About 59% of Germans Aged 6-69 Play Video Games

About 59% of people aged 6 to 69 in Germany play video games. Overall, the number of players in the country has risen significantly in the last several years. Across all age groups, some 37.5 million Germans – more than ever before – play video games on consoles, PCs and smartphones. This represents an increase of around 9% in the number of players since 2020. These are the new figures released by game – the German Games Industry Association, based on data collected by YouGov.

The development among players over 60 is especially dynamic, with this group having grown from 6.4 to 7.7 million in just 12 months. The growth in the proportion of older gamers is partly due to the fact that many gamers have been playing games for decades. On the other hand, more and more older people are discovering the joy of video games. Thus the trend of recent years continues, with the average age of German players also surpassing 39 for the first time – rising from 38.2 in 2023 to 39.5 in 2024. In total, 8 in 10 players in Germany (79%) are over 18 years old. With regard to the gender of players in Germany, the distribution has remained balanced in the last several years, at around 48% women and 52% men.

“Games fascinate millions of people in Germany – young and old, women and men. The majority of Germans have been playing games for a long time and the number is increasing. The steadily rising average age of gamers is also exciting: we are fast approaching the age of 40. This makes clear what still surprises many people: whether they are 17 or 70, games inspire people of all ages and the proportion of older players is growing particularly strongly,” said Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – The German Games Industry Association.

After attaining unprecedented heights in recent years, the German games market saw a dip in its growth trajectory in 2024. Last year, sales revenue from games, gaming hardware and online gaming services in Germany totalled 9.4 billion euros – a 6% drop from the year before. This downturn was especially pronounced in purchases of games for PCs, consoles and smartphones (−17%, to 921 million euros), as well as in hardware purchases (−10%, to 2.9 billion euros). Running counter to the overall market trend, revenue from online gaming services saw a double-digit increase, rising 12% from the level of 2023, to 965 million euros.