market data
German games market 2022 stable after Corona boost
Trade fair visitors test computer games at Gamescom in Cologne (2022). photo
©Oliver Berg/dpa
Apparently, people in Germany still like to play. Figures from the games industry prove this. The business has shifted to a large extent to the Internet.
The games business in Germany has remained stable after the growth spurt in the corona pandemic last year. Revenues increased by one percent to 9.87 billion euros, as the Game industry association announced on Wednesday. In the years 2020 and 2021 there had been jumps in sales of 32 and 17 percent respectively.
Association boss Felix Falk called the small increase in sales a success: In view of the high inflation, less playing time and postponed publications, many would have expected a decline.
The numbers demonstrate how the gaming business is shifting. The greatest sales growth was in online services, with an increase of 20 percent to 866 million euros – such as platforms that offer access to various games in the subscription model. Revenue from the sale of individual games, on the other hand, fell by one percent to 1.06 billion euros.
The biggest deal is in-game and in-app purchases. Here, sales grew again by two percent to 4.46 billion euros. In hardware, revenues from console sales fell by six percent to 756 million euros, while gaming PCs increased by 14 percent to 1.1 billion euros. The association pointed out that in 2022 new game consoles such as Sony’s Playstation 5 would still be difficult to obtain. In the meantime, the bottlenecks have been cleared – and this year’s figures are likely to be more meaningful.