In 2025 the European video‑game market generated a total of €30 billion in revenue, with digital transactions accounting for an overwhelming 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 services across the continent’s diverse gaming ecosystem. A notable development this year is the broadening of VGE’s flagship publication, the All About Games report.
Previously limited to the five largest European territories – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – the analysis now incorporates data from an additional eleven nations: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland. By extending its geographic coverage to sixteen countries, VGE aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of market dynamics, consumer habits and employment trends throughout the wider European region. To compile the new dataset, VGE commissioned the market‑research firm Ipsos, which pulled figures from several established sources, including GameTrack, the Game Software Developers (GSD) association, and the freshly published EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report.
The combined survey reached a total of 39,371 respondents, offering a robust statistical foundation for the insights presented. When the numbers for the original five‑country bloc (often referred to as the EU5) are examined in isolation, a modest contraction becomes apparent.
Revenue in these core markets fell by 4 percent year‑on‑year, slipping from €26.8 billion in 2024 to €25.7 billion in 2025. Despite the dip, Germany remained the dominant contributor, delivering €6.5 billion in sales and retaining its position as the single largest national market within the EU5. Employment figures paint a similarly encouraging portrait of the sector’s health.
In 2025, a total of 123,000 individuals were employed across roughly 8,700 development studios spread throughout the European Union and the United Kingdom. Women represented 24 percent of the workforce, highlighting ongoing progress toward gender diversity in an industry historically dominated by men.
Country‑by‑country, the United Kingdom employed the greatest number of gaming professionals, with 28,520 staff members. Poland followed with 14,930 employees, while Germany accounted for 12,410 workers. These numbers reflect not only the size of each nation’s market but also the concentration of development talent and ancillary services such as publishing, marketing and quality assurance.
Platform preferences among European gamers continued to evolve. Mobile phones and tablets emerged as the leading hardware, reaching an 82 percent adoption rate among respondents. Consoles were the second‑most popular platform at 47 percent, and personal computers trailed at 34 percent.
In terms of revenue generation, mobile and tablet devices alone contributed close to half of the total €30 billion, underscoring the importance of touch‑based experiences and the efficacy of in‑app monetisation models. When it comes to specific titles, the console segment was dominated by Electronic Arts. EA’s sports franchise, EA Sports FC26, claimed the top spot, with its predecessor FC25 occupying the second position. Battlefield 6 rounded out the top three, demonstrating the enduring appeal of first‑person shooters on console hardware.
The PC arena saw a similar pattern, with Battlefield 6 leading the charts, followed by Rockstar Games’ evergreen classics Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5. These results illustrate how high‑budget, narrative‑driven experiences continue to attract sizable audiences on the desktop platform. Mobile gaming, meanwhile, was headlined by the casual‑puzzle title Coin Master, which secured the number‑one ranking.
It was followed by Royal Match and the long‑standing favourite Candy Crush Saga, both of which benefit from strong brand recognition and frequent content updates that keep players engaged. Overall participation rates remained impressive. In 2025, 199 million Europeans reported playing video games, with women accounting for 46 percent of that total (approximately 91.5 million female gamers).
The United Kingdom again stood out as the single largest market in terms of player count, boasting 25 million active gamers. Average weekly playtime across the region measured 8.39 hours per person, a slight decline from the 9.4 hours recorded in 2024. Age‑specific data revealed that children aged 6‑11 logged an average of 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers aged 12‑17 spent roughly 14.30 hours gaming each week, indicating that younger cohorts still allocate a substantial portion of their leisure time to interactive entertainment. Parental involvement in gaming habits also featured prominently in the findings.
Seventy‑five percent of European parents expressed a preference for taking an active role in setting limits on their children’s video‑game usage. Moreover, 79 percent reported using one or more family‑setting tools—such as time‑limits, content filters or purchase restrictions—to monitor or curb gameplay. A further 74 percent indicated that they have established agreements, conduct regular monitoring, or employ built‑in family controls to manage online interactions and safeguard their children’s digital experiences. Within the EU5, 72 percent of parents said their children did not make any in‑game purchases.
Of the minority who did, a striking 93 percent confirmed that they closely supervised those transactions, suggesting that parental oversight remains a key factor in regulating micro‑transactions. Notably, the average amount spent by children who were permitted to buy in‑game content dropped by 13 percent compared with the previous year, reflecting either more cautious spending habits or the impact of stricter parental controls. In summary, the 2025 data from Video Games Europe paints a picture of a robust, increasingly digital‑centric gaming market across the continent. While revenue in the traditional EU5 core markets experienced a modest dip, the overall €30 billion figure—bolstered by strong mobile performance and expanding coverage of additional European nations—demonstrates the sector’s resilience and growth potential.
Employment remains healthy, gender diversity is slowly improving, and both consumers and parents are becoming more sophisticated in how they engage with and regulate gaming experiences. These trends suggest that Europe will continue to be a pivotal arena for game development, distribution and consumption in the years ahead.