Market Share of Games Made in Germany Remains Stagnant

The German games industry continues to face significant challenges in capturing domestic market share, as evidenced by data from 2019. Despite a broader industry growth trend, the market share of games developed in Germany remains stagnant, hovering below the 5 percent threshold. Specifically, German-made titles accounted for only 4.9 percent of the domestic market in 2019, representing 168 million euros out of a total 3.4 billion euros in software turnover.

Performance across specific segments was mixed. The online and browser games sector saw the most notable improvement, with the market share of German titles rising from 13 percent to 17.6 percent. Similarly, the share of PC and console games—bolstered by successful releases such as Anno 1800 and Tropico 6—increased from 1.1 percent to 1.9 percent. However, these gains were offset by a decline in the rapidly expanding game apps market, where the share of German-developed titles fell from 3.2 percent to 2.9 percent.

The industry association emphasizes that while the overall German games market grew by 6 percent to 6.2 billion euros in 2019, domestic developers are not yet competing on a level playing field. To address this, the association advocates for the prompt, efficient, and bureaucracy-free implementation of government funding guidelines to stimulate local production. The analysis relies on comprehensive data from GfK Consumer Panel, GfK Entertainment, and App Annie, utilizing a representative sample of 25,000 German consumers to track purchasing and usage habits. These findings underscore a persistent need for structural support to help German studios achieve global competitiveness.