The gaming industry in Germany, which had been showing strong growth in recent years, is now facing a significant slowdown. Despite a 15% increase in the number of gaming companies over the previous year, over the last twelve months growth has only been 4%.
Therefore, the total reached 948 companies developing and publishing computer and video games in the country. This data was released by game – The German Games Industry Association, based on information from gamesmap.de in collaboration with Goldmedia.
Breakdown of the growth of gaming companies in Germany
- Developer Companies: The number of companies dedicated exclusively to game development increased by 6% in the last year, totaling 477 companies.
- Publishing Companies: There are 52 companies in Germany that specialize exclusively in publishing video games.
- Mixed Companies: 419 companies operate in both game development and publishing, resulting in an overall 52% growth in the number of game companies since 2020.
Job growth has also slowed. The number of employees at development studios and publishers increased to 12,408 in the last twelve months. This increase represents approximately 3.5% compared to the 7% increase recorded in the previous period.
This continued growth, although slower, reflects the stable situation provided by federal gaming funding. In other words, it has served as a stabilizing factor for the industry.
The wave of consolidation affecting the global gaming industry has had a less pronounced impact in Germany. This is due to the support of projects financed by the federal government.
However, if the German government fails to secure internationally competitive funding budgets, the outlook for gaming companies in the country could become even more uncertain.
Additional employment data
In addition to publishing and development jobs, an additional 20,000 people are estimated to be employed in gaming-related fields such as educational institutions, media, and the public and commercial sectors. This brings total employment in the German games industry to over 30,000.
“Game funding plays a decisive role in this. While the ongoing freeze on applications for federal gaming funding has hampered the development of new projects for over a year, the fact that many German studios are still in the middle of projects funded by the federal government gave them stability.
However, if the German government does not secure funding budgets at an internationally comparable level soon, the outlook for gaming companies will be even more uncertain. Along with the wave of consolidation,” he continues, “the current unpredictable and uncompetitive structural conditions in Germany have slowed the strong growth of recent years. The German government must finally make the promised funds available and return to the path of an ambitious single-source gaming financing policy, as announced in its latest growth initiative.”
