Significantly Fewer New Games Companies in Germany in 2023

The number of newly founded games companies in Germany has fallen by around 65 per cent compared to 2020. This upturn, driven by federal funding, is in danger of coming to an end.

The games industry in Germany has developed very well in recent years, with the number of games companies increasing by 52 per cent to 948. One of the drivers of this growth has been the introduction of federal games funding, but these effects appear to be diminishing, according to the results of the games start-up report commissioned by game - the German Games Industry Association - and compiled by Goldmedia (reference date 14 June 2024). According to the report, the number of companies founded in 2023 fell by around 65 per cent compared to 2020, when the nationwide games funding programme was launched. In 2020, 93 new companies were founded in Germany. Only 33 were founded in 2023.

At least this is good news: The number of new companies is relatively stable. Despite the difficult climate in the international games industry and the uncertainties regarding the location conditions in Germany, the insolvency rate of the games companies founded in Germany since 2020 is only 6.6 p er cent.

"The results of the game start-up report send a clear message: after the many encouraging start-ups since the start of games funding, this upswing is already threatening to come to a halt just three years later. In addition to the challenging international investment climate, this is mainly due to the back-and-forth nature of games funding in Germany. The German government must finally provide internationally competitive conditions if we are to continue the start-up momentum of recent years," says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game - the German Games Industry Association. "At the same time, the data shows that there are significantly more start-ups in the federal states that are particularly committed to the games industry. Regional commitment to the games industry therefore pays off directly."

The regional distribution of newly founded games companies varies considerably: Bavaria (62), Berlin (57) and North Rhine-Westphalia (38) are the top three. In the same period, only three games companies were founded in Schleswig-Holstein and only one in Thuringia. However, some smaller locations, such as Brandenburg, Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate, were able to benefit from the growth to a greater extent than the largest locations in relation to their previous size. This also highlights the large differences in gaming policy at state level."

"Compared to older games companies in Germany, the new start-ups are more often led by women: around 18 per cent of the development studios and publishers founded since 2020 are led by female managing directors. This is five percentage points higher than the figure for older games companies," says the association.

Overall, the number of games companies in Germany that develop and publish games increased by four per cent last year to 948. The number of people employed by German games companies also continued to grow slightly, but at half the rate of the previous year. The number of employees in development studios and publishers rose to 12,408 in the past twelve months, which is around 3.5 per cent higher than the previous year's figure of 11,992. This compares to growth of seven per cent in 2023. In addition to publishing and development, an estimated 20,000 people are employed in the games industry in Germany. This means that the games industry supports more than 30,000 jobs in Germany.

Never miss anything from the German, Swiss and Austrian games industry again: subscribe for free to our Daily newsletter and get all news straight to your inbox.