In 2024 the European video‑game industry posted a combined revenue of €24 billion, a figure that reflects the collective output of more than 6,600 development studios and the labour of over 95,000 individuals across the region. These numbers come from the European Video Game Industry Insights Report, a joint publication by the European Games Development Association (EGDF) and Video Games Europe (VGA).
The report is based on data collected throughout the year, with each of the 28 EGDF member organisations first submitting national‑level statistics that were later merged into a single European overview. While the overall talent pool in Europe showed signs of stagnation – a rare pause in the otherwise upward trend of employment in game creation – the ecosystem of studios continued to expand. Between five and ten percent more studios were operating in 2024 compared with the previous year, indicating that new companies are still entering the market even as the pool of available skilled workers levels off.
Countries such as Finland, Italy, and the Czech Republic each recorded modest but steady increases in the size of their development workforces, underscoring a broader pattern of localized growth. Poland emerged as the clear leader in terms of human resources, employing the largest number of professionals in both game development and publishing across the European Union. Polish studios also produced the highest volume of new titles, with 450 releases logged during the year.
The United Kingdom, another major hub, counted 28,516 people working in the sector, placing it firmly among the top contributors to the continent’s gaming landscape. The 2024 edition of the report also marked the first inclusion of two smaller markets: Bulgaria and Cyprus. Cyprus, despite its modest size, generated €4.3 billion in turnover and was highlighted as the primary revenue hub within the region, demonstrating how a concentrated cluster of successful studios can drive outsized economic impact. Bulgaria, on the other hand, was described as an important regional hub that benefits from proximity to a rich talent pool in neighboring Romania and Turkey, positioning it as a strategic node in the wider European game‑development network.
The EGDF emphasized that, even in the face of challenging macro‑economic conditions, several countries managed to push both revenue and studio counts upward, thereby lifting the aggregate European indicators. This resilience was evident in markets that managed to attract investment, secure publishing deals, and expand their creative output despite broader industry headwinds. Nevertheless, the report also warned of emerging structural pressures.
Across the continent, a wave of layoffs, corporate consolidations, and a slight decline in employment figures signalled the first noticeable dip in workforce numbers for the sector. Some nations experienced a marginal reduction in staff, a development that the EGDF described as the first real contraction in the industry’s employment curve. These trends suggest that while revenue growth and studio proliferation remain positive, the sector must address talent retention and sustainable hiring practices to avoid longer‑term stagnation.
Looking ahead, analysts anticipate that the European gaming landscape will continue to evolve in response to both internal dynamics and external forces such as shifting consumer preferences, emerging technologies like cloud gaming and AI‑driven content creation, and regulatory changes affecting digital markets. The continued diversification of studio locations – from established powerhouses like the UK, France, and Germany to emerging hubs in the Balkans and the Mediterranean – points to a healthy geographical spread that could mitigate the impact of localized downturns. In summary, 2024 was a year of mixed signals for Europe’s video‑game industry. The sector generated €24 billion in turnover, supported a workforce of more than 95,000 people, and saw the number of active studios climb to over 6,600.
While talent growth slowed and some regions faced the first employment decline in years, the overall picture remains one of robust revenue generation and a vibrant, expanding network of development studios across the continent.