In 2025 the European video‑game market 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 continuing shift toward online and downloadable content across the continent, as physical copies become an increasingly marginal part of the revenue mix. A notable development this year was the broadening of VGE’s flagship research publication, the All About Games report. Previously limited to the five largest European gaming economies – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – the study now incorporates data from an additional eleven territories: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
The expansion provides a more comprehensive picture of the market dynamics across the whole of Europe and the United Kingdom, reflecting the growing importance of smaller yet vibrant gaming ecosystems. The data collection was carried out by Ipsos, which pulled information from several established sources, including the GameTrack and GSD databases as well as the newly released EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report.
The survey reached a total of 39,371 respondents, offering a robust sample for both consumer behaviour and industry performance analysis. When the results for the original “EU5” group are examined in isolation, a modest contraction is evident.
Revenue in these five core markets fell by 4 percent year‑on‑year, dropping from €26.8 billion in 2024 to €25.7 billion in 2025. Germany remained the top‑earning country within the bloc, delivering €6.5 billion in sales, followed closely by France and the United Kingdom.
Employment figures also paint an encouraging picture of the sector’s health. Across the EU and the UK, 123,000 individuals were employed by 8,700 development studios in 2025. Women accounted for roughly one‑quarter of the workforce (24 percent), a figure that, while still indicating a gender gap, marks a gradual improvement over previous years. The United Kingdom emerged as the largest employer, with 28,520 staff members working in game‑related roles.
Poland and Germany trailed with 14,930 and 12,410 employees respectively, highlighting the increasingly pan‑European nature of game development talent pools. Platform preferences continued to evolve, with mobile devices and tablets dominating usage statistics.
An impressive 82 percent of gamers reported playing primarily on handheld devices, while consoles were used by 47 percent and personal computers by 34 percent of respondents. Mobile and tablet platforms also generated almost half of the total industry revenue, confirming the lucrative potential of the “games‑as‑a‑service” model on smartphones. In the console arena, Electronic Arts retained its leading position in 2025. EA’s flagship sports titles, EA Sports FC26 and FC25, occupied the top two slots on the console charts, with the long‑running Battlefield 6 series taking third place.
On the PC front, Battlefield 6 also claimed the number‑one position, followed by Rockstar’s evergreen classics Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5, which continue to attract substantial player bases years after their initial releases. Mobile gaming saw a different set of leaders. The casual‑strategy title Coin Master topped the rankings, with Royal Match and the ever‑popular Candy Crush Saga rounding out the top three. These results illustrate the sustained appetite for quick‑play, micro‑transaction‑driven experiences on smartphones.
Overall player penetration reached 199 million individuals across Europe, with women representing 46 percent of that audience (approximately 91.5 million female gamers). The United Kingdom again stood out as the single largest market, boasting roughly 25 million active players.
When it comes to time spent gaming, the average European player logged 8.39 hours per week in 2025, a slight decline from the 9.4 hours recorded in 2024. Younger gamers, however, remain highly engaged: children aged 6‑11 averaged 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers aged 12‑17 logged an even higher 14.30 hours weekly.
Parental involvement in gaming habits also featured prominently in the report. 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—such as time limits, content filters, or purchase restrictions—to monitor or curb gameplay. A further 74 percent indicated they have explicit agreements with their children, employ monitoring software, or rely on built‑in family settings to manage online interactions and safety. In the EU5 markets specifically, 72 percent of parents said their children did not make in‑game purchases at all.
Among the minority who did buy digital items, a striking 93 percent of parents reported that they actively supervised those transactions. Notably, the average amount spent by children who were permitted to purchase in‑game content fell by 13 percent compared with 2024, suggesting a combination of tighter parental control and possibly a shift toward less costly monetisation models. Taken together, these data points illustrate a European gaming landscape that is both financially robust and increasingly diversified across platforms, demographics, and geographic regions. While revenue growth in the traditional “EU5” markets has plateaued, the expansion into additional countries, the rise of mobile gaming, and the continued engagement of younger audiences point to a sector that remains dynamic and poised for further evolution in the coming years.