Germany Leads Europe’s Gaming Landscape at Gamescom
<p>Packed exhibition halls in Cologne are consistently filled with visitors at Gamescom. Over the past decade, Germans’ leisure habits have shifted dramatically toward digital activities.</p>
<p>According to the most recent Leisure Monitor survey, 33 % of respondents now play video games at least weekly. Growth in gaming has outpaced that of smartphone use and music listening.</p>
<p>Published on 27/08/2026 – 10:35 GMT+2</p>
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<h2>€9.4 billion in sales, EU commissioner and German president drop in</h2>
<p>This year’s Gamescom, projected to draw over 350,000 attendees, adopts the slogan “Games whet the appetite for the future.” Henna Virkkunen, Vice‑President of the European Commission overseeing digital technologies, will attend in Cologne to discuss the EU’s gaming strategy. She is scheduled to meet Vice‑Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, Research Minister Dorothee Bar, and North Rhine‑Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wust.</p>
<p>Today, Federal President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier will make history as the first German president to visit Gamescom, officially opening the Gamescom congress.</p>
<p>The 2026 annual report on Germany’s gaming sector reports €9.4 billion in revenue from games, hardware, and online services in 2025, marking a 4 % year‑on‑year increase. Germany thus ranks as Europe’s largest gaming market and the fifth largest globally.</p>
<p>German industry leaders are confident. “As the world’s premier games event, Gamescom makes clear this year that we must better harness the unique cultural, economic and technological potential of games. Germany and Europe should aim to become leading game production hubs,” said Game managing director Felix Falk.</p>
<p>Achieving this requires greater ambition, stable political frameworks, proportionate regulation, and greater exploitation of games’ societal potential.</p>
<h2>Because of AI: chips are becoming more expensive, and so are gaming devices</h2>
<p>Nevertheless, revenue in the first half of 2026 fell 3 % to €4.2 billion, driven largely by an 8 % decline in hardware sales. Rising costs for memory and storage have pushed console prices—Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation—higher. Europe aims to reduce reliance on China by expanding domestic chip manufacturing.</p>
<p>At the opening ceremony in Cologne, Canadian gaming analyst Geoff Keighley called the industry’s shifts “exciting yet alarming.” He noted that AI data centres demand massive chip volumes, tightening supply and raising gaming technology costs.</p>
<p>Gamescom showcases new titles such as “Nodus Fall,” a dragon‑fighting action game; “Rainbow Six: Tactics,” a military‑strategy experience; the latest installment in Dmitry Glukhovsky’s series, “Metro 2039”; and “Game of Thrones: War for Westeros,” a fantasy epic.</p>
<p>German developer Giants Software, famed for its cow‑logo branding, celebrates five million copies sold of “Farming Simulator 25,” launched at the end of 2024. At Gamescom, the company unveils the interactive demo “Farming Simulator 25: Beans & Alpacas,” slated for an October release.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/08/27/gamescom-germany-is-europes-largest-video-game-market">Source link </a></p>
