The gaming industry in Germany was able to record immense growth last year and broke through the 6 billion euro mark for the first time. The apparent growth drivers are online services, which are gaining importance, while the user behavior of players in Germany is increasingly shifting to the digital level of the Internet. Potsdam and the region are essential locations for the German games industry and are responsible for the industry’s growth in Germany.
The games industry grew by six percent in 2019
The German games industry showed growth in 2019 as a market research company GfK and App Annie study shows that game hardware and software sales rose by six percent last year. With the achievement of 6.2 billion euros, the 6 billion euro mark was exceeded for the first time in the German history of video games. As casinos id announced based on the market data, sales for software increased in the first place. This industry segment increased by eleven percent compared to the previous year.
On the other hand, sales of gaming hardware such as consoles, gaming PCs, and accessories have decreased. Compared to 2018, these fell by two percent to 2.35 billion euros. The trend in user behavior among German players clearly points in the direction of the Internet because online services have significantly contributed to the entire industry’s growth.
Online services dominate growth.
In the digital world, how people consume content changes over time. With its continuous technological developments, the games industry is regarded as a driver of innovation and points to the digital level with the increasing establishment of online platforms and services. Today’s users want a comprehensive range of games rather than just buying a disc and playing through it from cover to cover.
In response to consumer demand, platforms are increasingly emerging that provide a library of games that players can access at will. The best-known example from the video game industry is Steam, Valve’s online shop where games of all kinds can be bought and downloaded. This trend can also be seen in the area of ​​gambling, with platforms offering a wide range of casino games online so that blackjack, roulette, and slot games, among other things, can be played over the network with a high degree of flexibility.
With the emergence of cloud gaming platforms such as Google Stadia, which allow games to be played online via a stream without downloading, this development is further driven. The figures from 2019 clearly show this trend. Nine out of ten PC games have already been purchased via a download on said platforms. Overall, around a third of all video games are acquired via downloads.
Online services such as cloud gaming platforms and subscription services show particular growth. The segment of online services for games grew by a total of 31 percent in 2019 and recorded sales of 461 million euros. You can see that the user behavior of players in Germany is shifting to internet platforms and their services.
Potsdam is an essential location for the industry.
The Berlin-Potsdam region has long recognized the immense potential of the German games industry and makes an essential contribution to this branch of industry. Just last year, a group of students from the Hasso Plattner Institute and the University of Potsdam launched their own computer game. The game called A Card Shooter was created as part of the Ludum Dare competition, combining two seemingly contradictory game genres in one game.
A Card Shooter combines a deck-building card game with a twin-stick shooter. The game is now available to the public for purchase and download on the Steam gaming platform. While this is a significant achievement for the region’s gaming industry, the Potsdam location offers significantly more. For example, the sports club SV Babelsberg introduced a new sports department in 2018, so the NullDreier has since also been represented in eSports – the organized and competitive video game tournaments.
In the overall German comparison, Potsdam and Berlin are significant locations alongside the Rhine-Main area, Munich and NRW. Among other things, the direct – Center for Computer Games Research is located in Potsdam, and the Film University Babelsberg offers interested parties from all over Germany the opportunity to specialize in the gaming industry to gain a professional foothold in the growing and innovative sector.
The games market in Germany is growing, while the user behavior of players in this country is changing due to digitization. As an important location for the industry, Potsdam contributes to growth.