Against the Odds: The German Games Market Experiences Stability in 2022

What led to this?

According to Felix Falk, the Managing Director of the German Games Industry Association, the German games market was stable in 2022 despite the challenges. Many thought the sales revenue would decline in 2022, as the industry had experienced unprecedented growth in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the reasons for this reasoning include the numerous games whose release dates had been postponed, the high rate of inflation and the decline in the time spent playing games.

Considering these circumstances, the 1% growth achieved in 2022 is a sign of success, as the German games market managed to gain revenues of close to ten billion euros.

The number of video game players has also managed to hold on following the high growth experienced in the Covid-19 years: about 60% of people between six and 69 years in Germany play casino games. Of the total number of gamers, Men are leading with 52%, followed by women at 48%. As experienced in recent years, the average age of gamers rose slightly to 37.9%. In addition, 78% of players in Germany are above 18 years of age.

Though the demand for gaming hardware has experienced a sharp decrease in recent years, sale revenue from online gaming continues to increase.

What does this mean?

Overall, the demand for games for consoles, PCs and mobile devices has remained stable. Computer and video games saw a 1% decrease to approximately 1.1 billion euros, while in-game and in-app purchases saw a 2% increase to approximately 4.5 billion euros, similar to last year. These figures include subscription fees, cosmetic items, season passes and additional levels. The total sales revenue from game consoles, mobile devices, and PCs increased by about 1% to 5.5 billion euros in 2022.

This growth was also evident in the online casino gaming service segment, thanks to their 20% increase in sales revenue to 866 million euros. Some of the categories in this segment include fee-based subscription services, cloud-based games, Players’ ability to save their games’ progress in the cloud and online multiplayer function.

Gaming hardware, including consoles, PCs and gaming accessories, has been the leading driver of growth in recent years. Due to the huge 30% and 18% growth in 2020 and 2021, this market experienced a 3% decline to 3.5 billion euros in 2022. This fall can be attributed to the unavailability of the latest graphic cards and gaming consoles across the board, like the PlayStation 5 and X box Series X. Moreover, most players owned the latest gaming hardware following the huge growth in the past two years.

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Jacob Evans Written by Jacob Evans