In 2025 the European video‑game sector amassed a total of €30 billion in revenue, with digital sales representing a dominant 91 percent of that figure, according to the latest figures released by Video Games Europe (VGE). This milestone underscores the continuing shift toward online purchases, downloadable content and subscription services across the continent’s diverse gaming landscape. A major development in VGE’s annual review was the enlargement of its flagship "All About Games" report.
Where the study previously focused on the five largest European markets – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – the 2025 edition broadened its scope to include eleven additional territories: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland. By incorporating these nations, VGE now captures a more comprehensive picture of the region’s gaming activity, reflecting the growing importance of smaller but fast‑growing markets.
The data behind the report were gathered by Ipsos, which pulled together information from several industry sources, including GameTrack, the Global Software Development (GSD) database and the newly published EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report. The combined survey reached 39,371 respondents, providing a robust statistical foundation for the analysis.
When the numbers are broken down, the original five‑country bloc (often referred to as the EU5) experienced a modest contraction, with revenue falling 4 percent year‑on‑year to €25.7 billion, down from €26.8 billion in 2024. Despite the dip, Germany remained the top‑earning nation, generating €6.5 billion in sales, followed closely by France and the United Kingdom. Employment figures paint an equally vivid picture of the sector’s scale.
In 2025, a total of 123,000 individuals were employed across 8,700 game‑development studios operating in the EU and the United Kingdom. Women accounted for roughly one‑quarter of the workforce (24 percent), a figure that, while still indicating a gender gap, represents a gradual improvement over previous years.
The United Kingdom led the continent in terms of headcount, employing 28,520 people. Poland came in second with 14,930 employees, and Germany ranked third with 12,410 staff members.
These numbers illustrate the concentration of talent in both established hubs and emerging clusters throughout Europe. Platform preferences among European gamers continued to evolve.
Mobile phones and tablets dominated usage, with 82 percent of respondents indicating they primarily played on these devices. Consoles were the second most popular platform at 47 percent, while PC usage stood at 34 percent. In monetary terms, mobile and tablet gaming accounted for almost half of the total industry revenue, reaffirming the importance of the handheld market for publishers and developers. When it comes to top‑grossing titles, the console segment was led by Electronic Arts.
EA’s sports franchise, EA Sports FC26, claimed the number‑one spot, with its predecessor FC25 holding the second position, and the tactical shooter Battlefield 6 rounding out the top three. The same Battlefield 6 also topped the PC leaderboard, followed by Rockstar Games’ enduring classics Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5, which continue to generate strong sales long after their initial releases. Mobile gaming saw a different set of leaders.
The casual‑strategy title Coin Master secured the top rank, while Royal Match and the long‑standing Candy Crush Saga occupied the second and third places respectively. These results highlight the sustained appeal of free‑to‑play models that combine frequent updates with micro‑transaction revenue streams. Overall player penetration in Europe reached 199 million individuals in 2025, with women representing 46 percent of that audience – roughly 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 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 even more time gaming, averaging 14.30 hours weekly. These figures suggest that younger demographics remain the most engaged segment of the market. Parental involvement in gaming habits also featured prominently in the survey.
Seventy‑five percent of European parents expressed a desire to participate 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 indicated they have explicit agreements, monitoring practices, or technical controls in place to manage online interactions.
In the EU5 region specifically, 72 percent of parents said their children did not make in‑game purchases. Among the minority who did, a striking 93 percent of parents claimed they actively supervised those transactions. Notably, the average amount spent by children who are permitted to buy in‑game content fell by 13 percent compared with the previous year, suggesting either tighter parental control or a shift in spending habits among younger players.
Taken together, these data points illustrate a mature yet still rapidly evolving European gaming ecosystem. Revenue growth, platform diversification, and expanding geographic coverage all point toward a market that is both resilient and adaptable. At the same time, the industry faces ongoing challenges related to gender representation, parental oversight, and the balance between monetisation and player experience. As VGE continues to broaden its analytical reach, stakeholders can expect increasingly granular insights that will help shape strategic decisions across development, publishing, and policy‑making in the years ahead.