In 2024 the European video‑game market demonstrated a robust financial performance, delivering a total turnover of roughly €24 billion. This impressive figure was generated by more than 6,600 development studios spread across the continent, which collectively employed in excess of 95,000 individuals working in design, programming, art, publishing, marketing and related support functions. The data comes from the latest edition of the European Video Game Industry Insights Report, a joint publication produced by the European Games Development Association (EGDF) and Video Games Europe (VGA).
Because the report relies on a multi‑step data‑gathering process, it reflects activity from the calendar year 2024. First, each of the 28 EGDF member organisations compiles a national‑level snapshot of studios, revenues and employment.
Those individual submissions are then merged and harmonised to produce the pan‑European overview presented in the final document. One of the most striking takeaways from the 2024 edition is the divergence between two key metrics: while the overall pool of talent – measured by the net increase in people employed in the sector – appears to have stalled, the number of active studios continued to climb. According to the report, the studio count rose somewhere between five and ten percent compared with the previous year, indicating that new companies are still being founded even as the labour market reaches a point of equilibrium.
This pattern was especially evident in several mid‑size economies such as Finland, Italy and the Czech Republic, where modest but steady gains in employment were recorded alongside the launch of new development houses. Poland emerged as the clear leader in terms of sheer employment volume. The country’s game‑development and publishing ecosystem employed the highest number of workers among all EU members, and it also produced the greatest quantity of new titles – 450 releases were logged for the year. The United Kingdom, another major hub, reported a workforce of 28,516 people, placing it firmly in the top tier of European markets.
The 2024 report also marked the first inclusion of two previously unrepresented economies: Bulgaria and Cyprus. Cyprus, despite its relatively small size, generated €4.3 billion in turnover, a figure that positioned it as the principal revenue hub within the region.
The report described the island nation as the "main game industry hub in terms of combined revenue," underscoring the outsized impact of its export‑oriented development studios and publishing firms. Bulgaria, on the other hand, was highlighted for its strategic location and its role as an "important regional hub surrounded by key European game industry talent" from neighbouring Romania and Türkiye. The Bulgarian market is increasingly viewed as a bridge between the Balkan talent pool and the broader EU ecosystem, offering competitive costs, a growing pool of skilled developers, and supportive governmental incentives. The EGDF’s commentary on the findings paints a nuanced picture.
On the positive side, the association notes that "despite challenging times, industry growth continued in several countries, in both revenue and the number of studios, lifting both indicators at the European level." This suggests that while macro‑economic headwinds – such as inflation, supply‑chain disruptions and shifting consumer preferences – have created a tougher operating environment, many national markets have managed to expand both their financial output and their creative capacity. Conversely, the report also flags less optimistic trends.
It points to a wave of layoffs, corporate consolidations and a modest decline in employment figures in certain jurisdictions. For the first time since systematic tracking began, some countries recorded a small drop in the number of people working in game development, signalling that the sector is beginning to feel the impact of over‑capacity in specific niches and the tightening of investment flows. Overall, the 2024 snapshot confirms that the European games industry remains a vibrant and economically significant sector, capable of generating tens of billions of euros and supporting a large, highly skilled workforce.
The continued rise in studio numbers indicates a healthy pipeline of new ideas and entrepreneurial activity, even as the market grapples with the need to balance growth with sustainable employment practices. Policymakers, investors and industry groups will likely watch these dynamics closely in the coming years, seeking to reinforce the strengths of the ecosystem while addressing the emerging challenges of workforce stability and market saturation.