BMWK: Despite Growth, German Games Companies Trail Behind Film & Music

German games companies saw a 5% increase in sales from 2021 to 2023 to €3.92 Billion. This is according to the latest monitoring report on the cultural and creative industries (2024), which does not refer to games sales revenue in Germany but rather to companies' VAT returns.

In reality, German companies account for only a small percentage of Germany’s billion-euro games market. For an accurate assessment of German games companies, the revenue generated from game sales in Germany is of secondary importance. More relevant are the sales figures of companies based in Germany—precisely the data used by Prognos in the recently published monitoring report on the cultural and creative industries.

The only caveat: sales tax data is only available with a time lag, which is why the monitoring report refers to 2023.

Nevertheless, the overall picture remains positive. According to the report, 1,190 games companies were operating in Germany in 2023, marking a 13.3% increase compared to 2022. The number of employees in the industry rose to 13,900, a 4.2% increase year-over-year. The report estimates the companies' total turnover at €3.92 billion, indicating that revenues of German games companies likely grew by just over 2% compared to 2022 results (in German) and by 5% compared to 2021.

However, since game sales are grouped together with those of the software industry in much of the monitoring, direct comparisons with other cultural and creative industries (CCI) submarkets are difficult. The only viable comparison is in terms of revenue and employment figures—which reveal that the games industry is the smallest segment within Germany’s cultural and creative industries:

• Broadcasting industry: €14.0 billion in turnover, 67,190 employees
• Film industry: €11.5 billion in turnover, 144,460 employees
• Music industry: €9.5 billion in turnover, 105,900 employees

Clearly, there is still plenty of room for Germany’s games companies to grow.