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’s gaming ecosystem. A notable development this year is the broadening of VGE’s flagship publication, the All About Games report.
Previously confined to the five biggest European territories – 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. The expansion provides a more comprehensive picture of the industry’s health and trends across the wider European region.
To compile the new edition, VGE engaged market‑research firm Ipsos, which pulled together information from several established sources, including GameTrack, the Global Software Development (GSD) database, and the freshly released EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report. The combined survey reached a total of 39,371 respondents, delivering a robust statistical base for the analysis. When the numbers for the original “EU5” group are examined in isolation, 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 core set, delivering €6.5 billion in sales, followed closely by the United Kingdom and France.
Employment figures also paint an encouraging picture. Across the United Kingdom and the European Union, the sector employed roughly 123,000 individuals working in about 8,700 development studios.
Women accounted for 24 percent of the total workforce, a modest yet meaningful share that reflects ongoing diversity initiatives within the industry. The United Kingdom continued to be the largest employer, with 28,520 staff members spread across its studios.
Poland came in second with 14,930 employees, while Germany provided jobs for 12,410 people. These three nations together represent more than half of the sector’s total headcount. Platform preferences among European gamers show mobile devices firmly in the lead. Approximately 82 percent of players reported using smartphones or tablets as their primary gaming hardware, making these handheld devices the most popular way to access games.
Consoles were the second‑most common platform, cited by 47 percent of respondents, while traditional PC gaming attracted 34 percent. In monetary terms, mobile and tablet play generated nearly half of the total €30 billion revenue pool, reinforcing the importance of the mobile market for publishers and developers.
The console segment was dominated by Electronic Arts. EA’s flagship sports titles, EA Sports FC26 and its predecessor FC25, captured the top two positions on the console leaderboard, with the military‑shooter Battlefield 6 taking the third spot. On the PC side, Battlefield 6 also led the charts, followed by Rockstar Games’ long‑standing hits Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5, which continue to generate strong sales years after their initial releases. Mobile gaming leaders were equally clear.
The casual‑strategy title Coin Master held the number‑one position, while Royal Match and the evergreen puzzle‑match game Candy Crush Saga occupied the second and third slots respectively. These titles illustrate the continued appetite for low‑commitment, highly engaging experiences on smartphones.
Player demographics revealed that 199 million Europeans engaged in video‑games during 2025. Women represented a substantial portion of this audience, accounting for 46 percent (about 91.5 million female gamers). The United Kingdom emerged as the single largest national market, boasting roughly 25 million active players.
Average weekly playtime across the continent was measured at 8.39 hours, a slight decline from the 9.4 hours recorded in 2024. Age‑specific data showed that younger children (6‑11 years) logged an average of 11.35 hours per week, while teenagers (12‑17 years) spent even more time gaming, averaging 14.30 hours weekly. Parental involvement remains a key factor in the European gaming landscape. Seventy‑five percent of parents indicated a desire to participate 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 controls—to supervise or restrict gameplay. A further 74 percent said they have explicit agreements with their children, monitor usage, or employ family‑setting features to manage online interactions and social features. In the core EU5 markets, 72 percent of parents stated that their children did not make in‑game purchases.
Among the minority who did buy digital content, a striking 93 percent of parents claimed they actively monitored those transactions. Notably, the average amount spent by children who were permitted to purchase in‑game items fell by 13 percent compared with the previous year, suggesting either tighter parental control, more cautious spending habits, or a shift toward free‑to‑play models with fewer micro‑transactions. Overall, the 2025 data paints a picture of a mature, digitally‑focused European gaming sector that continues to expand its geographic coverage, diversify its audience, and refine its monetisation strategies while maintaining steady employment levels and a growing emphasis on responsible play and parental oversight.