J. Clement
Research lead covering internet and gaming
Video game industry in select regions in Europe - Statistics & Facts
The video game industry in Europe is widely diverse – from single-person indie developers to multinational, triple-A production studios, the European game development scene is as varied as the countries in the region. Despite smaller studios being especially hard hit with financial struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of European video game studios increased during this period and generated approximately 18.3 billion euros worth of annual turnover in 2021.
Leading gaming studios headquartered in Europe include CD Projekt (Warsaw), Rockstar North (Edinburgh), EA DICE (Stockholm), Guerilla Games (Amsterdam), Ubisoft (Saint-Mandé), Arkane Studios (Lyon), and King (Sweden).
Despite the currently unstable market conditions, the gaming industry in Europe is moving at an upward market trajectory, with industry bodies being optimistic about the future of video game production in the region.
Game developer studios in Europe
The UK and France had the largest video game industries in Europe, being home to over 1,500 and 1,100 video game development studios, respectively. According to industry bodies and trade associations , most game developer studios in Europe are small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The EU total of game dev studios amounted to 5,500, with new public support instruments like tax credits or funding leading to significant increase in the number of gaming studios in smaller markets such as Belgium and Italy.Leading gaming studios headquartered in Europe include CD Projekt (Warsaw), Rockstar North (Edinburgh), EA DICE (Stockholm), Guerilla Games (Amsterdam), Ubisoft (Saint-Mandé), Arkane Studios (Lyon), and King (Sweden).
European game development workforce
According to the latest available data, approximately 110,000 people were working in the video games industry in Europe. As an English-speaking market, the UK is particularly interesting for international game development talent. France was likewise very well-received by game developers, as 85 percent of companies considered France an attractive territory in 2022. Additionally, Sweden was named among the fastest-growing markets in terms of video game development workforce, and Italy has also been making gains in its gaming sector. Approximately 2,400 people were working as game developers in Italy in 2022, representing a massive 50 percent increase from 2021.Layoffs in the European gaming industry
The top video gaming companies in Europe have hundreds of employees – however, the ongoing layoffs that have affected the greater tech sector have also impacted the gaming industry, which saw thousands of layoffs since the beginning of 2023. For example, French gaming giant Ubisoft has laid off over 1,300 of its global employees since September 2022. The Swedish Embracer Group, which in the last years had acquired several dozen gaming studios and IPs, has also announced wide-ranging company restructuring and game cancellations after a gaming deal worth 2 billion U.S. dollars fell through in early 2023.Despite the currently unstable market conditions, the gaming industry in Europe is moving at an upward market trajectory, with industry bodies being optimistic about the future of video game production in the region.
