After the German games market had reached a whole new level in recent years – sales have grown by around 50% since 2019 alone – it slowed its pace in 2024. Sales revenue from games, games hardware and online gaming services totalled 9.4 billion euros in Germany in 2024, a decrease of 6% compared to the previous year. This was announced by game – The German Games Industry Association. The downturn was especially pronounced in purchases of games for PCs, consoles and smartphones, as well as in hardware purchases. Running counter to the overall market trend, revenue from online gaming services saw a double-digit increase, rising 12% from the level of 2023, to 965 million euros. This segment includes categories such as fee-based subscription services providing access to a broad game selection, cloud-based games and functions enabling, for example, online multiplayer gaming and the saving of game progress in the cloud.

“After years of frequently strong growth, the German games market took a breather in 2024. This was due in part to the fact that there were fewer game hits last year and that the demand for game consoles has normalised again. The greatest growth is seen in online game services like cloud gaming – which underscores the perpetual dynamics and innovative strength of the games industry. In combination with new game consoles and blockbuster titles that have already been announced, this promises renewed overall growth in the near future,” Felix Falk, Managing Director of game, said.

Sales revenue from games for PCs, consoles and mobile devices totalled 6.5 billion euros in 2024, or 4% less than in the previous year. The decline was especially steep in games purchases, which saw a 17% drop in revenue, to 921 million euros. The market segment for in-game and in-app purchases, however, generated sales revenue of around 4.6 billion euros in 2024, a decrease of just 3%. This submarket has shown strong growth in recent years. Whether as free-to-play or full-price games, ever more titles are offering additional content. The offerings vary widely – from ‘skins’, which can completely change the appearance of a player character, to season passes providing unlimited access to content over a period of weeks, to full expansions with new campaigns or missions. In-game purchases allow players to customize or expand their game experience; from the perspective of game companies, in-game purchases are an important source of revenue, helping to offset the economic risk posed by the sharp rise in development costs in recent years.

Sales revenue from games hardware decreased by 10% overall, to about 2.9 billion euros. The various segments showed quite different development. The greatest decline was seen in game consoles, revenue from which dropped to 807 million euros, 26% below the previous year’s mark. However, 2023 was an exceptional year for game consoles: after several years in which many models weren’t consistently available to consumers, all current models became continuously available again in 2023. Many players purchased new consoles, resulting in a catch-up effect. This is clearly illustrated by the comparison between sales revenue from game consoles in 2022 and 2024: despite the sharp drop of 26% last year, revenue in 2024 was still above that in 2022. Sales revenue from game console accessories in fact rose in 2024, to 391 million euros – an increase of 5%. The market for gaming PCs and laptops was stable, with revenue of 540 million euros, or just 1% less than in 2023. Accessories for gaming PCs – including special input devices, graphic cards, etc. – didn’t fare quite so well, with revenue falling by 4%, to just under 1.2 billion euros.