According to German game media reports, the German Government has announced that it will significantly increase the game industry ‘ s funding scheme. According to the draft budget, the federal game industry will receive 88 million euros in 2025 and will increase to 125 million euros per year from 2026 onwards. With policy incentives, the German game industry is expected to see a new round of growth.
According to the draft budget of the Federal Government of Germany, €88 million will be allocated in 2025 for support projects for the federal game industry and €125 million annually from 2026 onwards. This means that once the federal budget is adopted, the game project will again receive stable and reliable financial support. This increase is in line with the measurement needs of the German Association of Play Industry and is sufficient to support the fall-down of the extra game tax incentives promised in the coalition administration agreement and aligned with international standards.
Felix Falk, Managing Director of the German Games Industry Association, said: “This is really encouraging! The new Government, particularly the Federal Minister for Research and Head of the Games Project, Dorothee Bär, is following through on its commitments. It is clear that, with the clear statement in the federal governing agreement, the promotion of the game support fund has been significantly increased within 50 days of taking office, and that a key route has been set.”
“This funding will re-ensure the growth of the industry and provide the necessary buffer space for the simultaneous implementation of the additional game tax incentives envisaged in the coalition agreement.” Fork stressed that “the decision sends an important and positive signal that Germany is working to create internationally comparable conditions and wants to accelerate the pace of competition in the game industry”.
Germany is the world ‘ s fifth and largest game market in Europe. According to industry data, the total income from the game market in Germany in 2024 was €9.4 billion, a 6 per cent decrease over the same period, and was mainly hampered by the sale of quality games (17 per cent) and hardware (10 per cent). Market revenues amounted to €9.97 billion in 2023, an increase of 6 per cent, indicating a slowdown in growth after the epidemic.
Since 2019, Germany has introduced a pilot game funding policy, with a cumulative investment of 250 million euros, covering approximately 370 projects, with significant support for independent developers. In the past, however, Germany had lagged behind Canada, France and the United Kingdom in its global game development position because of limited funding and uncertainty of approval.
To date, the policy has funded the Era ” Worker ‘ s Words ” , which includes the banners of the Kubian German branch, the Kubai and 505, as well as the ” Hero of the Magic Gate ” , a multi-generational collaboration, and the MMORPG dunes recently launched by Funcom, the exiler.
Funding covers large and medium-sized projects (for example, Ubisoft and Deck13 over Euro5 million) and small and medium-sized independent games (minimum Euro16,000). As of March 2025, some 570 projects had been funded, of which about 10 per cent had received funding in excess of Euro1 million. Current funds are being disbursed mainly in batches in line with the project development cycle, with existing projects (e.g., Er117) at the end of the year, while applications for restoration at the end of 2024 indicate that new project approvals are in progress.
Some industry sources have questioned the flow of large amounts of funding (e.g. Euro8.2 million from Ubisoft) to international corporate affiliates and are concerned about the lack of effective promotion of home-grown start-ups. There was also criticism of the uneven quality of funded projects and the lack of rigorous evaluation.
With the adoption of the budget and the gradual implementation of tax incentives, the German game industry is expected to see a new round of growth. However, the effective allocation of funds and the landing of accompanying policies will be key.