The German video game industry generated €3.3 billion in 2017. This is a record figure for the industry. Micropayments and increased demand for gaming devices have become factors of revenue growth.
This is stated in the report of the German Association of video game creators (German Games Industry Association, GGIA). The study is based on data from the analytical company GfK.
The annual growth of the German gaming market was 15%.
German gaming market revenues in 2016 and 2017, GGIAIndicators of the German gaming industry in 2017
Two-thirds of the German gaming industry’s revenue came from video games. They generated €2.4 billion (+12% compared to last year).
Revenue from digital spending (purchases of digital copies and in-game transactions) on titles amounted to €1.2 billion.
Micropayments showed the most significant growth in this segment. Last year, German gamers spent €844 million in games — 28% more than a year earlier.
More than half (€481 million) of this amount came from mobile. The amount of microtransactions in mobile titles increased by 21% compared to last year.
Purchases in mobile games in Germany for the last 3 years, GGIA
In addition, in 2017, German residents began to actively buy premium subscriptions to gaming services.
Their spending on EA Access, PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold increased to €157 million — 57% higher than a year earlier.
Sales of gaming devices also increased. During the year, Germany spent €938 million on gaming PCs, consoles and mobile devices — 26% more than in 2016.
Felix Falk, Managing Director of GGIA, noted that the program of state subsidies, which has already been approved by the parliamentary parties CDU, CSU and SPD, will help the further growth of the national gaming industry.
It is planned to allocate €50 million annually from the state budget to support game developers in Germany.
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