In 2024 the European video‑game market demonstrated robust economic performance, delivering a total turnover of roughly €24 billion. This impressive figure was generated by more than 6,600 development studios spread across the region, which together employed a workforce of over 95,000 individuals.
The data comes from the European Video Game Industry Insights Report, a collaborative publication produced by the European Games Development Association (EGDF) together with Video Games Europe (VGA). The report is based on information gathered throughout 2024, although the timing of data collection means that the figures reflect the most recent complete year rather than real‑time statistics. Each of the 28 EGDF member organisations first compiled a national snapshot of their own industry, after which the EGDF aggregated the individual submissions into a single, Europe‑wide overview. This methodology ensures that the final numbers capture both the diversity of local markets and the common trends that cut across borders.
One of the most striking takeaways from the 2024 edition is the contrast between two seemingly opposite dynamics. On the one hand, the overall pool of talent – measured by the net increase in people working in game development and publishing – showed signs of stagnation.
In many countries the number of new hires plateaued, and in a few markets it even slipped slightly, marking the first recorded decline in employment for the sector in Europe. On the other hand, the total count of active studios continued to rise, expanding by somewhere between five and ten percent compared with the previous year. This divergence suggests that while larger firms may be consolidating staff, smaller and mid‑size studios are still springing up, contributing to a more fragmented but vibrant ecosystem.
Geographically, the report highlights several nations that are maintaining modest yet steady growth in both employment and studio formation. Finland, Italy, and the Czech Republic each reported incremental increases in their development workforces, reflecting ongoing investment in local talent pipelines and supportive policy environments. These countries illustrate how a stable or slightly expanding talent base can coexist with a healthy pipeline of new studios. Poland stands out as the EU’s leading hub for game development employment.
Polish studios collectively employed the highest number of professionals on the continent and also produced the greatest volume of new titles, with 450 fresh releases recorded in 2024. This dual leadership in both headcount and output underscores Poland’s position as a central engine of European game creation. The United Kingdom, while not topping the employment chart, still boasted a substantial workforce of 28,516 people, reinforcing its status as a major market and production centre.
The 2024 report also marked the first inclusion of two previously unreported economies: Bulgaria and Cyprus. Cyprus, despite its relatively small size, generated €4.3 billion in turnover, earning the description of the "main game industry hub in terms of combined revenue" within the report.
This achievement points to a concentration of high‑value activities, such as publishing and service provision, that amplify the island’s economic impact beyond what raw studio counts might suggest. Bulgaria, meanwhile, was recognized as an "important regional hub surrounded by key European game industry talent"—particularly noting its proximity to Romania and Turkey, which together form a corridor of creative and technical expertise in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean.
Commentary from the EGDF captures the mixed‑feelings that many industry observers share. The association noted that, despite a backdrop of challenging economic conditions, several countries managed to push forward both revenue growth and studio formation, thereby lifting the overall European metrics.
However, the same statement also acknowledged the darker side of the picture: layoffs, corporate consolidations, and a modest drop in employment in certain markets signaled a pause in the sector’s upward trajectory. For the first time since systematic tracking began, some nations recorded a slight contraction in the number of people employed in game development, a warning sign that the industry must address talent retention and sustainable growth. In summary, the 2024 European Video Game Industry Insights Report paints a nuanced portrait of a sector that is simultaneously expanding in breadth—through a growing number of studios—and confronting headwinds that limit depth, as reflected in a stalled talent pool and isolated employment declines. The data suggest that the future health of the European gaming ecosystem will depend on balancing the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels new studio creation with policies and investment that nurture and retain skilled professionals across the continent.