In 2025 the European video‑game industry amassed a total turnover of €30 billion, with digital transactions 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 and the growing importance of digital distribution channels across the continent.
A notable development this year is the enlargement of VGE’s flagship publication, the All About Games report. Previously confined to the five largest European gaming markets – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – the study now incorporates data from an additional eleven nations: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland. By broadening its geographic scope, VGE aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of the industry’s health and trends throughout the European Union and the United Kingdom.
To compile the expanded dataset, VGE commissioned market‑research firm Ipsos, which drew on information from GameTrack, the Global Software Distribution (GSD) platform and the recently released EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report. The combined survey reached 39,371 respondents, offering a robust sample that reflects both consumer behaviour and professional insights from across the sector. When the numbers for the original “EU5” group are examined in isolation, total revenue fell by 4 percent year‑on‑year, dropping from €26.8 billion in 2024 to €25.7 billion in 2025.
Despite this contraction, Germany remained the top‑earning country within the core group, generating €6.5 billion in sales and reinforcing its position as the continent’s largest single‑market gaming economy. Employment figures also paint an encouraging picture. In 2025, the combined EU and UK region supported 123,000 individuals working across 8,700 development studios.
Women accounted for roughly a quarter of this workforce – 24 percent – indicating gradual progress toward gender balance in an industry traditionally dominated by men. The United Kingdom employed the greatest number of professionals, with 28,520 staff members, followed by Poland (14,930) and Germany (12,410).
Platform preferences among European gamers continue to evolve. Mobile phones and tablets dominate usage, with 82 percent of players reporting they primarily game on these devices. Consoles retain a solid foothold, attracting 47 percent of users, while PC gaming draws 34 percent.
Notably, mobile and tablet platforms contributed almost half of the total industry revenue, highlighting the lucrative nature of the casual and on‑the‑go gaming segments. In the console arena, Electronic Arts emerged as the market leader in 2025.
Its flagship sports titles, EA Sports FC26 and FC25, secured the top two positions on sales charts, with the military‑themed shooter Battlefield 6 taking third place. Battlefield 6 also topped the PC leaderboard, followed closely by Rockstar Games’ enduring classics Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5, which continue to generate strong sales years after their initial releases.
Mobile gaming saw a different set of champions. The casual‑strategy title Coin Master claimed the number‑one spot, while Royal Match and the long‑standing puzzle phenomenon Candy Crush Saga occupied the second and third positions respectively. These results illustrate the sustained appeal of free‑to‑play models that blend social interaction with micro‑transactions.
Player demographics reveal that 199 million Europeans engaged in video games during 2025. Women represented a substantial share of the audience – 46 percent, or roughly 91.5 million players – underscoring the increasingly gender‑balanced nature of the market. The United Kingdom stood out as the single largest national market, boasting 25 million active gamers.
Average weekly playtime across the continent measured 8.39 hours per person, a slight decline from the 9.4 hours recorded in 2024. Younger gamers, however, continue to log higher hours: children aged 6‑11 averaged 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers aged 12‑17 averaged 14.30 hours.
Parental involvement remains a critical factor in shaping gaming habits. 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 one or more family‑setting tools to monitor or restrict gameplay, and 74 percent said they have explicit agreements, monitoring practices, or family‑setting controls in place to manage online interactions. Within the EU5 markets, 72 percent of parents indicated that their children did not make in‑game purchases. Among the minority who did, a striking 93 percent of parents said they closely supervised these transactions. Moreover, the average amount spent by children who are permitted to buy in‑game content fell by 13 percent compared with the previous year, suggesting heightened parental oversight or a shift in spending patterns.
Overall, the 2025 data paint a picture of a resilient and diversifying European gaming ecosystem. While revenue growth slowed in the traditional EU5 economies, the expansion into additional markets, the dominance of mobile platforms, and the sustained popularity of both new releases and legacy titles demonstrate a sector that is adapting to changing consumer preferences and technological trends.
The continued rise in employment, coupled with incremental improvements in gender representation, further signals a healthy, evolving industry poised for future innovation and expansion.