In 2025 the European video‑game sector posted a total turnover of €30 billion, with digital sales representing a dominant 91 percent of that figure, according to the latest data released by Video Games Europe (VGE). The report underscores the continued shift toward online and downloadable content, as physical copies become a marginal share of overall income. A major development this year was the broadening of VGE’s flagship All About Games analysis.
Where the study previously focused on five core economies – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – it now incorporates data from an additional eleven countries, bringing the total coverage to sixteen. The newly added territories are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
This expansion allows a more comprehensive view of the continent’s gaming landscape, capturing trends in both established and emerging markets. To compile the figures, VGE commissioned the market‑research firm Ipsos, which pulled together information from several reputable sources, including GameTrack, the German Software Distribution (GSD) database, and the freshly published EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report. The combined survey reached 39,371 respondents, providing a robust sample that reflects a wide cross‑section of gamers, developers and industry professionals. When the numbers for the original five‑country bloc (often referred to as the EU5) are examined in isolation, revenue shows a modest decline of 4 percent year‑on‑year, falling from €26.8 billion in 2024 to €25.7 billion in 2025.
Germany remains the powerhouse of the region, generating €6.5 billion, the highest national total among the surveyed economies. Despite the dip, the broader European market’s growth to €30 billion demonstrates that the added countries are contributing meaningful sales, particularly through mobile and tablet platforms. Employment data paints an equally encouraging picture. Across the European Union and the United Kingdom, 123,000 individuals were employed by 8,700 game‑development studios in 2025.
Women accounted for roughly one‑quarter of the workforce (24 percent), a figure that, while still indicating a gender gap, reflects gradual progress toward greater diversity in a traditionally male‑dominated field. In terms of sheer headcount, the United Kingdom leads with 28,520 employees, followed by Poland (14,930) and Germany (12,410).
These numbers highlight the UK’s continued role as a hub for both large‑scale publishers and independent studios, while Poland’s rapid rise signals its emergence as a significant production centre in Central Europe. Platform preferences among European gamers continue to be dominated by mobile and tablet devices, which were used by 82 percent of respondents. Consoles were the second most popular platform at 47 percent, and personal computers accounted for 34 percent of usage.
Notably, mobile and tablet devices also generated almost half of the total industry revenue, confirming the lucrative nature of the freemium and in‑app‑purchase models that dominate those ecosystems. When it comes to top‑selling titles, the console arena was led by Electronic Arts, whose sports franchise EA Sports FC26 claimed the number‑one spot, with its predecessor FC25 taking second place. Battlefield 6 rounded out the top three, illustrating the enduring appeal of both sports simulations and first‑person shooters on console hardware.
On the PC side, Battlefield 6 also secured the leading position, followed closely by Rockstar Games’ long‑standing blockbusters Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5. These results demonstrate that high‑budget, narrative‑driven experiences continue to attract substantial player bases on desktop platforms.
Mobile gaming charts were topped by the casual phenomenon Coin Master, with Royal Match and the evergreen Candy Crush Saga occupying the second and third slots respectively. The dominance of these titles underscores the effectiveness of simple, highly replayable mechanics combined with aggressive monetisation strategies. Overall player penetration reached 199 million Europeans in 2025, with women representing 46 percent of that audience (approximately 91.5 million female gamers).
The United Kingdom emerged as the single largest national market, boasting 25 million active players. Average weekly playtime across the continent fell slightly to 8.39 hours per player, down from 9.4 hours in 2024.
Age‑specific data reveal that children aged 6‑11 logged an average of 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers aged 12‑17 spent about 14.30 hours weekly, indicating that younger demographics remain the most engaged. Parental involvement in gaming habits remains high. Seventy‑five percent of European parents expressed a preference for being directly involved in setting limits on their children’s video‑game usage. Moreover, 79 percent reported using one or more family‑setting tools to monitor or restrict gameplay, and 74 percent have established agreements, oversight mechanisms, or family‑setting configurations to manage online interactions and protect their children from inappropriate content.
Within the EU5 markets, 72 percent of parents indicated that their children did not make in‑game purchases. Of the minority who did, a striking 93 percent of parents said they actively monitored those transactions, reflecting heightened awareness of micro‑transaction spending.
Interestingly, the average amount spent by children who are permitted to buy in‑game items dropped by 13 percent compared with the previous year, suggesting either more cautious parental oversight or a shift in pricing strategies by developers. These findings collectively illustrate a vibrant, increasingly diverse European gaming ecosystem that is expanding both geographically and demographically. While revenue growth in the traditional EU5 markets has plateaued, the inclusion of new countries, the rise of mobile platforms, and the sustained popularity of flagship titles across console, PC and mobile devices point to a sector that is resilient and adaptable.
The data also highlight ongoing challenges, such as gender representation in the workforce and the need for responsible monetisation practices, but they provide a solid foundation for stakeholders to shape policies, investment decisions, and creative strategies for the years ahead.