German Games Industry Gives Government High Marks Early On

The German games industry's verdict on the first few months of Friedrich Merz's current government is clear and unequivocally positive. This is evident from the initial results of the game Industry Barometer 2026, which the association has now published. The barometer is compiled on the basis of a survey of member companies.

A total of 202 member companies of game – The German Games Industry Association took part in the latest survey, which was conducted from 12 to 21 November 2025. 52% of them stated that they view the work of the new government as rather positive. A further 18% even rated it as very positive. Only 10% gave a negative assessment. 

"The current federal government has already set an important course for games policy in its first year. Decisive steps have finally been taken on several issues, such as games promotion and e-sports non-profit status, within the first few months. Accordingly, many games companies view the current federal government positively. However, with the additional tax incentives for games announced in the coalition agreement, the toughest challenge still lies ahead. Now the federal government, supported by the federal states, must continue at this pace so that implementation can be achieved within this legislative period. After Dorothee Bär, the minister responsible, announced “The Era of Gaming” at gamescom, we as an industry are ready and eager to get started," says Felix Falk, managing director of game.

The game also reported that 72 percent of respondents agreed somewhat or completely that the coalition agreement and the current federal government's games policy to date are promoting Germany as a games location. 69 percent said that their confidence in German games policy had increased. And 62 percent believe that the current government's plans and actions have the potential to increase Germany's international competitiveness. 

In fact, Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär, who has taken over responsibility for games policy, delivered right at the start of her term in office and implemented important projects for the games industry that had previously been left unresolved due to disputes within the traffic light coalition and in dialogue with the opposition at the time. Bär continues to have ambitious plans in games policy, foremost among them the introduction of tax-based subsidies, but at the same time she has dampened expectations that things will continue at a similarly high pace, which is unusual for politics. This is also due to the fact that many other projects must also be implemented in dialogue with other ministries.