Germany Sees 6% Decline in Gaming Spending, Reaching €9.4 Billion in 2024

In 2024, the German gaming market experienced a 6% year-over-year decline, with total spending amounting to €9.4 billion on games, hardware, and related services. This downturn is highlighted in the 2025 annual report by The German Games Industry Association, indicating a pause in the market's growth trajectory. The software segment, encompassing full-game sales, in-game purchases, subscriptions, and additional content, saw revenues decrease by 6% to €5.5 billion. Notably, the majority of software revenue originated from mobile games played on smartphones and tablets, reaching €3 billion for the first time and marking a 63% growth since 2019. The report also observed that around a quarter of players aged 16 and above utilize subscription services, with eight out of ten stating that these services encourage them to try new games more frequently. Purchases declined by 17% to €921 million, attributed to the release of fewer major titles compared to the previous year. In terms of spending behavior, 93% of mobile game revenue stemmed from in-app purchases, while console revenue was split with 38% coming from online gaming services and over a third from individual game purchases. For PC games, 70% of revenue was generated by in-game purchases, with less than a fifth coming from title purchases. The number of gamers in Germany saw mixed trends, with smartphone users increasing by 0.8% to 22.9 million, consoles rising by 9.6% to 20.5 million, PC gamers decreasing by 2.9% to 13.1 million, and tablet users growing by 3% to 10.3 million. The hardware sector experienced a 10% decline in revenue to €2.8 billion, with consoles witnessing the largest drop at 26% to €807 million, likely due to the increased availability of current-generation consoles. Digital downloads remained the preferred purchase method, with seven out of ten PC and console games bought digitally, and 99% of PC games being purchased in this manner. The report listed top games including EA Sports FC 25, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Helldivers 2, among others. The total number of gamers in Germany stood at 37.5 million, with those over 60 increasing from 6.4 million to 7.7 million, and eight out of ten gamers being over 18. The gender distribution showed 48% of gamers were women and 52% were men. The industry saw a 4% decrease in the number of companies to 910 and a 2% decrease in employees to 12,408. The managing director of Game, Felix Falk, described 2024 as a challenging year due to global market consolidation and the lack of reliable federal funding, posing significant challenges for small and medium-sized studios in Germany.