German games market grows by 4 per cent in 2025

• Sales rise by 4 per cent in 2025, with around 9.4 billion euros in revenue from games, games hardware and online gaming services
• Revenue with online gaming services surpasses one billion euros for first time
• New games hardware like Nintendo Switch 2 and ROG Xbox Ally drive growth

 Berlin, 26 March 2026 – The German games market is growing again. After a slight decline in 2024, sales revenue in Germany from games, games hardware and online gaming services returned to an upward path in 2025. In total, the industry grossed around 9.4 billion euros in sales last year – a growth rate of 4 per cent. These are the numbers released today by game – The German Games Industry Association, based on data collected by the market research companies YouGov and Sensor Tower. One of the main growth drivers was games hardware: the submarkets for game consoles (+26 per cent) and gaming PC accessories (+13 per cent) grew especially strongly. In addition, sales revenue with online gaming services such as PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass continued to increase, breaking the one-billion-euro mark for the first time. This represents a rise of around 7 per cent compared to the previous year. Revenues with services of this kind have more than doubled in the last six years (2019: 461 million euros). This submarket includes services ranging from fee-based subscription services that allow access to major game libraries, to games in the cloud or in multiplayer mode online.

‘The German games market is back on track for growth, and once again it is innovation above all that is driving this momentum. Rising sales of game consoles, driven by new devices, and of online gaming services demonstrate the strong interest in new gaming offerings’, says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘Overall, the data for the German games market shows just how much gaming habits in Germany are changing: Sales from the purchase of individual games are declining significantly, whilst in-game and in-app purchases continue to grow slightly at a much higher level. Some games have become genuine long-running hits: over the years, they have built up a huge community that is regularly supplied with new content and remains loyal to ‘their’ game. Many online gaming services also regularly feature new games, meaning that fewer new titles are purchased overall.’

Game consoles and gaming PCs and accessories drive growth

Games hardware was in high demand in 2025, with nearly all areas of this submarket showing growth. Sales revenue with games hardware climbed by 12 per cent overall, to 3.4 billion euros. Game consoles were the biggest contributor to a positive market dynamic. Revenue in this segment, driven strongly by, in part, the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, rose to around one billion euros. That represents a gain of 26 per cent and reverses the sharp downward trend of 2024, when revenue from game consoles registered a 26 per cent drop. The fortunes of the submarket for gaming PCs took a renewed upward turn as well, rising by 7 per cent, to 651 million euros. New products such as the ROG Xbox Ally contributed to this growth. Accessories for gaming PCs also showed an especially sharp rise, generating sales revenue of around 1.4 billion euros – an increase of 13 per cent. This submarket includes, along with graphic cards, gaming input devices, monitors and VR headsets. Here, accumulated demand made itself felt for the first time in several years; after the Covid-19 pandemic sparked the purchase of accessories by many video game players, this segment had been in a downward trend since 2021. There was less demand in 2025, on the other hand, for console accessories, as revenue in this area dropped by 10 per cent, to 360 million euros.

Games revenue declines slightly

In 2025, overall sales revenue from game purchases and in-game and in-app purchases fell 1 per cent, to 4.9 billion euros. There was a decline in the submarket for computer and video games: with sales revenue of 807 million euros, 13 per cent less was earned with games across all platforms than in 2024. Revenue from in-game and in-app purchases developed positively in 2025, rising to 4.1 billion euros, a 1 per cent increase over the previous year’s level. The market for in-game and in-app purchases has been growing for years. Both free-to-play and full-price games rely strongly on additional content that allows players to individualise and expand the game experience – from cosmetic objects, like skins, to extensive expansions with new missions or game elements.

Survey methodology is adjusted

Due to methodological adjustments made by the market research firms, some of the market data differs from the figures for the German games market reported last year. For example, the data collection methodology for the mobile market – including game app and in-app purchases – has been fundamentally revised by the data provider Sensor Tower for 2025. Furthermore, from 2025 onwards, the data provider Nielsen IQ includes games hardware sales from the wider physical retail sector in its collection of data on games hardware. As a result, the reported sales figures, including total market sales, have been adjusted retrospectively.

About the market data

The market data is based on statistics compiled by YouGov Shopper, Nielsen IQ and Sensor Tower. The methods used by YouGov Shopper to collect data on Germany’s digital games market are unique worldwide and stand out for their quality. They include an ongoing survey of 25,000 consumers who are representative of the German population as a whole regarding their video game purchasing and usage habits, as well as a retail panel. The data collection methods provide a unique insight into the German market for computer and video games.

game – The German Games Industry Association

We are the association of the German games industry. Our members represent the entire video game ecosystem, from development studios and publishers to esports event organisers, educational institutions and other related entities. We are co-organisers of gamescom, the world’s biggest event for computer and video games. We are a shareholder in the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK), the Foundation for Digital Games Culture, the esports player foundation, game events and the collecting society VHG, as well as co-host of the German Computer Game Awards. Serving as a central point of contact for media, as well as political and social institutions, we provide comprehensive expertise in areas including market development, game culture and media literacy, and address any inquiries or concerns. Together we are making Germany the heart of gaming worldwide. With games, we enrich the lives of all people.

---