Germany’s market for game apps grows by 22 per cent

• Sales with game apps climb to around 1.8 billion euros

• ‘For millions of Germans, games for smartphones and tablets are a fixed part of everyday media consumption.’

• German games industry tops the 6-billion-euro mark

The German market for game apps showed continued strong growth in 2019. Sales with the purchase of apps and through in-app purchases rose by 22 per cent over the previous year, resulting in a market increase for game apps to about 1.8 billion euros. These are the figures released today by game – the German Games Industry Association, based on data collected by the market research company App Annie. The data shows a further decline in the market share of purchased game apps, with this submarket shrinking by 13 per cent, to 13 million euros. Game apps acquired by purchase now represent less than 1 per cent of the market. In contrast, sales through in-app purchases continued their steep ascent: this submarket grew by 23 per cent, to around 1.8 billion euros. Free-to-play games, especially, relied on in-game purchases. These are titles that can be downloaded and played free of charge, with players spending money only on additional content, for example to individualise their own playing character. Free-to-play games are particularly successful on smartphones and tablets. Smartphones are the most popular gaming platform among Germans. 19.5 million people in Germany use smartphones to play games. Furthermore, a total of 11.3 million gamers in Germany use tablets to play games.

‘For millions of Germans, games for smartphones and tablets are a fixed part of everyday media consumption, just like news websites or communication via instant messenger,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘Game apps are especially accessible and diverse. Whether online skat or quiz games, catching Pokémon all over the world or a fast race against your friends, app stores offer a huge variety of different games for every age and taste.’

German games market grows by 6 per cent

As already reported by game, the German games market grew by 6 per cent in 2019, to around 6.2 billion euros. Sales of games hardware, including consoles, gaming PCs and accessories, dropped by 2 per cent from the previous year, to 2.4 billion euros. In contrast, the market for games software showed a gain of 11 per cent: in 2019, a total of about 3.9 billion euros was spent on computer and video games and the charges for the respective online services.

About the market data
The current data take into account further dedicated games hardware like gaming PCs and the corresponding accessories, resulting in a larger market size than previously reported. This is true also of the adjusted data for 2018, which accordingly differs from that reported last year.

The market data is based on statistics compiled by the GfK Consumer Panel and App Annie. The methods used by GfK to collect data on Germany’s digital games market are unique in terms of both their quality and their global use. They include an ongoing survey of 25,000 consumers who are representative of the German population as a whole regarding their digital game purchasing and usage habits, as well as a retail panel. The data collection methods provide a unique insight into the German market for computer and video games.

game – the German Games Industry Association
We are the association of the German games industry. Our members include developers, publishers and many other games industry actors such as esports event organisers, educational establishments and service providers. As a joint organiser of gamescom, we are responsible for the world’s biggest event for computer and video games. We are an expert partner for media and for political and social institutions, and answer questions relating to market development, games culture and media literacy. Our mission is to make Germany the best games location.