In 2025 the European video‑game market generated a total of €30 billion in revenue, with digital sales representing a dominant 91 percent of that figure, according to the latest data released by Video Games Europe (VGE). This milestone underscores the continued shift toward online purchases, downloadable content and subscription‑based services across the continent.
A major development this year was the broadening of VGE’s flagship research effort, the All About Games report. Previously the analysis focused on the five largest European gaming economies – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – collectively known as the EU5. For the 2025 edition VGE added eleven further territories, bringing the total coverage to sixteen countries. The new participants are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
By widening the geographical scope, the report now offers a more comprehensive picture of how gaming habits and market dynamics differ across the whole of Europe. To compile the data, VGE commissioned the market‑research firm Ipsos, which pulled figures from several reputable sources, including the GameTrack database, the Global Software Distribution (GSD) platform and the freshly published EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report. The combined survey reached 39,371 respondents, providing a robust sample size that supports detailed segmentation by country, platform, age group and gender. When the numbers for the original five markets are examined in isolation, a slight contraction is evident.
Revenue across the EU5 fell by 4 percent year‑on‑year, slipping from €26.8 billion in 2024 to €25.7 billion in 2025. Germany remained the strongest performer within this core group, posting €6.5 billion in sales and retaining its position as the continent’s top‑earning gaming nation. Employment figures also paint an encouraging portrait of the industry’s health.
In 2025 a total of 123,000 individuals were employed by 8,700 development studios spread across the EU and the United Kingdom. Women accounted for roughly a quarter of the workforce, representing 24 percent of all gaming‑related jobs. The United Kingdom led the region in terms of headcount, with 28,520 people working in game development, publishing, distribution and ancillary services.
Poland followed with 14,930 employees, and Germany contributed 12,410 workers. Platform usage patterns continued to evolve, with mobile devices and tablets maintaining their status as the most popular entry points for gamers.
An impressive 82 percent of respondents indicated they regularly played on a smartphone or tablet, while console usage was reported by 47 percent and PC gaming by 34 percent. In monetary terms, mobile and tablet platforms alone generated almost half of the total €30 billion revenue pool, highlighting the importance of touch‑based experiences and the effectiveness of in‑app monetisation strategies. The console segment was dominated by Electronic Arts, whose flagship sports titles EA Sports FC 26 and FC 25 occupied the top two slots on the console charts for 2025. The third‑place position was taken by the long‑awaited Battlefield 6, which also claimed the leading spot on the PC leaderboard.
On personal computers, Battlefield 6 was followed closely by Rockstar Games’ evergreen hits Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5, both of which continue to attract substantial player bases years after their initial releases. Mobile gaming saw a different set of leaders. The casual‑strategy game Coin Master topped the European mobile charts, with Royal Match and the iconic Candy Crush Saga rounding out the top three.
These titles illustrate the diverse appeal of free‑to‑play models that combine short, repeatable sessions with robust monetisation via in‑app purchases. Overall player penetration remained high, with 199 million Europeans reporting that they played video games at least occasionally during the year.
Women made up 46 percent of this audience, equating to roughly 91.5 million female gamers. The United Kingdom emerged as the single largest national market, boasting 25 million active players.
When it comes to time spent gaming, the average European logged 8.39 hours per week in 2025, a modest decline from the 9.4 hours recorded in 2024. Younger demographics, however, still devoted substantial portions of their leisure time to interactive entertainment.
Children aged 6‑11 averaged 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers aged 12‑17 logged an even higher average of 14.30 hours. Parental involvement in gaming habits also featured prominently in the survey. Seventy‑five percent of European parents expressed a desire to take an active role in setting limits on their children’s video‑game consumption. Correspondingly, 79 percent reported using one or more family‑setting tools—such as screen‑time controls, purchase restrictions or content filters—to monitor or curb gameplay.
Additionally, 74 percent indicated that they have established agreements, actively supervise, or employ built‑in family settings to regulate online interactions and social features within games. In the EU5 region specifically, 72 percent of parents said their children did not make any in‑game purchases. Among the minority who did spend money inside games, a striking 93 percent of parents claimed they kept a close watch on those transactions.
Notably, the average amount spent by children who were permitted to buy in‑game content fell by 13 percent compared with the previous year, suggesting either more cautious spending habits or the impact of tighter parental controls. Taken together, these data points illustrate a mature, yet still rapidly evolving European gaming ecosystem.
The sector’s revenue growth, diversification across platforms, and expanding geographic coverage signal strong future potential. At the same time, the emphasis on responsible gaming—evident in the high rates of parental engagement and the gradual reduction in youth spending—indicates that industry stakeholders and families alike are becoming more attuned to the social and economic dimensions of interactive entertainment.