In 2025 the European video‑game industry posted a total turnover of €30 billion, 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 continued shift toward online and downloadable content across the continent’s diverse gaming landscape. A notable development this year is the enlargement of VGE’s flagship market analysis, the All About Games report.
Previously confined to the five biggest 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 widening its scope to sixteen territories, VGE aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of the region’s gaming ecosystem and to capture emerging trends in smaller yet rapidly growing markets. To compile the expanded dataset, VGE commissioned the market research firm Ipsos, which pulled information from several reputable sources, including GameTrack, the German Software Developers Association (GSD), 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 the original “EU5” bloc, total revenue fell by 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, followed by France and the United Kingdom. The modest decline reflects a modest market correction after several years of double‑digit growth, as well as the impact of macro‑economic pressures that have tempered consumer spending. Employment figures paint a brighter picture. Across the European Union and the United Kingdom, the gaming sector employed roughly 123,000 individuals in 2025, spread across an estimated 8,700 development studios, publishing houses, and ancillary service providers.
Women accounted for 24 percent of the workforce, indicating gradual progress toward gender diversity in a traditionally male‑dominated field. The United Kingdom topped the employment leaderboard with 28,520 gaming professionals, a reflection of its strong legacy of both indie and AAA development.
Poland came in second with 14,930 workers, while Germany rounded out the top three with 12,410 employees. These numbers highlight the geographic dispersion of talent and the growing importance of Eastern European hubs in the global supply chain. Platform usage data reveals that mobile devices and tablets remain the primary way Europeans engage with games.
An impressive 82 percent of gamers reported playing on handheld devices, making them the most popular platform by a wide margin. Console usage stood at 47 percent and PC at 34 percent. In terms of revenue generation, mobile and tablet gaming contributed nearly half of the total €30 billion, confirming the lucrative nature of the freemium and in‑app purchase models that dominate these platforms. On the console front, Electronic Arts retained its leadership position in 2025.
The company’s flagship sports titles, EA Sports FC 26 and FC 25, captured the top two spots on console sales charts, with the tactical shooter Battlefield 6 securing the third place. Battlefield 6 also led the PC market, where it was followed closely by Rockstar Games’ enduring classics Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5, both of which continue to generate strong sales years after their initial releases. Mobile gaming leaders differed markedly.
The casual‑strategy title Coin Master held the number‑one position, while Royal Match and the long‑standing puzzle phenomenon Candy Crush Saga occupied the second and third slots respectively. These results underscore the appeal of low‑commitment, highly social games that thrive on micro‑transactions. Player demographics show that 199 million Europeans engaged in video‑games during 2025. Women represented a substantial 46 percent of this audience, translating to roughly 91.5 million female gamers.
The United Kingdom again emerged as the largest single market, boasting 25 million active players. Average weekly playtime across the region dropped slightly to 8.39 hours per player, down from 9.4 hours in the previous year. Younger gamers, however, continued to log higher hours: children aged 6‑11 averaged 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers aged 12‑17 averaged 14.30 hours.
These figures illustrate the enduring popularity of gaming among younger cohorts despite broader societal concerns about screen time. Parental involvement remains a key factor in shaping gaming habits.
Seventy‑five percent of European parents expressed a desire to take an active role in setting limits on their children’s gaming activities. Moreover, 79 percent reported using one or more family‑setting tools—such as time limits, content filters, or purchase restrictions—to monitor or curb gameplay. A further 74 percent indicated that they have explicit agreements with their children, employ monitoring software, or rely on built‑in platform family controls to manage online interactions and protect against inappropriate content. Within the EU5 markets, 72 percent of parents said their children did not make any in‑game purchases.
Of the minority who did, an overwhelming 93 percent reported that they closely supervised those transactions, reflecting heightened awareness of the financial implications of micro‑transactions. Spending patterns among children who are permitted to buy in‑game items showed a downward trend, with average expenditures decreasing by 13 percent compared with 2024. This decline may be attributed to increased parental oversight, more stringent platform safeguards, or a shift in children’s preferences toward free‑to‑play experiences that rely less on direct spending.
Overall, the 2025 data paints a nuanced portrait of a mature yet still expanding European gaming sector. While total revenue experienced a modest dip, the industry continues to generate significant employment, enjoys broad demographic reach, and remains heavily anchored in mobile consumption. The expanded All About Games report, covering sixteen nations, provides valuable insight for developers, publishers, and policymakers seeking to navigate the evolving market dynamics and to foster sustainable growth across Europe.