Annual Report of the German Games Industry 2023

Even if the effects of the Corona pandemic were felt less and less in 2022, the year for the German games industry saw many changes; some favourable and some unfavourable. One of the absolute highlights was gamescom: for the first time since 2019, the world’s largest games event took place not only online but also on site in Cologne. In total, more than 265,000 visitors came to the Cologne exhibition centre and millions of viewers followed gamescom online. One of the positive aspects of 2022 is the development of the German games market. While other international markets recorded declines, the German games market stabilised at the 10-billion-euro mark. The development of German games companies was also positive. After a significant increase in the number of games companies and employees was recorded in 2021, both figures continued to rise in 2022. In the core market, the number of games companies has increased by a further 15.5 per cent in the past twelve months, and the number of employees by around 7 per cent. In view of the upswing in the German games industry, the back and forth over games funding with two application stops in recent months weighed all the more heavily. The Annual Report of the German Games Industry 2023 provides a comprehensive overview of the players in Germany, the development of the games market and the entire games industry in Germany.