In 2025 the European video‑game sector amassed 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). This milestone underscores the continuing 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 limited to the five largest European markets – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – the study now incorporates data from an additional eleven countries: 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 gaming ecosystem 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 Development (GSD) database and the newly released EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report.
The combined survey reached 39,371 respondents, delivering a robust statistical foundation for the findings. When the numbers are broken down by region, the traditional “EU5” bloc recorded a modest contraction of 4 percent year‑on‑year, slipping from €26.8 billion in 2024 to €25.7 billion in 2025.
Germany remained the top‑earning nation within this group, generating €6.5 billion in revenue, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain. Employment figures paint a similarly vibrant portrait. Across the EU and the UK, 123,000 individuals were employed by 8,700 game‑development studios in 2025.
Women accounted for roughly a quarter of the workforce, representing 24 percent of all employees. The United Kingdom led the employment rankings with 28,520 staff members, while Poland (14,930) and Germany (12,410) rounded out the top three.
Platform usage data reveal that mobile devices and tablets dominate the European gaming landscape. An impressive 82 percent of gamers reported playing on handheld devices, making them the most popular entry point.
Consoles were the second‑most common platform at 47 percent, and personal computers followed at 34 percent. In monetary terms, mobile and tablet gaming contributed nearly half of the total industry revenue, highlighting the lucrative nature of the smartphone market.
Turning to the titles that captured players’ attention, Electronic Arts emerged as the leading publisher on consoles in 2025. EA’s flagship football titles, EA Sports FC26 and FC25, occupied the top two spots on the console charts, with the long‑running shooter Battlefield 6 taking third place. Battlefield 6 also commanded the PC segment, where it was followed by Rockstar Games’ enduring classics Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5, both of which continue to attract sizable audiences years after their initial releases.
The mobile arena told a slightly different story. The casual‑gaming juggernaut Coin Master claimed the number‑one position, while Royal Match and the ever‑popular Candy Crush Saga secured the second and third slots respectively. These results underscore the diversity of player preferences across device categories.
Overall, 199 million Europeans reported playing video games in 2025, with women representing 46 percent of that audience – roughly 91.5 million female gamers. The United Kingdom stood out as the single largest market, boasting 25 million active players. Average weekly playtime across the region measured 8.39 hours, a slight decline from the 9.4 hours recorded in 2024. Age‑specific data show that younger children (6‑11 years) logged an average of 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers (12‑17 years) spent about 14.30 hours gaming each week.
Parental involvement remains a significant factor in the European gaming environment. Seventy‑five percent of parents expressed a desire to take an active role in setting limits on their children’s gaming activities. Correspondingly, 79 percent reported using one or more family‑setting tools to monitor or restrict playtime, and 74 percent indicated they have agreements, monitoring practices, or technical controls in place to manage online interactions.
Within the EU5 markets, 72 percent of parents said their children did not make in‑game purchases. Among the minority who did, a striking 93 percent of parents reported that they closely supervised those transactions.
Notably, the average amount spent by children who were permitted to buy in‑game content fell by 13 percent compared with 2024, suggesting a growing awareness of spending habits among both youngsters and their guardians. These findings collectively illustrate a mature, yet still evolving, European gaming sector.
While revenue growth has plateaued and even receded slightly in the traditional core markets, the expansion into new territories, the dominance of mobile platforms, and the sustained popularity of both legacy and new titles point to a resilient industry. Moreover, the heightened involvement of parents and the increasing proportion of female gamers signal shifting demographics and consumer attitudes that will shape the market’s trajectory in the years ahead.