Almost a third of German gaming companies expect 2026 to be a better year for the industry than 2025.
That's according to a study released by national video game trade body Game, which shows that 29% of respondents expect the gaming industry to move in a positive direction over the next 12 months. This is significantly higher than the 17% who voted this way in last year's survey.
41% of German gaming companies are neutral on whether 2026 will be better or worse, and 31% have a negative outlook for the next 12 months.
When it comes to how they think their own business will perform, 53% of those surveyed say they have a positive outlook for 2026, which represents a modest increase from last year's statistics. 34% are neutral, and 12% think the coming year will be worse.
Game also asked companies how they feel about hiring new employees in 2026; 32% said they were positive, the same as last year, but that's still a significant decline from the 41% who voted yes in 2024. 53% are neutral on the issue, up 2% from last year, while 15% have an unfavorable view of hiring new employees, down 2%.
“Confidence is returning to the German games industry,” said Game managing director Felix Falk.
“After a challenging phase both here and abroad, positive signals such as a strong Gamescom 2025 and important policy initiatives such as increased federal gaming funding and announced federal tax breaks bring an improved outlook and greater optimism compared to a year ago.”
During 2024 The German gaming market declined by 6% year-on-yearwhich will bring 9.4 billion euros. Sales of premium games also decreased by 17%.
In July this year Game also published research showing that the number of companies in the sector decreased by 4% in 2024.while the industry saw a 2% decline in the number of workers.
