Strong growth again in game companies and employee numbers in Germany

Strong growth again in game companies and employee numbers in Germany

• Increase of more than 15 per cent in a year in number of game companies in Germany
• Number of people employed by developers and publishers up 7 per cent
• Together with the extended games labour market, the German games industry secures more than 30,000 jobs
• ‘It is now in the hands of the coalition government as to whether Germany can continue to catch up with the top games locations around the world.’

The strong upswing in Germany as a games location continues – numerous companies have once again been founded in the German game industry. In the space of a year, the number of companies that develop and market games has risen to 908, equating to a year-on-year increase of 15.5 per cent. This was announced today by game – the German Games Industry Association on the basis of data from gamesmap.de in collaboration with Goldmedia. The majority of these are companies involved in the development of games – 411 of the game companies act both as game developers and publishers, while a further 450 engage exclusively in game development. There are 47 game companies that specialise exclusively in marketing computer and video games. The number of game companies in Germany has therefore increased by around 46 per cent since 2020

The trend among employees in the German games industry also developed positively. The number of employees working for development studios and publishers rose to 11,992, which is almost 7 per cent more than in 2022. The difference in the speed of this growth trend between the employee and company figures indicates that many smaller studios are being established; as in the previous two years, the growth rate in new start-ups is significantly higher than that in the number of employees. Together with the extended games labour market, which includes the employees of service providers, retailers, educational establishments, the media and the public sector, the German games industry therefore secures significantly more than 30,000 jobs.

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‘The federal government’s funding of games is proving effective. It is now in the hands of the coalition government as to whether Germany can continue to catch up with the top games locations around the world. Games funding cannot currently be relied upon. This is a major disadvantage when compared internationally and stands in the way of Germany’s continued success as a games location. But the ongoing wave of game company start-ups shows the huge potential that Germany has and proves that putting better parameters in place was precisely the right step to take to tap this potential,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘The federal government and the German Bundestag must now reverse the recent games funding cuts and increase the funding to 125 million euros to further facilitate the positive growth. In particular considering that every euro of funding generates a great deal of additional tax revenue and investments. In the medium term, we also need the kind of games funding based on tax incentives that has been a long-established and reliable standard in successful game locations such as Canada and France. This strong upswing will otherwise be in jeopardy and Germany will not be able to keep pace with its international competitors with its games and game technologies.’

game – the German Games Industry Association

Game the association of the German games industry. Game members represent the entire video game ecosystem, from development studios and publishers to esports event organisers, educational institutions and other related entities. Game are co-organisers of gamescom, the world’s biggest event for computer and video games.Game is a shareholder in the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK), the Foundation for Digital Games Culture, the esports player foundation, devcom and the collecting society VHG, as well as co-host of the German Computer Game Awards. Serving as a central point of contact for media, as well as political and social institutions, game provide comprehensive expertise in areas including market development, game culture and media literacy, and address any inquiries or concerns. Together game is making Germany the heart of gaming worldwide. With games, game enriches the lives of all people.