In 2025 the European video‑game industry posted a total turnover of €30 billion, with digital sales representing an overwhelming 91 percent of that figure, according to the latest data released by Video Games Europe (VGE). This milestone underscores the continuing shift toward online distribution and in‑game purchases across the continent, as physical copies become increasingly marginal. A major development this year was the broadening of VGE’s flagship market analysis, the All About Games report. Where the study previously focused on the five largest economies – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – it now incorporates data from an additional eleven territories: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
By widening the geographic scope to sixteen countries, VGE aims to provide a more nuanced picture of regional trends, consumer behaviour and the health of the industry as a whole. To compile the expanded dataset, VGE commissioned the market‑research firm Ipsos, which pulled figures from several established sources, including GameTrack, the Global Software Development (GSD) database, and the newly published EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report.
The resulting survey captured responses from 39,371 participants, ranging from casual gamers to industry professionals, giving the report a solid statistical foundation. When the numbers for the original five‑country bloc (commonly referred to as the EU5) are examined in isolation, revenue actually fell by 4 percent compared with the previous year, slipping from €26.8 billion in 2024 to €25.7 billion in 2025. Germany remained the top‑earning market within this group, generating €6.5 billion, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain.
The modest decline suggests that while the overall European market grew thanks to the inclusion of new territories, the traditional powerhouses faced modest headwinds, possibly due to market saturation or macro‑economic factors. Employment figures paint a similarly detailed picture. In 2025 there were roughly 123,000 individuals working across 8,700 game‑development studios spread throughout the EU and the United Kingdom.
Women accounted for 24 percent of this workforce, highlighting ongoing efforts toward greater gender balance in a sector historically dominated by men. The United Kingdom employed the largest number of professionals – 28,520 – with Poland (14,930) and Germany (12,410) rounding out the top three. Platform usage continues to be dominated by mobile devices. Smartphones and tablets were the primary way people accessed games, with 82 percent of respondents indicating they played on these devices.
Console usage stood at 47 percent, while PC gaming was reported by 34 percent of participants. Notably, mobile and tablet platforms also contributed nearly half of the total €30 billion revenue, confirming the lucrative nature of the mobile market and the effectiveness of freemium and micro‑transaction models. When it comes to titles, the console arena was led by Electronic Arts in 2025. EA’s flagship sports franchise, EA Sports FC26, claimed the top spot, with its predecessor FC25 occupying the second position, and the long‑running Battlefield 6 series rounding out the top three.
On the PC side, Battlefield 6 also emerged as the most popular game, followed closely by Rockstar’s evergreen classics 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 title Coin Master topped the charts, with Royal Match and the ever‑popular Candy Crush Saga occupying the second and third positions respectively. These results illustrate the enduring appeal of simple, highly replayable games that monetize through in‑app purchases and advertisements. Overall player penetration in Europe reached 199 million individuals in 2025, with women representing 46 percent of that audience (approximately 91.5 million female gamers).
The United Kingdom remained the single largest market, boasting 25 million active players. Average weekly playtime across the continent fell slightly to 8.39 hours per person, down from 9.4 hours the previous year. Younger demographics, however, still logged substantial hours: children aged 6‑11 averaged 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers aged 12‑17 averaged 14.30 hours.
Parental involvement in gaming habits continues to be high. Seventy‑five percent of European parents expressed a desire to be actively involved in setting limits on their children’s video‑game usage. Correspondingly, 79 percent reported using at least one family‑setting tool—such as screen‑time controls or content filters—to monitor or restrict gameplay, and 74 percent indicated they have explicit agreements, monitoring practices, or family‑setting configurations to manage online interactions and social features.
Within the EU5 markets, 72 percent of parents said their children did not make in‑game purchases at all. Among the minority who did, a striking 93 percent of parents claimed they kept a close eye on those transactions, suggesting heightened awareness of potential overspending. Moreover, the average amount spent by children who were permitted to buy in‑game content dropped by 13 percent compared with 2024, reflecting either tighter parental controls, more cautious spending habits among younger gamers, or perhaps a shift toward free‑to‑play models that rely less on direct purchases.
Taken together, these data points illustrate a European gaming ecosystem that is expanding geographically, increasingly mobile‑centric, and still heavily influenced by parental oversight. While revenue growth is buoyed by new markets and digital channels, the traditional powerhouses show signs of plateauing, and the industry must continue to innovate in order to sustain its upward trajectory.