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.

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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.

Srdan brings 20 years’ development experience, including seven years with William Hill and four years with Huddle; he will be a key part of The Unit’s expansion drive as VP, Engineering

The Unit, a leader in product design and development for sports betting and iGaming, has made another stellar addition to its management team with the appointment of Srdan Srepfler as Vice President, Engineering.

Not only has Srdan been in development roles for more than two decades, he also comes with an extensive background in iGaming; the bulk of which coming with industry behemoth William Hill, where he worked for more than seven years.

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In his time at William Hill, Srdan’s roles included Software Developer, Senior Software Engineer, Development Team Lead and Global Platform Backend Lead. After leaving William Hill, Srdan joined operator MoPlay as VP of Automation Engineering and QA, before serving as Architect and Developer for AsianLogic, owner of betting brand Dafabet.

Srdan’s most recent position was VP of Engineering for software provider Huddle. In his four years with the company, he established the engineering department, applied agile delivery methods, designed a robust data pipeline and executed integration with the likes of Genius Sports, Sportradar, TXODDS and LSports.

Srdan will utilise his experience as The Unit continues to deliver major technology stacks across web, mobile and cross-functional platforms. The Unit designs, develops and delivers premium custom applications from interactive widgets to frontends and complicated backends, and Srdan will continue to ensure these high standards are delivered, while overseeing the next stage of the company’s development.

The Unit has made a number of notable appointments in recent months as part of a significant period of expansion for the company, with Alan Bruce joining earlier this year as Sales and Account Director, followed by Aoife Dillon as Senior Account Manager and Andy Clerkson as Chairman.

Paddy Casey, Co-founder at The Unit, said: “I would personally like to welcome Srdan to the team here at The Unit; I am very excited about the wealth of experience he can bring to the table.

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“At The Unit, we have established a reputation for designing and developing robust, scalable platforms, and the addition of Srdan to the team will allow us to do that, while producing products of an even stronger quality.

“Our experienced developers, designers and technical professionals strive to ensure we can support project development and delivery, and we feel Srdan is perfectly positioned to lead our efforts in doing that.

“With our recent expansion into new territories, a brand refresh and some high-profile names like Srdan joining the team, we are well placed to build on our past success and continue to make our mark on the industry.”

Srdan Srepfler added: “It is a pleasure for me to join the team at The Unit. This is a fast-growing and exciting business, and it’s the perfect time for me to take my next step in the iGaming industry.

“I am thrilled to become a part of The Unit’s ambitious plans for growth in the coming years, and I look forward to starting on some of the upcoming projects as part of the company’s next stage of growth.

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“I have spent many years developing bespoke backends with emphasis on scalability, resilience and business flexibility. This is something I am keen to continue at The Unit, and I am very pleased to be given this opportunity. I can’t wait to get started with an experienced team of fellow professionals and to help steer the next stage of The Unit’s journey.”

TaDa Gaming celebrates GiftCode’s successful first year since launch. Applicable to both slots and TaDa’s unique fishing-shooting games, GiftCode offers immediate rewards which can be effortlessly tailored and adapted to any operator requirement or marketing campaign.

Hitting its first anniversary, a minimum of 1,000,000 GiftCodes are now issued monthly through 300+ streamers with 100% take up. This strong creator eco-system enables codes to be delivered across media and platforms with tournaments, introductory rewards and churned player campaigns leading the way for operator success through powerful marketing alongside player rewards.

An uplift of Daily Active Users by a minimum of 18% and a 15% increase in engagement and player acquisition levels has confirmed that GiftCode is the simple and highly effective gamification tool the industry was lacking.

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The 2024 initial test run in Brazil saw 100 streamers receive 500,000 GiftCode links. An instant redemption rate of 95+% and new player sign up increasing by more than 30,000 per month confirmed TaDa’s research and development and gave operators confidence to incorporate GiftCode to their offering.

Now, with the addition of personalised codes for player segmentation, regionally specific influencer packs and multi-brand and aggregator deployment, few other gamification tools can offer such consistently high impact and measurable results, meaning this is a very happy anniversary for TaDa.

Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “GiftCode’s inherent simplicity is the key to its success. It does what it is supposed to do and does it fantastically well for both operators and players. Our new enhancements make GiftCode even more engaging, securing its future as our go-to gamification tool.”