Number of Companies and Employees in German Games Industry Falls for First Time in Years

The German games industry experienced a contraction in 2025, marking the first decline in both the number of companies and employees in several years. Data indicates that the total number of active development and publishing companies fell by 4 percent to 910, while the workforce within these firms decreased by 2 percent, dropping from 12,408 to 12,134 employees. Despite this recent downturn, the sector remains significantly larger than it was in 2020, having achieved 46 percent growth in company count and 23 percent growth in employment over the preceding four-year period.

The decline is attributed to a combination of global market consolidation and domestic policy instability. Specifically, the industry faced repeated, months-long suspensions of the German Federal Games Funding Programme, which hindered planning security and stifled the start-up momentum that had previously driven sector expansion. While the industry still supports over 30,000 total jobs across related sectors, the current lack of funding reliability has negatively impacted the labor market and overall competitiveness.

The findings are based on a survey conducted by Goldmedia on behalf of the German Games Industry Association, utilizing data from gamesmap.de for the period ending May 12, 2025. Industry leadership suggests that the outlook may improve as the federal government prepares to increase the future funding budget and resume application processing. These measures, alongside potential future tax incentives, are viewed as essential steps to restore growth, stabilize the business environment, and encourage new job creation within the German games ecosystem.