In 2025 the European video‑game market amassed 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 purchases, subscriptions and micro‑transactions across the continent’s diverse gaming ecosystem.
A major development this year was the broadening of VGE’s flagship study, the All About Games report. Previously confined to the five largest European territories – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – the analysis now incorporates data from an additional eleven nations: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
The enlargement provides a more comprehensive picture of regional trends, consumer behaviour and industry health across a wider swath of the European market. To compile the new dataset, VGE engaged the research firm Ipsos, which pulled information from several established sources, including GameTrack, the Global Software Development (GSD) database, and the freshly published EGDF‑VGE Video Games Industry Insight Report. The combined survey reached 39,371 respondents, offering a robust sample size that captures the attitudes and spending patterns of gamers from both mature and emerging markets.
When the numbers are broken down, the traditional “EU5” block – the original five countries – recorded a modest 4 percent decline in revenue compared with the previous year, falling from €26.8 billion in 2024 to €25.7 billion in 2025. Germany remained the powerhouse of the group, generating €6.5 billion, the highest national total among the EU5.
Employment data paints an equally vivid picture of the sector’s scale. In 2025, the combined United Kingdom and European Union supported roughly 123,000 individuals working across 8,700 development studios. Women accounted for just under a quarter of the workforce, representing 24 percent of all employees.
The United Kingdom employed the greatest number of staff – 28,520 people – followed by Poland with 14,930 and Germany with 12,410. Platform preferences continue to evolve, with mobile phones and tablets retaining their position as the most popular gaming devices.
An impressive 82 percent of gamers reported using a handheld device as their primary platform, while consoles were the second‑most common at 47 percent and personal computers accounted for 34 percent. In monetary terms, mobile and tablet gaming contributed close to half of the total €30 billion revenue, highlighting the lucrative nature of the freemium and in‑app purchase model. On the console front, Electronic Arts (EA) emerged as the market leader in 2025.
Its flagship sports titles, EA Sports FC 26 and FC 25, claimed the top two positions on console sales charts, with the military shooter Battlefield 6 taking the third spot. Battlefield 6 also dominated 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 generate substantial sales years after their initial release.
The mobile arena saw a different set of champions. Coin Master topped the leaderboard, leveraging its casual, spin‑the‑wheel mechanics to attract a broad audience. It was trailed by Royal Match, a puzzle‑based title with strong social features, and the ever‑popular Candy Crush Saga, which remains a staple of the genre. Player demographics reveal that 199 million Europeans engaged in video‑gaming activities during 2025.
Women represented a sizable portion of this audience, accounting for 46 percent (approximately 91.5 million female gamers). The United Kingdom stood out as the single largest national market, boasting 25 million active players.
When it comes to time spent playing, the average European gamer logged 8.39 hours per week, a slight dip from the 9.4 hours recorded in 2024. Younger cohorts, however, still devote considerable time to gaming: children aged 6‑11 averaged 11.35 hours weekly, while teenagers aged 12‑17 logged an even higher 14.30 hours.
Parental involvement remains a critical factor in the European gaming landscape. Seventy‑five percent of parents indicated a preference for being actively involved in setting limits on their children’s gaming activities. Moreover, 79 percent reported using one or more family‑setting tools to monitor or restrict playtime, and 74 percent have established agreements, oversight mechanisms, or family‑setting controls to manage online interactions and safety.
In the EU5 region, 72 percent of parents said their children did not purchase any in‑game content. Among the minority who did make purchases, a striking 93 percent of parents reported that they kept a close watch on those transactions. Notably, the average amount spent by children who are permitted to buy in‑game items fell by 13 percent compared with 2024, suggesting either tighter parental controls or a shift in spending habits.
Overall, the 2025 data illustrate a robust yet maturing European gaming market: revenue continues to climb, mobile platforms dominate both usage and income, and parental oversight is increasingly sophisticated. The expansion of VGE’s report to include eleven additional countries offers a richer, more nuanced understanding of regional differences and shared trends, setting the stage for deeper analysis and strategic planning in the years ahead.