In 2025 the European video‑game market produced a total of €30 billion in revenue, with digital sales representing an overwhelming 91 percent of that figure, according to the latest data released by Video Games Europe (VGE). This milestone underscores the continuing shift toward online and downloadable content across the continent’s gaming ecosystem. A notable development this year was VGE’s decision to broaden the scope of its flagship “All About Games” report. Previously the study focused on five core economies – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – but the 2025 edition now incorporates data from an additional eleven countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
By covering sixteen markets in total, the research offers a more comprehensive picture of gaming trends throughout the European Union and the United Kingdom. To assemble the figures, VGE commissioned market‑research firm Ipsos, which drew on a blend of sources including GameTrack, the German Software Developers (GSD) database and the newly published EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report. The combined survey reached 39,371 respondents, providing a robust sample that reflects both consumer behaviour and industry performance. When the expanded dataset is examined, the traditional “EU5” block – the original five nations – showed a modest contraction, with revenue slipping 4 percent year‑on‑year to €25.7 billion, down from €26.8 billion recorded in 2024.
Germany remained the largest single market within this group, generating €6.5 billion in sales and maintaining its position as the continent’s top‑earning country. Employment figures paint an equally vivid portrait of the sector’s scale.
In 2025 there were roughly 123,000 people working across 8,700 development studios situated in the EU and the UK. Women accounted for about a quarter of the workforce, representing 24 percent of all employees. The United Kingdom employed the greatest number of individuals – 28,520 – followed by Poland with 14,930 staff members and Germany with 12,410.
Platform preferences continued to evolve, with mobile phones and tablets dominating usage patterns. An estimated 82 percent of European gamers reported playing on handheld devices, while consoles were used by 47 percent of respondents and personal computers by 34 percent.
Revenue generation mirrored these habits: mobile and tablet gaming alone contributed close to half of the total €30 billion market value. On the console front, Electronic Arts emerged as the leading publisher in 2025.
Its flagship sports titles, EA Sports FC26 and FC25, occupied the top two slots on the console charts, with the tactical shooter Battlefield 6 taking the third position. Battlefield 6 also led 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. Mobile gaming saw a different set of leaders. The casual‑strategy title Coin Master claimed the number‑one spot, while Royal Match and the long‑standing Candy Crush Saga rounded out the top three.
These titles illustrate the diversity of the mobile market, where both chance‑based games and match‑three puzzles thrive. Player demographics revealed that 199 million Europeans engaged in video‑games during 2025. Women represented a substantial share of that audience, accounting for 46 percent or roughly 91.5 million female gamers.
The United Kingdom again stood out as the single largest market, with 25 million active players. Average weekly playtime across the region fell slightly, dropping to 8.39 hours per person compared with 9.4 hours in the previous year.
Younger gamers, however, still logged considerable hours: children aged 6‑11 averaged 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers aged 12‑17 spent an average of 14.30 hours gaming each week. Parental involvement remained a prominent feature of the European gaming landscape.
Seventy‑five percent of parents said they prefer to take an active role in establishing video‑game limits for their children. Moreover, 79 percent reported using one or more family‑setting tools to monitor or restrict gameplay, and 74 percent indicated they have formal agreements, monitoring practices, or technical controls in place to manage online interactions.
In the EU5 markets, 72 percent of parents noted that their children did not make in‑game purchases. Among the minority who did, a striking 93 percent of parents said they kept a close eye on those transactions.
Interestingly, the average amount spent by children who were allowed to buy in‑game content fell by 13 percent compared with 2024, suggesting either more cautious spending habits or the impact of tighter parental oversight. Overall, the 2025 data highlight a maturing European gaming sector that is increasingly digital, mobile‑centric, and mindful of consumer protection, especially for younger audiences. The expansion of VGE’s reporting to include sixteen nations provides a richer, more nuanced understanding of how games are created, consumed, and monetised across the continent, setting the stage for further growth and innovation in the years ahead.