 8.5 billion.
• Almost EUR 4.2 billion was spent on in-game purchases.
• Germans purchased games (online and offline) for EUR 5.2 billion.
• Some EUR 720 million was spent on online services such as Playstation Plus and Origin Access.

Germany has become one of the global hubs for online and browser game production thanks to German companies such as Innogames, Gameforge and Wooga. Gaming hubs are prospering in Germany’s major metropolitan areas: Berlin, Hamburg, Bavaria and the Rhine/Ruhr area are just a few examples of exciting gaming locations in Germany.

The German Gaming Landscape 2012 | © GTAI

Germany has a rich tradition in engineering and entrepreneurship and a worldwide reputation in technological innovation power. Germany’s gaming workforce also belongs to the world’s best qualified. The German gaming industry employs a more than 27,000 strong workforce, with eleven thousand working directly for game developers and publishers. The high skill level is also due to a variety of specific education facilities: Around 40 public and private universities and other education establishments offer more than 150 computer game-related courses of study. Labor costs in the German gaming industry are moderate.

There is a large selection of programs available designed to support a wide variety of business activities at different stages of the investment process. These support programs are administered by the Federal Government, the Federal states and the local clusters. They range from practical support and networking possibilities to a wide range of monetary incentives, interest-reduced loans, equity capital/financing, consulting/expertise, guarantees, and access to regional funding. The total amount of gaming funding exceeds EUR 80 million annually.